NYC rite of passage - Aussie bard gets mugged in dark Brooklyn street.

[Yorick]

I walked home from a subway stop I usually never take. It was not particularly late.... around 12:15am. I was thinking I'd try this alternative line - the G - because cab fares home are killing me, yet the other lines, the 4,5,6, and C are taking over 2 hours at that time of night.

So.. first night trying this new way, I walk home. It's a sketchy part of town, on the edge of Bedford-Styvesant, but I've lived in sketchy areas of Sydney. Once I had to run away from muggers in the domain into Woolloomooloo.

I had my wits about me, walked confidantly and quickly for about six - eight blocks towards my street. I was aware of two guys 25 - 50 metres behind me. However, even though I'd sped up, they were maintaining distance. No worries.

I got to the street that intersections off mine, and turned right. I thought I may as well run a bit to put some distance between me and them. Not thinking I was really in trouble, but more as a precaution. As I turned I noticed a yellow cab put it's light on. In hindsight I should have jumped in... but I was quite close to my house, and it was heading the other way.

Hindsight is a genius.

I started a diagonal cross of the street, a jaywalk, and went back to a walk. By the time I crossed to the other side, I heard something to my left, and turned around to see the two guys stop running - but becoming aware of the horrible realisation that they had massively gained on me, and had ill intent.

I remember thinking "Here we go, it's all on".

I noticed a car go past, but no cabs, so I went to cross the street again, to get into the middle of the road.

However, one of the guys ran in front of me, so I now had one on either side of me.

I kept moving, now moving backwards, and started talking.

I raised my arms in a "what is this?" gesture and said in thick Australian
"Oh come on mate we're not ■■■■■■■ going through this are we?"
"■■■■. Come on. What the ■■■■ is this?"

And words to that effect.

The smaller of the two, I looked right in the eyes as I was saying this. He told me not to move. But I was already moving... backwards... and he was moving towards me, with his right hand in his pocket, the other guy hovering to my right, so I kept moving backwards. Again, taking a verbal initiative, I asked them what they wanted... if they wanted my wallet? So as he told me not to move again, I grabbed my wallet and threw it to him.

He opened it.

"What the ■■■■?" he exclaimed looking in.

The only cash in there was a single dollar note.

"Look" I said moving my arms out wide "I've got nothing.... I'm an immigrant... I'm Australian". They kept moving towards me, both now in fornt of me.

I backed off to my right, edging onto the street, not knowing whether whether they would react angrily or trying to see if I had anything else. I then called on the one person that has seen me through every horror and tribulation I've been through in my life.

"Jesus, help me brother" I called out aloud, facing the sky.

Why I called him brother, I do not know. Jesus called God "Father", and I call God "Father", and I perceive Jesus to be one with God, so he would technically be my Father, yet, he is the son of God, and I perceive myself to be a child of God.... interesting theological pondering resultant from great stress.

Anyhow... one of them subsequestly threw my wallet on the ground in front of me. They walked from my right, to left, and the bigger guy said
"Take your shit man".
I didn't move
"Take your shit man" he repeated.

They walked back to the corner of the street. I was buckled over with relief and called out "Thankyou".

They ran away.

I grabbed my wallet. Ran the hundred metres or so to my door, and shakenly went inside, called my girl and went through a number of emotions.

One of my musician friends was beaten and hospitalised by muggers in New York. Another one was tied up for two hours by a thief. A policeman friend of mine had a gun put to his head when he only had a dollar in his wallet.

Ironically, I was reading that very morning, the book: "The Road Less travelled", and reading the section on grace, and how remarkable it is that human mental illness is not worse than it often is. That a mildly neurotic person, given the causality should be totally psychotic, and a mildly unbalanced person should be neurotic. And so on.

It also went on to say, that an accident prone individual makes the case of how accident resistent we are. How many "near misses" we have. The most compelling in recent times, being the story of the countless thousands of people who missed trains, busses and were late to work on september 11. I know a number personally, whose lives were spared because they missed trains that morning.

The book reflects on the line from "Amazing Grace"

"Twas grace that brought me thus far".

I haven't finished the chapter, and am not yet able to comment on his assertions, but I found the timing of the reading and the mugging to be a remarkable message.

I reflected on my own "near misses" from using power lines as a flying fox as a child, to numerous car crashes, (one, a write-off leaving me in a nech brace, and dislocated shoulder, and that's all) walking on thin ice, with the Australian me, having no experience of ice, electrocuted a couple of times (not including the electric fence in France... ) losing half my blood out my arse as I was heading for a airplane, plus numerous others, including this second near mugging.

As a musician, I'm familiar with being robbed I even caught a guy emptying my car of sound equipment and CDs outside a Coogee studio one night. But last night scared me because of the unknown. Once it started I had no idea how it would end. I had no idea whether they had guns or knives. If I ran, they may have shot me in the back, or caught and kicked me. If I'd swung, they could have pulled a knife. If I'd let them come close, they may have grabbed me, slit my throat... who knows.

I should add that nothing was taken from my wallet. Not my credit card, not my thousand dollar cheque, not my metrocards. Nothing.

Thank God, Thankyou Jesus. Twas Grace that brought me thus far.

Hugh

[ 02-27-2004, 02:21 PM: Message edited by: Yorick ]

[Cloudbringer]

Thank God you're ok, Hugh! That would have scared the daylights out of me!

[Yorick]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: Thank God you're ok, Hugh! That would have scared the daylights out of me!

Oh yeah... it scared me. I was shaking and nearly hyperventilating when I got inside. I called my girlfriend.. Anne (from Boston, who's now in New York btw) and calmed down. I was angry too. With myself for not seeing the signs as more serious. I should have trusted my instincts more.

Lessons learned that's for sure. Another window to an experience that could have been worse. Like the when I was cuffed at the airport with two other Aussie. I got a sample of a window into the Aussie mateship that say P.O.W.s faced when held by foreign govts. Certainly the American experience was nowehere near the intensity, and you could laugh at any suggestion of similarity with justification. What I mean is that I was able to appreciate the way we each lifted each others spirits, joked about being sent to Botany bay, or being convicts again etc. As one would get down the others would lift them up. I was able to apply that experience and amplify it into worse scenarios to gain a token understanding of the context.

I try and learn as much as I can from each experience. See it from as many angles as possible, and apply spiritual as well as physical benefits.

The other irony is I'd just watched Bowling for Columbine the night before. The whole fear element became more real. Additionally it was a cliche. White guy walks through Black neighbourhood, and is mugged by two black men.

As with the 9/11 aftermath, I will not succumb to either fear or racism as a result of this. Both are internal battles we must each win.

[Jorath Calar]

Good to hear you are okey, take care mate!

[Ladyzekke]

I can tell from how descriptive you are in telling this that it is still very much on your mind, clearly. I'd have been scared as hell too, just reading your post in and of itself was frightening. I totally know what you mean re the unknown being the scariest part. I'm so glad that you are OK Hugh, and with your wallet intact as well. *HUGS* I despise muggers, nothing but a bunch of losers to put it mildly. It's a shame you could not get them arrested.

[Bungleau]

Wow, Hugh... not exactly tops on the list of ways to finish up an evening, is it?

Still, I'm glad you made it out all right, and that things didn't go as badly as they could. I'm familiar with the post-event emotional barrage that it sounds like you're going through -- all the what-ifs and thoughts about what just took place. It's not pleasant, but it ends.

Peace.

[Cloudbringer]

Hugh, you learned to trust your instincts and all the warning signs, so I'm betting you'll be doubly careful now. On a happier note... Anne's in NYC? Wonderful! and a big ol' HUG for you, to help the aftershock jitters go away.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by Bungleau: I'm familiar with the post-event emotional barrage that it sounds like you're going through -- all the what-ifs and thoughts about what just took place. It's not pleasant, but it ends. Peace.

Thanks mate... I'm feeling quite good now. I think I learned a lot. Thanks for your empathy. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Yorick]

Originally posted by ladyzekke: It's a shame you could not get them arrested.

I was thinking about that. I was so relieved that I wasn't hurt or robbed, I just didn't want to pursue it. I wanted to apply the same grace I was shown. I did ring the police, and asked that they send a car around to patrol the area - to prevent something else - but I didn't want to press charges. (Attempted robbery would have been it).

The policeman on 911 was a good counsellor actually. Really good. Helped me a lot.

I have a photographic memory too. I could pick the little guy out in a flash. But I didn't want to encourage a death to avoid future incarceration. I just hope and pray they turn straight....

[Yorick]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: Hugh, you learned to trust your instincts and all the warning signs, so I'm betting you'll be doubly careful now. On a happier note... Anne's in NYC? Wonderful! and a big ol' HUG for you, to help the aftershock jitters go away.

$70 per week on late night cabs is a small price to pay for being not mugged...