Have Fun in Jail!

Back in college, when Stef and I were living in the same dormitory, a fellow used to come around named Alan. Alan was a tenacious visitor, insomuch as he never left once he got into the room. Add to the fact that he smelled bad and you can see why protracted visits were unwelcome. To give you an idea of the smell, one day he came over and sat in a chair that Stef had thrown her coat over. Alan sitting on the collar of her jacket for a half hour made the jacket unwearable, and it had to be dry cleaned to remove the smell. The group of us that hung out together created a secret knock as a way to not let Alan in.

Later, when Stef was manager of the movie theater, Alan took a job there. Having dropped out of college and now living in his car did not help the odor situation much. His poor coworkers were forced to work shifts with him confined to a small box office at times. A few years after we left the theater we ran into Alan again, this time as a salesman at Sears. He was very proud of the fact that he had been in New York city at the time of 9/11, but on further questioning he admitted that he had been in the city about two weeks prior to 9/11.

Well, last night we had another Alan sighting. I was cleaning up my paints when Stef called me from the bedroom, "Oh my Gosh, Mike! Come here and see this!" A come here and see this isn't always of earth shattering importance, but the added oh my gosh added some urgency. I rushed in, not sure what to expect. Stef looked up at the TV and pressed 'play' on the DVR (side note: I love modern DVR functionality), where she had paused the local news. There on the screen was Alan, now 34 years old, who had been arrested for soliciting a 14 year old on the internet. The news report mentioned that similarly condemning material had been found on his computer. Let me take this opportunity to wish Alan a fun time in prison. My advice to him is to use the opportunity to shower regularly.