The Day I Witnessed a Crime and My Friend’s Bike Was Stolen

I had always heard stories about Eugene being a crime-ridden town. However, during my first three years at the University of Oregon, I had only encountered bike scraps and the occasional homeless man screaming in an alley. I had never been a victim of crime or experienced it up close and personal—until one fateful Sunday.

It started off like any other Sunday—I slept in. I had plans to meet my friend Craig at the rec fields to play soccer that morning. When I walked outside to grab my bike, I couldn’t find it. That’s when I noticed the broken lock lying on the sidewalk. The worst part? It wasn’t even my bike; I was borrowing my friend’s because mine had a broken axle. Typically, I parked my bike outside my apartment complex without any issues. Apparently, no one had bothered to steal my bike because it was a piece of junk. In fact, I often found other people’s bikes missing and in pieces while mine remained untouched. This time, however, I had made the foolish mistake of locking Matt’s $300 bike outside my apartment. Sure enough, it was stolen.

I ended up walking to the rec fields. Craig was already there when I arrived. We started to kick the ball into the net. Then, all of a sudden, Craig notices that his gym bag is missing. He frantically starts looking for it. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a random person walking down the street carrying his gym bag. He chases after him and snatches the bag from him. According to Craig, the guy acted senile.

Not long after, we hear shouting coming from across the rec field. There, running across the field, is a ragged-looking man with a kid chasing him, yelling, “Stop him,” and “he’s got my wallet.” The ragged-looking man runs across the street toward the quad area, and then, out of nowhere, a policeman drives up onto the grass, jumps out of the car, and tackles him to the ground.

I looked at Craig, and we decided to call it a day.