Coincidence, I think not

I work at a pharmacy which is part of a shopping center in Overland Park, Kansas. Also in this shopping center is a running shoe store. Once a month, their running club meets taking up all of the parking spaces. Two Saturday ago they met, so when I got to work around 9:30 am (the store opens at 9:30), I was lucky to find a spot.

When I got inside, my boss told me someone had knocked on the back door, but we never open the back door because of security reasons. He said he waited a few minutes and then checked to see who it was; he saw a man all in black walking away. He didn't know if he was a runner trying to get around the building or what, but it was suspicious.

A little later this same man was staring into our store window. My boss was quite nervous about it, but the man never came in. Around 10am, my boss noticed his usual parking spot open, so he went to move his van. Nearby he saw the same sketchy guy sitting in a car, but the car was backed in rather than the normal drive-in position. The guy took off his hat and leaned the seat back when he noticed my boss. As my boss came back in, he wrote down the license plate number, and shortly after, the guy drove away.

My boss made a police report because he recognized the guy from a long time ago, and it was suspicious behavior in general.

This last week, a detective sent my boss a news link with a video about a pharmacy robbery (a guy held two people at gun point in order to get some oxycontin. they were both unharmed.) in Kansas City, Kansas. It happened on the same Saturday as our weird encounter. My boss couldn't really distinguish the face in the video, but he said he looked a little heavier in the video and was wearing different clothes than the guy hanging around our pharmacy. But my boss still talked with the pharmacist that was robbed and compared notes about the guy and his car. He gave the police the name of the guy (since he had recognized him), his description, and the description of the car.

Well, this evening we got a call from the other pharmacist.The police caught the guy who robbed them, and it turned out it was the SAME GUY who was at our pharmacy. The same guy who robbed the pharmacy in KC, Kansas, in the afternoon was staking out our pharmacy in the morning. The police found him because of my boss' tips too!!! I don't know if he chickened out because of all the traffic from the running club, but both my boss and I were a little spooked out at the fact that we could have easily been the ones robbed two Saturdays ago. So crazy!!!!

Praise God for unknown and unexplainable protection.

Now informed...

This could be just another case of guilt and shame, but instead of going down that normal, well-trodden path, I encourage myself and you to take this as an opportunity to engage and make things better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ycih_jMObQ

Look up raisehopeforcongo.org to see where electronic companies you have in your home lie. My computer is a Toshiba, and I am greatly grieved. They will be hearing from me.

Fill me up

Last Saturday was the annual Dentistry from the Heart in Olathe, Kansas. Dentistry from the Heart is an event that welcomes people without dental insurance and are low income to get some free dentist work. They occur all over America at different times of the year, and different offices provide different services.

Last year, my roommate and I showed up at 8:15am (the event started at 8am), but the line was so long we didn't get into the office before it closed. So this year, we were proactive, and showed up at the office at 6:30 in the A-M. It might seem a little crazy, but this is free dentistry work!!! For a person without dental insurance and a few aches and pains in the mouth, it is wonderful. Last year, the visit included a cleaning and whatever you needed done, but this year, in order to help more people, they were only offering fillings and extractions. My roommate and I were rewarded for our early morning attendance with the place of #21 and #22- far ahead from our #180-something position from last year. So we waited in the car until quarter til 8, and then we joined the growing crew inside a supposedly warming tent. Just before 9, our numbers were called, and we entered the nicely warmed building to find fairly comfortable waiting room chairs and a large flat screen tv playing Cars. I was quickly impressed, and then I remembered I was in Olathe which is in Johnson County which is one of the richest counties in America.

Just a few minutes later, the assistants called me back. A dentist was there waiting and asked what was wrong. I told her that my lower left side of my jaw had been hurting, so she took a look. I had an x-ray on that side of my mouth where they found a tiny cavity. However, the cause of my pain was actually a result of my previously unknown grinding of the teeth. (I will have to be more careful.) So the next 20 minutes were spent getting numbed, drilled, and filled. I left happily although not feeling the left side of my mouth and tongue.

And so even though I had a cavity and then had to go to work, I was so excited because I didn't have to pay for anything!!! The only thing that would have made this experience better would have been a sticker of a smiling tooth and toothbrush, but I'll take the fact that I had no bill to pay too. :)