Brothers in Arms
It was my first month in this new continent. Thankfully
it was summertime helping me cope up with the climate which is very much
different from India. Having moved to
this city suburb, it was time to search and fix everything starting with a
house, vehicle, furniture, electronics and whatever it takes to satisfy the comforts
of modern life I was used to in India. One can manage everything except warmth
and familiarity of home and of course domestic support. The summer days are
really long when sun gods bid you an adieu only after 9 pm primetime slot that
too after the display of variety of the shades of illumination reflecting your
own shades of emotions as the day progresses.
The day was hectic starting with working on three time zones ahead at work , followed by synchronizing
with existing time-zone followed by ticking off other household list after the working
hours. Life without Car in an American suburb is same as life without a two
wheeler in Pune both of which are worse than being without a camel in a desert
or without a boat in an Ocean. I had gone to a car dealership owned by a
contact in distant suburb in the opposite direction of my house to explore some
options. Thanks to some work in the office and missed bus timings, I was
delayed for more than an hour. I ended my work at the dealership and rushed
towards the bus stop which was at 15 minutes’ walk from the dealership to catch
the bus which was the last bus of the day at 9 pm having missed 8 pm bus
planned. The walk was a pleasant one as sun was still
shining on Uncle Sam’s Empire. The best part about New England suburb towns is
the nature and elegant houses which can be very pleasant to the eyes. The
locality was deserted especial one of the roads which was wooded with no houses
lining it. As I was walking, a SUV going in same direction of my walk, zoomed
past and braked to engage me in a conversation.
This does not happen here. I was alarmed. There was a couple who shocked
me by asking if I wanted to buy a camera. I found it strange and obviously ignored.
They followed me mentioning that they were pickpocketed and needed some money
for food. They were not beggars so wanted trade their camera for cash they
needed. I told I did not need Camera. Suddenly the male half of the couple got
out of the SUV and threatened me with a knife asking me to give me whatever
money I had. I was scared and thought about reaching my cell for emergency
call. But the lady in car pointed a gun asking me not to do anything silly. I
requested them not to do anything as I value my life more than dollars I had. But
somehow out of nowhere a car zoomed in from the other direction. The driver of
that car assessed the situation immediately and put his car between both of us (guy
and me) on pavement and the lady in the SUV and in such a way that the SUV
could not move without reversing. I realized that the lady’s gun was out of
equation and I could run. I ran a distance to realize the good guy in the car
and had neutralized the bad guy in SUV by hitting him on the knife holding hand
in such a way that the knife was dropped. The bad guy ran to his SUV, Backed
and zoom passed the other car. The good guy noted down SUV number. He approached me asking me if I were ok. I
thanked him for his timely intervention. The guy was 6 ft 3 inch tall, wearing
glasses, extremely fit and dressed in black T-shirt and Jeans, handsome just
like any hero out of a Hollywood Movie in his late thirties. After taking
necessary actions to report to the authorities,
we came out of the Police Headquarters of that suburban Town. He
volunteered to drop me off to my house as there was no public transport
available by then. While driving he introduces himself as Aaron Albert Ambrose
a Veteran ex-Army Man and an Industrial
Contractor. As we started our one hour journey, he said “Gun Control is the biggest
Challenge in this country”. Was it a DéjÃ
vu? ‘’ Corruption Control is the
biggest challenge in this country” said Cap SS Sharma to me in the higher
reaches of Himalayas five years back.