I went to brunch with a friend in Koreatown. It is not the most beautiful section of town but the assumption is at 11am on Sunday, God’s day; you are safe. My friend took an Uber and I drove myself so when we left I waited for her Uber to come.

I am not sure if it is a woman thing or being a skeptical person from New Jersey thing but I tend to notice people around me, especially if they look crazy. There was a person crossing the street not far from us that I instantly noticed.

Her Uber finally came and we said goodbye. When I was unlocking my door I heard someone standing behind me say, ‘give me your money!’ So I slowly turned around to find that man less than two feet from me pointing something in my face. It took me a second for my eyes to adjust and understand what was in his hand. Also, I was confused as to why I didn’t hear him before he got that close to me. It’s LA, you never know if it’s a real situation, a movie shoot or a Tik Tok video. 

I finally realized what was in his hands. A pen. He was pointing a pen at me. I was immediately conflicted. There was a crazy man, with God knows what issues and only God knows what he could do to me. But he was pointing a pen at me. Anyone who has spent time in corporate America or suburban High School is not fearful of pens other than permanent ink stains.

All of this was going through my mind and I just stared at him. Not reacting. Probably with my New Jersey glare on my face which mirrors disgust. Tired of waiting he yells, ‘fine give me your coffee!’ It was a bouchie $7 coffee. That was robbing me just as much as if you took my wallet. Probably worse because I never carry cash on me and I would cancel my credit cards immediately, so I actually would have lost more if he had taken my coffee. 

By this point, not equipped with the right response for this situation; I got in my car and drove away. About 10 minutes down the road I thought to myself, someone tried to rob me and I just walked away like he was a grade school bully. Should I have been more scared by this situation? Then I took another sip of my $7 coffee.