Graduate student by day, crime fighter by night

This evening, I went out for dinner with my friend Marty. Because it was such a lovely evening, I suggested we go to this little place called CK Tea & Noodle on Park Avenue. It's nothing fancy, but they serve good noodle soup, a great cashew tofu dish, and tasty bubble tea, though I'm a bit freaked out by the large tapioca bubbles working their way through the oversized straws. Anyway, as our meal was coming to an end, I volunteered to pay the modest tab if Marty promised to buy me dinner some other time after I return from vacation. I took my credit card out of my purse, set the card on the table, and put my purse back on the ground beside my chair. Only minutes later, I noticed a guy riding very slowly along the sidewalk on his bicycle. As he approached our table, he started to bend over, as though he were reaching for a water bottle or about to adjust something on his bike. Instead, he reached for my purse, plucked it off the ground and tucked it under his arm. I jumped out of my chair and started to run after him.

Luckily, his progress was slowed down a bit by a group of girls who were standing at the corner waiting to cross the street. It gave me the opportunity to grab the purse strap and give it a good yank. The man shook the purse and kept on biking. I refused to let go and yanked back. He lost his hold on the purse and then took off at full speed. I, rather foolishly, continued to run after him for about a half a block, yelling obscenities and calling him a coward the whole way. Perhaps because I was running in flip flops, I stumbled and had to give up the chase but at least I made it back with my purse. I got a small round of applause from another table of people when I returned holding my purse like some sort of trophy. Marty told me later that he'd been sitting there wondering, "why the hell is April running after that strange man." It all happened so quickly. Luckily, I saw a police cruiser just as I returned to the restaurant so I gave the cop a quick description and sent him after the purse snatcher. Not more than fifteen minutes later, a detective showed up at the restaurant and informed me that they'd captured someone who they believe tried to steal my purse. Before I could blink, there were another four cop cars, about five officers and four detectives around the restaurant, leading me and Marty to a car, asking other people for statements, etc. I eventually was asked to give a description of the guy and then ID him. Several other people from the restaurant also identified him. Afterwards, we were asked to go to the downtown police station to give a deposition. Apparently, the guy was out on parole so it's uncertain whether I'll have to testify in court. In any case, I couldn't help but be a bit proud of myself for not letting the jerk get away with stealing my purse, though I suppose it's not wise to chase after someone. Trying to replace everything days before my trip would have been a total nightmare!! Marty had to call his girfriend as we were leaving the police station, saying only "April and I are leaving the police station. We're fine. I'll call you back in an hour" What a provocateur. He totally did that for dramatic impact. Wow. It's been a rather eventful day.