Mishaps Heading Home on Foot from White Spot

Back in the 1990s I worked as a dishwasher for the White Sport in Saanich, and heading home on foot (to downtown Victoria) could sometimes be hazardous.  Once someone drove by in a car and toss an egg at me.  Normally a hit from an egg would just be messy, but from a car it was a bit of a missile and I really felt the impact.

Another time I was jogging home and some busybodies started asking me questions. I mostly ignored them and thought they were bluffing when they claimed they were calling the police.  Minutes later I was swarmed by the police and told to put my bag down and my hands up. They interrogated me and finally one of the cops said on the radio, “He’s straight as an arrow. A little slow but straight as an arrow.” I felt like retorting, “You show me your degrees and I’ll show you mine” but decided that would probably prolong the experience.  Once the police let me go, I walked the rest of the way home, a little more shaken and more feeling like I was in a police state (the next shift a co-worker claimed the cops were right to do that, except maybe the “slow” part; I felt and still feel that just because not everyone runs home at night doesn't make it suspicious; in fact given that there are dangers in the niht, uit's good strategy and people should be permitted to do so unaccosted)/