Fella who goes by the name of Phil. I haven't heard from him in a long time, but if it wasn't for him, I'd probably be in jail or on probation. When I was 15-16 years old I started hanging around with the less than ideal crowd and quickly became fond of stealing things. Started small. Chocolate bar here, 600ml Pepsi there. Then it was cars. Anyway, one night while I was trying to get his truck started, I heard the sound of feet hitting ground, and looked up. Oh shit. I jump out of the truck and start running for my life, the whole while someone behind me is yelling that if I don't stop they'll shoot me. Seeing as I had sandles on, I didn't get far before I was tackled from behind and given a good pummeling by some very angry folks. They held my arms behind my back, and we walked back to his yard. They pushed me onto the sidewalk where I sat with my head down, wondering what was going to happen next.
"Where's that fucking led pipe". Damnit. Not only did I just get punched and kicked in the head 20 times, now they're gonna go to work on me with a fucking pipe. Luckly he couldn't find it. "Where's my fucking boat motor and fishing shit, asshole". Oh that's just perfect. Not only am I caught, the owner of the truck had his house robbed a few days earlier; Figures I was involved. "What motor? What fishing shit?". Ow, he just punched me in the head. I won't talk again.
Anyway, he didn't actually have a gun on him, although he did have about 20 in his house, but had decided he had already spent enough time in prison and wasn't in the mood to go back anytime soon. Police arrived, searched me, the cop was probably the greatest example of a police officer on the planet. He cuffed me and put me in the back of the car. We then drove back to my house (with Phil following in his truck). Damn, now my parents are forever ruined. Well not quite, but I'm sure it was pure hell for them. Phil was still pretty pissed, and rightfully so. He got into an argument with the cops who were there and they arrested him too. The cop who'd been the first to arrive asked what happened, and I said I had been in his car, they'd chased me, and beat me up a bit. So now Phil was going to be charged with Assault. Ugh, what a great night, eh?
Turns out Phil had spent a good portion of his life stealing, using drugs, drinking, and generally fucking shit up. Also turns out he had been cleaned up for 10 years and now has a family. He runs his own contracting business and employs guys who're fresh out of jail. Anyway, I didn't want to press charges because I'd have beat someone up if I'd caught them in my car too. The cop who arrested me asked "When was the last time you were arrested?". "Never". He was a little taken back. I guess people who're 15-16 and in a car that isn't theirs usually have a history. After talking to him for a bit, he said that he could talk to his supervisor about not pressing charges. Instead, he told me about a program where you meet the victim of the crime and come to an agreement where both parties will feel that justice was served, and where no bad feelings are left.
During the meeting, I realized that the guy who beat me up, and the guy who I was sitting there talking to were two completely different people. The guy who beat me up was someone Phil hadn't been for 10 years. Ugh, as if I wasn't already feeling bad enough. At the end of the meeting, the worker asked Phil what kind of agreement he would like to have with me. He looked right at me and said, "Will you be my friend?".
I swear, I've never cried so much in my life. Neither have my parents. We didn't have too much in common, however, I did work for him for a day or two in what I can only describe as the most physically demanding work I've ever done (remind me to never get into the contracting business.) We also played a few rounds of golf. He moved away recently, and I have no idea where he went, so I don't know if I'll ever see him again.
Needless to say, if it wasn't for Phil, who's neighbors were urging to "let the courts handle the little shit", I'd either be where I am now and with a record, or I'd have stayed on the path I was on. One person's mistakes saved another person from a life of crime and depression. For that, I can never stop thanking Phil.
And wow, long post. I bet no one even reads the whole thing.
