The Purse Snatcher
The Purse Snatcher
The punk grabbed the old lady’s purse and ran up those steps like a monkey on crack. A little crowd of tourists gathered around as the old woman yelled at me to do something.
Photo by K.S. Brooks
I’m at least thirty years older and a good fifty pounds heavier than him. I don’t do foot chases any more.
Looking up at the steps, I just smile. “Oh don’t worry. He’ll be coming back this way in a moment.”
I know something he doesn’t know…
It seems pretty simple really, but gravity can be a harsh mistress. For some things though they seem to be well and solidly placed, the slightest change can be the last bit that it takes to topple everything. Take the statue at the top of the stairs. The artist designed it with nice flowing lines. Aesthetically, it has movement built into the form. But it is just a smidge top heavy.
It isn’t that I have to push it over. It’s already on its way to tumbling down the stairs. All I have to do is give it just enough of a nudge to send it down. They used to think I have these super powers that could move mountains. Really all it is, I can see that one spot, that precise place where pressure will have the greatest effect.
Or course the other half of my power is the ability to utilize that spot. It isn’t that I have to exert will to use the force present. But somehow whether it’s pushing a person to do what I want or moving a large object I have what it is I need to make it happen. In this case I directed a rock to the right spot on the statue. A rock that weighed just a couple ounces, but those ounces were all it took.
The statue tumbled, end over end. The thief stopped short when it crashed into the steps. He strained against fear, against inertia to switch directions and move out of the way. He ran for his life, straight into my fist. I didn’t even need to use any force for that. His own momentum knocked him flat on his back.
The old lady sure was generous when I handed her purse back to her. She offered me a twenty but settled on a fifty, and a promise to introduce me to her grand daughter.
I’ll be meeting her for lunch in an hour.
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