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10-23-08 // 1:04 pm my urban assault Yesterday late afternoon (about 4:30) I was assaulted in broad daylight at the corner of Morgan Ford and Arsenal (Right there in the neighborhood, a normal, busy intersection, two blocks from my house, a corner I'm at multiple times every singled day. This is not a war zone.) I had crossed Morgan Ford at Hartford & continued to the pedestrian crossing button and the crosswalk, and as the light began to change and I hit my stride to cross to Tower Grove, I felt like I had been hit by a car... A few seconds later when I recovered slightly, I was on my hands and knees on the pavement, confused & blood dripping everywhere... 99% of everyone couldn't be bothered to help me, but one kind woman stopped her car and came to my rescue and called 911. A guy also came out of the used car shop there on the corner and brought me tissues to help with the bleeding. I didn't see my assailants, that's the chilling thing. When I crossed Morgan Ford at Hartford, there was nobody around. No other pedestrians on Morgan Ford between Arsenal and Juniata. There had been a group of teens on the other side of Morgan Ford from me, but they went down Hartford when I crossed to the used-car side of Morgan Ford. I always make it a point to be very aware of my surroundings, so I have absolutely no idea where these assailants came from. The woman who stopped to help me did see the incident, however, and gave her witness testimony to the police when they showed up. Apparently it was two teenagers, maybe 15 or 16 looking, and they came up behind me (I had headphones on so I guess I didn't hear them pop out from whatever corner they had been behind) and socked me in the head. I got hit on the right jaw and fell down onto my left forehead and brow. The cops came, took my statement, and that was it...they were helpful yet dismayed that even if they caught these kids (they took off into the park), there's little that could be done to them that would stick due to their (assumed) juvenile status. That's sad. The paramedics arrived, checked me out and nonchalantly deemed me "OK" even though I had a gaping, bleeding gash on my head and my jaw hurt like hell. I got home and after looking in the mirror took myself to the hospital. I'll wrap up this already lengthy story by saying that after 6 1/2 hours at SLU Hospital, X rays and everything else, they closed up the gash, told me the X rays were negative (thankfully), and sent me home. This morning my jaw still hurts and there's lots of facial swelling, but I'm feeling better than last night. The doctor who saw me in the ER mentioned that its not uncommon to see these random type attacks in this area. Not sure if anyone else here has been a victim. Oddly enough, something similar happened to me in May 2005, on Grand just past Hartford. Got sucker punched in the throat. I guess I'm just a magnet for random violence! Did that ever suck ass. My left side is all beaten-up, and my right side (the jaw side that took the direct hit) is all sore and swollen -- I look like Kanye... The weird thing is that while my neighborhood isn't totally immune from crime (it's a city neighborhood just like any other), it's generally a safe place, especially regarding personal safety. Most crime you hear about is of the robbery/vandalism type. I would never expect this to happen, esp. at a major intersection in broad daylight at rush hour, tons of people driving by, other walkers/joggers out and about, etc. Plus, I walk in the 'hood and in the park every single day, and this wasn't some random alley at midnight in a dangerous part of town. The worst part was being stuck in the ER all alone all night, I was frustrated, tired, hurting and shaken up. I only got like 5 1/2 hours of sleep last night. I got up this morning, felt decent enough (all things considered) and decided to try to make the effort to go into work. I got through 2 hours before deciding that I wasn't being very productive and that I'd shown my dedication. So I talked to my supervisor, and after he saw me and I explained what happened, he said "hell yeah, go home and take care of yourself." Which is what I did. Now I'm back home...it's a raw, cold, wet, gray day out anyway, so it's good for sitting around and holing up. I have coffee and tylenol, and I might try to lie down later, assuming I can ever get this apartment to warm up. It's freezing in here...
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