It started off as a regular Thursday. I went home to let Nyah out, took off my slacks, and dress shoes from work, and put on some black sweat pants so as not to look too tacky with the dress shirt I was too lazy to take off. I slipped on my flip-flop sandals and went to the nail shop. My nail tech Lee asked in his broken English “you work today?” “Yes”, I told him that I ran home to let the dog out first, and that I needed a fresh set of nails and an eyebrow wax. There was an older lady getting a pedicure and another girl getting a manicure. There was one more girl that was waiting on her friend to finish. She was thin, she looked young, about 20 years old. She was sort of pacing and standing behind me…..Lee was working his miracle on my hands when I heard the chains on my purse jingle.
When I turned around, I saw that young girl running out of the salon door with my Coach bag in her arms! I screamed, “She stole my purse!!!!” I had the adrenaline of a mother with her child stuck under a car. I jumped up and took off running after her, flip-flops and all! I was chasing her down the street screaming “GIVE ME MY PURSE! STOP! GIVE ME MY PURSE, I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY, I USE MY DEBIT CARD! I’M GONNA CATCH YOU!!! GIVE –ME- MY PURSE!!!” Then I saw Lee running too, I think he was screaming something in his native language. I chased her for 3 blocks, screaming and demanding that she give me my stuff back. Lee passed me up, but I kept running. We were BOTH determined to catch that thief. I guess she bit off more than she could chew, because she ultimately threw my purse down and kept running. I wanted to tell her, Don’t let the girly nails, the law firm clothes or the extra pounds fool you! I would have chased her for at least 3 miles to get my Coach back. Does she not know I drove 3 hours to get it??? Does she not know that even though I’m fat, I can run, AND I’m in shape. I think it shocked her. She probably thought this lady is getting her nails done, and she’ll probably just scream for help and watch me run away with her stuff. She picked the wrong fat girl tonight!! I was so grateful, that Lee was as passionate as I was about getting my stuff back. I keep too much crap in my purse, It would have been a disaster trying to remember what all was in there and trying to get a new ID and all that drama.
When we got back everyone was flustered and they had called the police. The girl’s friend was in shock and she kept apologizing to me. The old lady said, she was running, but you were really running. I was completly shaken up thinking, did I really just chase down a criminal? Is the economy that bad? I’ve been coming to this shop since high school with no drama. I was breathing hard and my hands were shaking so much. Lee gave me a discount and finished my nails. I gave him a nice tip for his over the top customer service…. Later my Dad asked did you finish getting your nails done after you chased her? Uh Yeah! I’m not gonna get robbed and have half done fingernails, LOL…. My Feisty Big Little Sister, said she would have kept chasing her even after she dropped the purse (which is precisely why I waited to tell her)…. Mr. Man was less than excited that I chased her down, and he said “everything in the purse was replaceable, but you’re not.” ……At the end of the day, I thankful that God watched over the crazy shopaholic with my life inside my purse, and happy that me and my purse are both safe from harm.
Like they say, don’t let the looks fool ya…..lol …Glad to hear everything worked in your favor and that you got your purse!
linda
you go girl!!! All your working out has paid off in more ways than one!! I’m glad to hear your purse (precious coach purse!!) and belongings were recovered!
glad it turned out well… (what a good friend she is to the other girl…jeez… not the brightest bulb…what do they say? “a taco shy of a combo plate”)….
and I’m with Mr. Man on this one… about 25 years ago four of us and a my new baby were on the train platform on the south side of Chicago. One of the guys got his wallet ripped off as these kids went by. My idiot (no disrespect) friend decided she had enough and went after the 3 guys into the projects…. her boyfriend went after her…. seconds passed…she came out, but minus her ring and watch.
Stuff is replaceable. And if it isn’t, get it out of the purse and keep it at home…. so glad you are okay… (ok, I’m done with my mom lecture!)
have a great weekend!
Good grief, Carli — what a nightmare!! I’m glad it all ended well. My inner-Million-Dollar-Baby is sitting here cheering for you. You just never know what will happen when adrenaline kicks in, right? But, at the same time, I’m glad you happened to be chasing someone who gave in easily. In the end, it’s probably better to let the material things go, and hold onto the assurance of physical safety. Anyway, what a great way for you to put your running into action!! You go!!
Lin you can’t judge a book by it’s Cover!
Thanks, Janine!
Okay, Mama Helen, I aleady knew you would have comment for this one. “One taco shy of a combo plate” is hilarious! Clearly she hadn’t planned that out. ….anyway, I cleaned out the purse last night, nothing left but the neccesities. I was thinking about it, if it was guy, I probably wouldn’t have been so ballsy….. Nobody likes a lecture, but we all need to hear them. Thanks!
Elizabeth, you’re right, that adreneline took over and I was on auto pilot. But I think that’s literally the fastest I’ve ever ran. I kept thinking dang, why can I run that fast during a workout lol!
So glad to hear that you (and your purse of course) are ok! Big girls CAN run!!! 😀 :D: 😀
The comments from Family & Friends that didn’t make it on the blog….
Big Little Sis – The police would’ve been confused as to who was the bad guy when I got a hold of her…
Co-worker – I guess you were like your Aunt in The Hangover, “NOT up in here!”
Co-worker – I woulda chased her down for you and let you get her, took her shoes and her $3 chain and asked her “how does it feel to get robbed????”
My Cousin – And the Diva went back and finished getting her nails done!
Friend – Did you whip her A$$?
Friend – that’s right Carli Fierce show em what runningintoshape can do!
I’m so sorry to hear that your Coach bag got lifted, but it is TOTALLY badass that you just busted out and ran that thief down! Love it!
Glad God kept you safe Carli! And glad you got your purse back! Hopefully nobody will try robbing you after you run a 10K!! 🙂
Just finished week 5 tonight. I had to repeat week 4 due to my husband having surgery and getting a little off track.
Starting week 6 on Tuesday and can’t wait!
Take care and next time you get your nails done, take a cheap purse and put your card on Lee’s table. 🙂