Here is a little story of what happened to me last Friday.
I stopped beside the Union Station to have a smoke before entering my work, which is a short distance away. I have been doing this for years. The side of the Union Station, where I stop, is away from street traffic and there are 2 picnic tables set out. The side of the building has 2 security doors which are always locked and I have never seen anyone come in or go out of those doors.
As per usual, I set my bag on the picnic table (after clearing the snow from it) and lit a smoke. I am downtown so I am never too far from my bookbag. I looked away for no more than 5 seconds and eyed my bag from the corner of my eye. It was gone. Shock immediately slammed into me and, when looking up, I saw a guy with my bag entering through the security door. I hollered loudly "Hey! That's my bag!". But he kept going. I ran to the door and tried to catch it before it shut but was a split second too late. I saw the man through the glass door (reinforced glass, the kind with the little squares of wire running through) and started pounding on the door and repeating in a loud yell "That's my bag!!!". He kept going and did not look around. Right then I knew it wasn't maintenance or a mix up...it was theft. Rather than pounding on the door I started punching it really hard. Maybe I might break the glass but I didn't care. It was then that he turned around and looked me in the eye and smiled, then exited through another door.
I punched the door a few more times in vain, pumped up on adrenalin by now. I raced around to the front of the building and entered through the public access. There is a security booth just inside and it was completely empty. No one in sight. I saw a janitor and raced over to him quickly explaining what happened and asked how I could get to the south side of the building. He told me the basement and ran with me to show me the way.
I started bounding down the steps, leaving the janitor in the dust, and turned down this very long hallway. At the bottom of the stairs I noticed a hasp jimmied from a closet and a door kicked in. While running I was looking high and low and this way and that way. It was quite a maze down there. After about 5 minutes of searching I turned a corner and ran into three beefy security guards and one of them said to me "Are you the man with the bag?". I told him yes and he said they saw me on the security camera. He said "Come with me.". I wasn't sure why, was it because of my punching the door or did they have more information. He took me around a few corners and into a back room bathroom with a sink and a toilet. My bag was there sitting on a sink. After a quick review I determined that the bag was untouched and everything was intact. I was really only worried about my coffee cup (oh...and my work laptop I guess). There were a bunch of dropped ceiling tiles above the toilet and I took a few steps back asking if the thief may be hiding up there. He said that he thought the same thing and had already looked and it was clear. I asked the guy if I could grab my bag and head off. He took a quick pic and got my details and I went to the office.
On the way to work I finally noticed a throbbing pain in my hand and took (peeled) my glove off. My hand was super swollen and purple. I related my tale to my boss and a few colleagues when I received a call from the Union Station asking if I could come over and make an ID. I went right over and they caught the guy. I said "You're the one!" and pointed at him. Then I shook my finger at him and said "You shouldn't steal!" (I blame that on shock).
From when my bag was stolen until it was retrieved happened between 8:01am and 8:23am. If I hadn't pursued the issue I wonder if I would have ever seen my bag again. The swelling in my hand went down over the weekend but it is still purply. Like the song says..."One fist of Iron and the other of Ripe Peach.".
Winnipeg can sometimes be a scary place (especially these days)
