Strange but true

You know I don't try to get myself into controversial arenas, but it seems no matter where I go controversy, or less than normal incidents follow me.

I had reason to go to the headquarters of Domestic Violence this week. For those of you that don't realize this, Domestic Violence can use you old, out of date cell phones. They rehab them and give them to women (and men, I suppose) that need them to call for help).

I had a phone that I've been meaning to get over there for months, finally I had the time to go to the office. I was going to do my good deed for society. As I walked in to the lower level of one of the city's old buildings I couldn't help but think that the Domestic Violence office could have picked a better place than in this very spooky cellar. My mind was wandering thinking of all the mystery scenarios I could write using this place as the "scene of the crime" etc.

Walking into the office I was surprised to see a woman sitting on the couch in the waiting room. She had a telephone stuck to her ear as I see so many people these days have attached to themselves. I'm beginning to wonder if babies will have mutated ear lobes in the future. Maybe they'll be born with ears with extra skin on the top where you can fold the flap of skin over the ear piece and it will hold without any wires or extended holders.

Aside from the perpetual phone stuck in her ear she looked pretty normal, until she realized I was in the room with her. Why is it when someone is near the person holding the phone to their ear the start to talk louder? At least that's how it seems. Point in case, when I walked into the room I couldn't make out her conversation at all, but as soon as she came to the realization I was in the room her voice became several decibels louder. When I sat down I could hear her side of the conversation and to tell the truth I wish I hadn't heard any of it. I had no place to go. I was waiting for someone to take the phone from me. ( You can't just leave anything there, you must hand it to someone. I'm sure they're afraid that someone might leave a bomb or something-no kidding.. After hearing the half conversation of the woman waiting with me, I can understand why).

I sat there, on a very uncomfortable, lumpy couch, and I could tell my eyeballs were probably about to fall out of their sockets, as the woman on the other side of the room said, "Well I have the gun with me, so I don't have to worry about him coming after me with it..." "Yes, I have it here and it is loaded...." "I don't think he'd be stupid enough to follow me down here..." That statement made me get up and go to the locked door and window and knock, ever so gently... While my heart was doing a quick step in my chest. I turned back as I heard, "No, I'm not alone. There's another woman who just came in".. ( that would be me....) "Yes, I think she's OK". ( that would be me again , I think)

I have to tell you I was a bit uneasy, shall we say, as I tried to calmly walk to the door so I could get the Hell out of the place. The woman stood up, and started to walk toward the door at the same time. She put her head down and leaned against the door. She was intensely listening to the party on the other end of the telephone. She had no idea I was about to swing my leg to pull her legs from under her so I could make an escape. Then I remembered the "loaded gun" she had with her..... I thought, "where could the gun be? She has a little purse, surely it's not in there? Oh God, I have no idea if guns can be that tiny, but I'm not taking any chances".

I decided to get a magazine and sit down again to keep everything calm. The woman's voice was beginning to take on that high pitched, pinched sound, typical of folks who are under too much stress. I noticed her hands were shaking as she continued her conversation to persons unknown, " I tried to reason with him". "He picked up the bat, honestly..." " Yes, I called his brother, that made the whole thing worse.." The biggest problem I was facing now was, did I want to stay to hear more or did I really want to leave before I heard more. I find this is a dilemma we all face in these situations. We're all ticked off when we hear someone on the cell phone but we can easily get sucked into their life if we listen to their side of the conversation. I pretend to answer what I think the other party is saying. Sometimes I'm sure I'm right.

Finally the person from the inner office came out and took the phone from me. I stood there when she went back into the inner sanctum and tried to decide if there was anything else I could give her so I could stay a little longer and listen to more of the conversation ......Then, thankfully, sanity returned. I got up smiled at the tortured woman and left the office. I leaned against the outside of the door and breathed a sigh of relief, tinged with a little regret....