I want a goddamned concerted effort to come out of a record that isn't a fucking up-tempo record every time I do a goddamned DEATH dedication
June 7, 2005 3:37 PM Subscribe
A few minutes ago I was about to turn into my driveway when I noticed a car already in it ... should I be worried about someone casing my place?
The car was a 5-10 year old Buick or Olds, black. My driveway is a single lane, I stopped on the street with my blinker on and the car backed out and drove away, with the (female?) driving giving me a wave. Had I been thinking more quickly I would've blocked the car in my driveway.
I live on a rather busy street in a relatively nice part of greater Cleveland. I didn't get the license plate number. Nothing seems to be missing.
Hopefully the person was just using my driveway to turn around -- I live at a T intersection and my driveway is directly across from the terminating street. For some reason, though, this rubbed me the wrong way. Is there any action I should take?
The car was a 5-10 year old Buick or Olds, black. My driveway is a single lane, I stopped on the street with my blinker on and the car backed out and drove away, with the (female?) driving giving me a wave. Had I been thinking more quickly I would've blocked the car in my driveway.
I live on a rather busy street in a relatively nice part of greater Cleveland. I didn't get the license plate number. Nothing seems to be missing.
Hopefully the person was just using my driveway to turn around -- I live at a T intersection and my driveway is directly across from the terminating street. For some reason, though, this rubbed me the wrong way. Is there any action I should take?
Sounds like you're being paranoid. Unless you see the car occupied, parked near your house again, it's probably a random encounter.
...and what's up with the title of your post?
posted by Loser at 3:53 PM on June 7, 2005
...and what's up with the title of your post?
posted by Loser at 3:53 PM on June 7, 2005
Response by poster: Thread title is a very famous (in my mind, I guess) Casey Casem ("casing") blooper.
I probably am being paranoid. For some reason my spidey-sense went nuts with this.
On preview: 23 got it.
posted by sohcahtoa at 3:56 PM on June 7, 2005
I probably am being paranoid. For some reason my spidey-sense went nuts with this.
On preview: 23 got it.
posted by sohcahtoa at 3:56 PM on June 7, 2005
If I was casing your house I probably wouldn't turn up in a car. There are a hundred reasons for a car using your drive before assuming they are casing your house.
posted by fire&wings at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by fire&wings at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2005
I would, however, be very worried if the letter U and the numeral 2 were in the car's license plate.
posted by googly at 4:18 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by googly at 4:18 PM on June 7, 2005
44118 (your profile) is Coventry-ish, right? I'm always getting myself lost around there and turning around in random driveways. I don't, however, have a Buick.
posted by ferociouskitty at 4:24 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by ferociouskitty at 4:24 PM on June 7, 2005
Kasey Kasem.
It sounds like the person was just turning around. Did they look familiar?
posted by interrobang at 4:28 PM on June 7, 2005
It sounds like the person was just turning around. Did they look familiar?
posted by interrobang at 4:28 PM on June 7, 2005
Are you joking? Why would you assume they are casing your house, and not just turning around?
posted by chunking express at 4:34 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by chunking express at 4:34 PM on June 7, 2005
It probably doesn't mean diddly shit. That said, if it were me, I'd make sure all points of entry are secure and take a flashlight down to the basement to check for murderers.
posted by Hlewagast at 5:28 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by Hlewagast at 5:28 PM on June 7, 2005
i don't think you should worry ... and blocking the car would have been a really bad idea ... if it's an innocent turning around person, you've pissed them off ... and if they really were casing your joint
you really don't want to MAKE people like that stay in your driveway, do you?
posted by pyramid termite at 5:33 PM on June 7, 2005
you really don't want to MAKE people like that stay in your driveway, do you?
posted by pyramid termite at 5:33 PM on June 7, 2005
Are you married? Is your spouse/SI faithful? This sounds very, very bad. I would be most worried. Alternatively, is there any reason why the FBI would want to investigate you?
posted by caddis at 5:39 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by caddis at 5:39 PM on June 7, 2005
I presume you live in the United States?
(I really wouldn't be worried)
posted by Count Ziggurat at 5:42 PM on June 7, 2005
(I really wouldn't be worried)
posted by Count Ziggurat at 5:42 PM on June 7, 2005
Response by poster: A bit east of Coventry, near University Heights.
I assumed they weren't just turning around because I could see them in my driveway from blocks away, and they had ample opportunity to back out before I was close enough to turn in. And I guess that's what bothered me about it, and what I wasn't clear about above, they seemed to be hanging out in my driveway, and wouldn't have pulled out at all if I hadn't come along.
We have a very good friend who, whenever we pick her up at the airport from an extended trip, has us come into her (tiny) apartment and do a "murderer check" before she can go to sleep.
Are there Clevelands outside of the US?
posted by sohcahtoa at 6:06 PM on June 7, 2005
I assumed they weren't just turning around because I could see them in my driveway from blocks away, and they had ample opportunity to back out before I was close enough to turn in. And I guess that's what bothered me about it, and what I wasn't clear about above, they seemed to be hanging out in my driveway, and wouldn't have pulled out at all if I hadn't come along.
We have a very good friend who, whenever we pick her up at the airport from an extended trip, has us come into her (tiny) apartment and do a "murderer check" before she can go to sleep.
Are there Clevelands outside of the US?
posted by sohcahtoa at 6:06 PM on June 7, 2005
Is there parking on your block (on your side)? I could imagine that someone might pull into a driveway and pause for a moment to get their bearings if they were lost and didn't see a better place to pull over, especially if they wanted to use it to turn around in, anyhow.
posted by redfoxtail at 7:11 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by redfoxtail at 7:11 PM on June 7, 2005
People might pull into your driveway to check a map, find a phone number, etc. (Did you notice whether the plates were Cuyahoga County ones?)
posted by box at 7:17 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by box at 7:17 PM on June 7, 2005
danb writes "Given the circumstances (her wave, your location), it seems more than likely s/he was turning around. "
She might also have stopped to answer a phone call while turning around.
pyramid termite writes "blocking the car would have been a really bad idea ... if it's an innocent turning around person, you've pissed them off "
Blocking a person in like that can be construed as kidnapping or illegal restraint so it's a good thing you didn't take that approach.
posted by Mitheral at 7:23 PM on June 7, 2005
She might also have stopped to answer a phone call while turning around.
pyramid termite writes "blocking the car would have been a really bad idea ... if it's an innocent turning around person, you've pissed them off "
Blocking a person in like that can be construed as kidnapping or illegal restraint so it's a good thing you didn't take that approach.
posted by Mitheral at 7:23 PM on June 7, 2005
I have no idea and I experience paranoia like this occasionally. Around here, people often sit in their cars and fiddle with gadgets. I once waited several minutes for a guy to pull out of a driveway because he was fiddling with his Palm Pilot. I didn't feel like honking, but he didn't seem too concerned with moving along, either. Maybe her iPod battery died and she was placing an upset call to the Turtleneck Wonder©..?
posted by Slothrop at 7:45 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by Slothrop at 7:45 PM on June 7, 2005
Gluechunk was born in Ohio. You might want to start there. ; )
posted by crasspastor at 9:19 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by crasspastor at 9:19 PM on June 7, 2005
It's odd, but it was probably nothing to be worried about. She could have been lost (wrong house number, wrong street, etc), she could have been turning around but stopped for some reason (cell phone, map check), she could have needed to pull over for one of the above or another reason and for whatever reason decided it was easier to go straight and pull into your driveway than to turn and park at the curb... etc. I'd be a little disconcerted too, and I'd probably be a bit more alert for a while afterward, but odds are there's a perfectly mundane explanation for it.
posted by Aster at 11:21 PM on June 7, 2005
posted by Aster at 11:21 PM on June 7, 2005
Most burglars do not draw attention to themselves by waving and clearly showing their face. Also if you were casing a joint in broad daylight and the owner of the house came would you still rob the hell out of them? I mean, that is you are seen lingering this person's driveway and then wave and clearly show yourself? I think not.
posted by geoff. at 12:11 AM on June 8, 2005
posted by geoff. at 12:11 AM on June 8, 2005
About the initial question, I'd vote paranoia pure and simple.
About the question regarding this page's title: Great reference. It's sampled (heavily) on Negativeland's "U-2" record.
posted by nobody at 12:19 AM on June 8, 2005
About the question regarding this page's title: Great reference. It's sampled (heavily) on Negativeland's "U-2" record.
posted by nobody at 12:19 AM on June 8, 2005
Are there Clevelands outside of the US?Yes, and this is what happens there! There is also a Coventry in the Midlands of England - it has a famous 1950s cathedral and is a car manufacturing town.
I don't think she was casing your house.
posted by altolinguistic at 1:15 AM on June 8, 2005
Blocking a person in like that can be construed as kidnapping...
Uh, that's pretty clearly not kidnapping.
posted by grouse at 4:54 AM on June 8, 2005
Uh, that's pretty clearly not kidnapping.
posted by grouse at 4:54 AM on June 8, 2005
If it's your own driveway and it happens again, feel free to pull in behind the person, assuming they're not all the way at the end of the driveway and there's ample space. Asking "Do you need assistance?" can't hurt, and people usually are just trying to get their bearings when they stop like this anyway.
I'm also unsure how you case a house by sitting in the driveway. Would they have gone up to the door or window to check out the locks or something? Really, unless there's some conspicuous reason they'd rob your house over the others on the block (such as you being out of town often, the house looks conspicuously nicer, you've had some renovations done that might allow for easy access for a period of time, etc) you're almost flattering yourself!
posted by mikeh at 7:07 AM on June 8, 2005
I'm also unsure how you case a house by sitting in the driveway. Would they have gone up to the door or window to check out the locks or something? Really, unless there's some conspicuous reason they'd rob your house over the others on the block (such as you being out of town often, the house looks conspicuously nicer, you've had some renovations done that might allow for easy access for a period of time, etc) you're almost flattering yourself!
posted by mikeh at 7:07 AM on June 8, 2005
If it's your own driveway and it happens again, feel free to pull in behind the person, assuming they're not all the way at the end of the driveway and there's ample space. Asking "Do you need assistance?" can't hurt
Unless they shoot you in the face, although I guess that would probably only hurt for an instant. Mace, on the other hand, would hurt for a good long time. You get the gunshot if the person is really as nefarious as you're worried they are and the mace if they're an innocent person who's as skittish about hostility and crime as sohcahtoa seems to be.
Seriously, what would you gain from the threatening behavior of preventing someone from leaving and then approaching them? Roll down your window, let them back out and wave - if they need some help they'll talk to you from their car where they're somewhat secure.
posted by phearlez at 8:11 AM on June 8, 2005
Unless they shoot you in the face, although I guess that would probably only hurt for an instant. Mace, on the other hand, would hurt for a good long time. You get the gunshot if the person is really as nefarious as you're worried they are and the mace if they're an innocent person who's as skittish about hostility and crime as sohcahtoa seems to be.
Seriously, what would you gain from the threatening behavior of preventing someone from leaving and then approaching them? Roll down your window, let them back out and wave - if they need some help they'll talk to you from their car where they're somewhat secure.
posted by phearlez at 8:11 AM on June 8, 2005
I think it wounds like she's turned up at what she thought was a friend's house (or something), but perhaps wasn't sure - and then following a quick phone call reaslied she's got the wrong house, and driven away.
How long is your driveway? Had she driven all the way up it? (If someone is just turning around, they tend not to go all the way up a drive...)
posted by Chunder at 8:41 AM on June 8, 2005
How long is your driveway? Had she driven all the way up it? (If someone is just turning around, they tend not to go all the way up a drive...)
posted by Chunder at 8:41 AM on June 8, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, might I ask what the deal is with the thread title? :)
posted by danb at 3:50 PM on June 7, 2005