The first weekend after I saw the carnival setting up next to the 880 across from the Coliseum I took Cein with me to do some location scouting. We turned out to be too early. They were still setting up the rides. Since we there already I decided to take some shots of the rides silhouetted against the sunset. As I was taking photos a car alarm went off from the street next to the lot we were in. The alarm was coming from a Trans-Am with one man sitting in the front seat and another standing next to it.

My impulse was to walk over to them and see if they were up to no good, but Cein being there made me hesitate. She has stopped me from making such interventions in the past and since no one’s physical well being was in danger I decided to just watch them. After they saw me looking and didn’t make any verbal or physical reply I was pretty sure they were thieves of some sort. 20 seconds or less of car alarm had elapsed before the men walked into the street away from the car and chucked something into the bushes. As they did a van drove around the bend and they both jumped into it through doors that had been opened for them. I was too far from the van to see the license plate clearly. Part of me was disappointed to be held back by Cein’s influence even though it was probably the most prudent thing to do. I’d like to think just watching them unnerved them enough to abandon the plan early but the timing of their getaway van was probably unaffected by my presence.

This is why I pay for parking at the Coliseum. The $15 entrance fee seems small compared to the insurance deductible.