Remember, don't resist when the police officers try to handcuff ya, trust me, it might sound like fun to get a beat down, but it isn't!!!

I have a feeling you'll be fine!! IF not, welp, I know a good defense lawyer. He's in prison too but he's cheap!! What? :D

It is a scary thought - and what's scarier is knowing that justice really is blind, she doesn't always get the right one.. :(.

Hope tomorrow goes off without a hitch Matty..

Rated for a sh*tload of character witnesses here'bouts :).

Remember, don't resist when the police officers try to handcuff ya, trust me, it might sound like fun to get a beat down, but it isn't!!!

I have a feeling you'll be fine!! IF not, welp, I know a good defense lawyer. He's in prison too but he's cheap!! What? :D






Tink said it best, so saving time here :)
I'm thinking you'll pull out of it ok, but can empathize with the fear factor

It's the hair Matt... old white dudes with crew cuts can walk down the sidewalks of America with loaded shotguns wearing nothing but unlaced work boots and a vinyl raincoat and nobody looks twice.

Do you know anyone with a police scanner? They would have the details and then you can rest easy. And besides, post offices have cameras inside and out. There's your proof. Probably the dump does, too. There are cameras everywhere these days. Store security cameras that catch the street, ATM cameras.

Tink! Start hacking into the grid and get the footage!

I really hope you're okay tomorrow.

There have been so many thought-provoking posts recently on who is "suspect." This is another. The saddest part, to me, is that we are all filled with so much fear and angst, and then with fear and angst about our fear and angst.

I hope it all works out ok for you. I wish I didn't have to be saying that.

On the other hand, you admit that you list a false birthday. What else are you hiding?

Stay calm.

You should have live-blogged your trip to the dump.

It sucks that innocent people have to worry because they might look like someone who did something. But if it was someone in your class, the obvious question would be, why didn't they finger you in the first place instead of describing someone like you? She would have at least said, "the substitute who taught my English class last week." I'm sure Phyllis is right about your being on camera somewhere, too.

Oh, boy. I would be a little tense, too, under the circumstances. If it comes to that, take a polygraph just for the record. I know it is not admissible, but it might give you a little extra piece of mind. Best of luck, dear heart. Of course I think it is absurd that ANYONE could even think it could be you.

Lezlie

I'd skip buy skittles at the 7-11 tomorrow....

Don't get a wild hair and cut or color your hair! You will be fine.

Thanks, Tink, I figured you might have some expert advice for me. I'm practicing saying, "I know NOT-teenk!" over and over.

Thanks, Seer. I'm not really worried because this is a small community and I'm fairly well known, but the police would still be required to do their job if some kid is determined to stick a charge on me. The prosecutor is newly elected. I don't know her, but the first person I would call if they do want to question me would be her predecessor, who is in private practice and a friend. Even a whiff of suspicion, tho, especially in a small community, can cloud a person for a lifetime.

Thanks, Trig. Best thing I've got going for me is that I know I'm innocent. I know that doesn't necessarily mean diddly squat but it allows me to keep my wits about me.

Ya know, Mac. Were I to shave my head tonite I know damned well I would be in an interrogation room before the day was done tomorrow.

That's a comforting thought, Phyllis. I'm sure those places do have cameras. It could save me a lot of trouble, depending on when this supposedly occurred.

I know, Keri. I'm thinking of Sirenita's and Lezlie's stories today and Nerd Cred's yesterday and the Trayvon Martin tragedy. It's in the air.

Con, I'll come clean for you, but only if you will be my attorney of record. Why, I could be your very first innocent client!

I am, AKA, I-I-I-I-I am. T-T-T-T-Thanks.

Great idea, Leepin! I'll live-blog my day tomorrow.

Good question, Sirenita. But if it is one of my students she and her friends could have cooked something up just for the hell of it. You know, Let's f*ck with the sub heeheehee. I got the impression most of them liked me, but, hell, you never really know what's going on in some of those adolescent heads.

Alert is more like it, Lezlie. A heightened sense of awareness. Condition yellow. Thanks, friend.

Yeah, Kate! I'll wear my hoodie to conceal the shoulder-length gray hair! Thanks!

Matt,

Everybody makes little mistakes of judgment now and then. You will get some really good blogging material during your time in stir.

I hear you, TMF. I was thinking Mowhawk, but now I'm reconsidering.

Arthur, I can see you're one of those look-on-the-bright-side sorta guys. Blogging material. Of course! And I've been worried lately about running dry. What would I ever do without my OS friends!

Oh yeah, speaking of blogging and prison, when you drop the soap, make it look like a mistake and say, "Anyone up for a tea party?" Giggle when you say that, makes for a better movie too!!!

What? :D

(Ooooo and I bet once you get an advance from the publisher for your new book --- PRISON BITCH? NOT ME! You'll be able to join the Author's Guild with no problem!! Win-Win!!!!!! I'll wait for you...not long though...I have short attention span!! :D)

I would find this all unsettling as well if I was in your shoes. Good luck and lie low.

Did you by any chance make some cell phone calls while you were out? They can track where you were pretty accurately via which cell towers you used.

Whatever you do don't suddenly change your appearance. That will definitely make you seem suspicious.

I am very sorry to hear you may fit the description of a man that accosted a young girl. It must be very frightening to be in this position. I do hope the man that did this is caught quickly.

It must have also been frightening for the young girl. A young boy was recently approached and threatened in my children’s school district. The district waited until the police report was finalized before putting out a warning to parents in the district. The only warning was to the elementary children not to talk to strangers before they were let out of school.

I was sick to death that my eight-year-old daughter walked home from the bus stop without me knowing there was a possible danger to her on her walk home.

So this is what happens when you let your freak flag fly in the 21st century. Hope they catch the guy soon and relieve the anxiety....

Worst case scenario you get famous. Don't worry, I'll have my guy talk to your guy. R

That's scary and maybe the first reason I've come up with for having your phone's gps locator turned on ... Good luck tomorrow.

"A man with shoulder length white or grayish hair." That's it - the only detail? Because I have to think you're putting the cart way in front of the horse if that's all there is.

All kinds of things like security cameras and cell phone tracking and other things, along with invading all of our privacy inappropriately, can provide alibis now that didn't used to. Forensic data can exculpate a vehicle. So just work with the system.

But it's true that we've all gotten very hair trigger about suspicions.

And the shame of it is that a lot of us offer rides to people a lot less than we might once have, which leaves the defenseless suddenly without rides and taking rides from strangers. To paraphrase the remark often made about guns: When giving rides is outlawed, only outlaws will give rides. :(

Matt,my dear friend,
Thoth gave you all the assuranc you need today.
It's important for me to give you support as well.It won't be in words;there have been sufficiant.I try to send you my spiritual support to help you through the day.The strongest support I have ever received during trying times was to be connected with the Higher Scource.That's what I will be doing for you today.
Incidently,I have to go to a court hearing today.It 's about governmental claim for fees (TV and broadcasting) amounting to about 400€ by now.As you see,we are both in a somewhat tricky situation and that's why we need super power.
All the best to you,Matt.Have a good rest and don't let them make you sick.
Blessings,my friend.

*~*~*Rated*~*~*

White dude, white truck, I don't care what town you live in, down south that's half the population.

Matt,as you know:I prefer reading a book when holding it in my hands.For now,I have ordered the kindle edition and I left a comment on FB.

Don't worry until you end up in an interrogation room. Having been in an interrogation room, with officers trying to "pin it on me" even though I was innocent, I know all YOU need to do is keep reminding yourself, "I'm innocent, I'm innocent, I'm innocent ..." and know you are there to help them catch the perp.

Shoot!! How weird!! It is scary to be accused of something, even if you didn't do it. But, rest assured, the system usually works.

Thanks for your thoughtful and kind words, friends. I have to leave in a few minutes to head over to the school, so I don't have time to respond to each of you individually. I now have an up-close and personal inkling of what it must feel like to be marked by some superficial feature, akin to the color of my skin, and hear a police description of someone they suspect of a crime who in their eyes could be me. When I worked as a newspaper reporter I included such thin descriptions in crime stories many times, rationalizing that at least it helps narrow down the field of likely suspects. I can tell you right now, it's no fun being in a field of a likely suspects, no matter how wide. The fact that I might have taught the girl who reported the incident narrows the field even more. I can picture walking into class this morning - a middle school phy. ed./health class - and have a group of kids start gasping, whispering and shooting me looks.

If nothing else comes of this I've already had a glimpse into a dark corner of our supposedly civilized society that's unsettling and already has made me a more alert and sensitive person.

Of course, they won't think it's you. Hope your day is one that is enjoyable with your students.

Kids that age can be so virulent. Some can lie like pros just to avoid "getting in trouble" and they aren't wired yet to understand the impact their actions have on others. It can horribly far reaching. Keep us updated Matt.

Scary, Matt. (Report back.)

Did you return from the dump empty handed Matt??
My ex used to say I sometimes brought back more than I hauled over there.....

This has to be a gut thud and reality check.

Two yrs before I took a position in a VT high school, years back, a sub was caught crossing the VT/Mass line w a girl from the school.
I know how you feel even tho I wasn't even at the school at the time it happened.

r.

I hope this was mainly in jest and that the morning finds you entertaining a classroom of good kids. If not, it'll all make a good story someday. But take those Miranda warnings to heart.

Wishing you the best, Matt. Sadly, we are living in a fear-based society. We are all "suspect" in some way or other. Every time I go to the airport and get body-scanned I feel like a criminal.

Hope the matter gets cleared. It's the lingering notions that may be hard to dispel.

Matt,do you know the novel "The Judge and his Hangman"
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt?Your comments remind me of it.

Well, thank goodness! Good point about now knowing what it feels like to be profiled.

Lezlie

"I arrived at the school office early and learned all three gym instructors were out unexpectedly"


Do any of them have shoulder length white or grayish hair?

Welcome to the club, eh, Lezlie. Some fun.

One has gray hair and a beard, Leepin, but I don't think his hair is as long as mine. One I've not see and the other is a woman. I was hoping there'd be something in the new this morning.

Innocent until proven guilty? Bet it wouldn't feel that way if you were picked up for this.

You know it, Bob. Suspicion overrides the presumption of innocence in every cop's and prosecutor's mind - unless a suspect's attorney is present, and even then...

Dye your hair. Go back to teaching, with class. I suspect the real culprit has been canvassing the area and now that reports have been investigated all will have their ears and eyes open, on and off campus grounds.

VERY PLEASED THIS APPEARS TO HAVE SMOOTHED OUT FOR YOU, MATT.

What, and lose my eligibility for membership in the Gray Panthers? You're right, Belinda, as there hasn't been anything in the paper I expect this guy will be picked up soon, altho not soon enuf for my liking.

Thanks, Jon. I'm relieved for myself, but I hope they catch the SOB before something tragic happens.

I understand your concern. You never know what damage a student with a grudge can do, and the student would be believed over you. I'm glad you're okay.

Thanks, Sarah. I would have felt a whole lot better this morning had I found the following story in Wednesday's paper:

"Gloucester authorities said that a man tried to lure a girl into his truck Wednesday afternoon and when she refused to get in he chased her. The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. when the Sheriff's office said that an older white male, with gray or white shoulder length hair, wearing eyeglasses asked the girl if she needed a ride home.

He was driving in a full sized white pick-up truck with several dents and papers across the dashboard, near the Founders Mill subdivision according to a news release. When the girl refused the offer, the man chased her on foot into the front yard of a residence, authorities said.

The child was able to escape when the man slipped and fell into a ditch. Anyone with information about the truck is asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Gloucester Sheriff Darrell Warren said that several deputies will be patrolling the area in the next few days to boost security."

I didn't learn of it until the schools superintendent did a roto-call Thursday to alert school employees.

Sounds like you had a rough 24 hours worrying.

I'm with Serinita Lake.

Some great literary works have been written in the Big House.
For example, Oscar Wilde wrote “The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898):
 “I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky.”

Of course also, the Marquis de Sade.
“Let us give ourselves indiscriminately to everything our passions suggest, and we will always be happy...Conscience is not the voice of Nature but only the voice of prejudice.”
I never wrote a damn thing when I was in jail, except some letters to my girlfriend, and sisters.
To allay your fears: there is no “shower room”, only individual showers that come on for , like, 2 minutes at a time. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SHOWER SHOES IN THE SHOWER. Not only for your foot health, but because the guys will whip yer ass if you don’t.

I don't know how I missed this when you first posted about it, but I'm actually kind of glad I did - I got to come in when the good news was known. You make such a good point here about one of the perils facing male teachers. And it's sad that we live in a world where someone can't even offer a ride to a student without that creating a problem (though of course I understand how we've gotten there). Continued luck in teaching and, again, I'm glad you're not a suspect.

Also, just thought of this: If you ever need an alibi, if this incident occurred at a particular time and you happened to be on OS commenting or posting, there's a time and date up there - that could help you. But again, I'm glad you didn't need to know that.

You could call 1-888-LOCK-U-UP anonymously and tell them you think the guy's name is Terence.

(never heard of a roto-call...perhaps a robo-call?)

You're right, of course, Leepin. I must have been doing a Freudian on roto-rooter, which is the effect that damned call had on me at the time.

I thought you liked young chicks in their 60's?