Molly at Corriganville

We took a hike in the hills of Corriganville yesterday, where many B Westerns were shot over the years. What I saw on my dog walk today was like a cheap movie.

I was walking Molly across CSUN to the post office on this hot hot afternoon. I tried to stay on the shady side of the street. As we were getting near Reseda Blvd. I saw two guys punching each other in the middle of the street and yelling at each other, as cars zipped around them. I've never seen people punch each other before. It's not the sound you hear in the movies.

I moved into a shadier area thinking I wanted to be out of any line of fire. But I kept watching. There were two other guys also watching the action, one on a skateboard, one with a backpack.

A car drove up really fast and a second guy jumped out and joined in the fight, then two of them got in the car and drove off really fast on the wrong side of the street, straight through two stop signs, heading into the campus, with cars slamming on brakes all around them.

The guy who was still on foot was catching his breath curbside. He looked like his name could be Duane: good looking skinny guy with sideburns and a Western shirt, sleeves rolled up. He said, "God damn they stole from my store." He worked, or managed Rite Aid on the corner. No sooner had he said this than cops converged from all directions. Only a beat after that and there was a helicopter over head!

The victim held his hand out for the cops as they pulled up to show them the license number he'd written on his palm! The guy on the skateboard said, "It was a 1992 4 door Toyota Corolla heading east and they drove through two stop signs. " The guy with the backpack was the one who'd dialed 911. I was just the ninny with the police dog who watched from the bushes.

The first wave of cop cars was off after them.

Another cop car pulled up and the nervous looking officers jumped out convinced that the victim was the criminal. Everyone had to put hands up. (Well, I didn't.) They couldn't decide if the story was true or not. I said to one cop, "It's true what they're saying." I was amazed how detailed the description was that the skateboard guy gave. He had long dark hair and sunglasses, with a funny hat on.

The backpack guy said to Duane, "Hey man, you should have told me you were p.a." What does that mean? The backpack guy had picked up the stuff that was dropped by the thieves and gave it back to the guy.

As I was walking back a CSUN professor on a bicycle stopped to admire Molly and I told her what had just happened. "Citizenry in action" she declared, and said she was going to tell the whole story to her students.

We stopped so Molly could take a swim in the koi pond, then headed home.