Seeing all the Halloween decorations this week reminded me of a Halloween seven years ago.
It was 2015, and we were still in our old house, where there was enough space beside the Little Free Library for a bench. For the holiday, I had a scarecrow sitting on the bench with a box of books, accompanied by an inflatable skeleton. The two were there to “hand out” free books to Trick-or-Treaters.
And then someone stole the skeleton! Who abducts Halloween decorations from a yard, right in the middle of prime Trick-or-Treat time? I posted on Facebook that the skeleton had been taken. That is when my neighbor, who happened to be city sheriff Dana Lawhorne, sprang into action. After an extensive manhunt involving multiple law-enforcement units, helicopter surveillance, and several Amber Alerts, Dana rescued our abducted skeleton and brought him home last night.
OK, I was joking about the law-enforcement units, helicopters, and Amber Alerts. I suspect Dana jumped in his car and drove around the neighboring blocks until he spotted the kidnappers walking around with the skeleton. I sure would have liked to see the looks on their faces when confronted with a real law-enforcement officer coming after them!
But I did appreciate the work of Sheriff Lawhorne and the rest of the brave men and women of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department for their prompt, courageous action in the face of what could have been a devastating tragedy. The skeleton, who was abducted from our yard by a band of marauding grave robbers, recovered nicely after his ordeal. He was a bit rattled, but sustained no flesh wounds.
The Petrini Page 