Look for the stripes!

We had a little excitement around town on Monday and Tuesday! I went to pick up the boys from school as usual and as Ian and I neared Isaac's school, I had to stop for a police barricade. They were checking all the cars heading towards the school and I started wondering what it was all about as we inched closer. Soon it was my turn to be checked out and I politely asked the officer what we were all being stopped for because he hadn't said anything to me other than, "You're good." He very nonchalantly said that there was an escaped convict...like it was no big deal! Well, I have since found out that this happens every now and then because the officers that transport the inmates from jail to their court appearances or lawyer meetings are all elderly and portly. Hmmm. It led to some very interesting conversation with Ian as we drove the rest of the way to pick up Isaac.

So when I pulled up to Isaac's school, it was pretty tight security and all the students stayed inside and were only called out when the parent was waiting at the front door for them and they were ushered directly into the car by a teacher. There was also a police officer standing at the front door. I was surprised after going through all this that there hadn't been any sign at Ian's school pickup that anything was up! I did remember seeing one police car sitting at the corner of the playground but I just figured that he was there to keep cars from driving past the school buses that were loading and unloading kiddos.

That evening we went to Jonny and Amanda's house for dinner and found out more about what was going on. The 28 year old was just getting done meeting with his lawyer about noon and just as he was being escorted through the doors back into the jail area, his lawyer walked out the door to the outside just a few steps away! HELLO! So anyway, he ran out the door and was on the loose for almost 24 hours here in our little town before he was caught when he walked into a gas station in the south part of town the next day about mid morning, reportedly with his jump suit pants still on!!! Now we do see several inmates that are allowed to do yard work at the court house and they have the traditional black and white striped jump suits on and it has always started interesting conversations with my four year old but I am not sure if the escaped convict was wearing those striped pants or maybe the bright orange ones but either way he was a dead give away! Our friend Jonny works at the lumber yard right next door to the gas station where the man was caught but he was mad because he almost missed the whole thing while he was in the bathroom! Haha! I am just glad that I don't have to keep every door locked even when we are home anymore. Plus, with the planes and helicopters flying right over town all day and the K-9 units scouring Chandler, the neighborhood dogs had been barking nonstop and I have realized that there are a lot of dogs in this neighborhood! Thankfully, Gunner wasn't one of them that barked all day but I did catch him howling every now and then. Haha.