Near Death...

During the summer months there is a lot of entertainment on the walking streets and in the squares of Copenhagen. There's one particular game that people get sucked into. The man will have three small boxes and a little marble. He puts it under a box, moves the boxes around, and you gotta guess which box it's under. But they're clever and know how to remove the marble so that the customer looses their money. Not only that, but signs at all of the banks along the walking streets have signs saying that while you are intently looking at the boxes, someone will pick your pocket from behind.

Dave and I often like to stand back a ways and watch to see who is involved in these games. Of course, if someone's wallet WAS stolen, I'm not sure what we'd do.

Several weeks ago, Dave was heading down to class. He walked through the square and noticed that people were playing this game. So he stood back and watched the crowd around. He noticed that, not in the crowd but around the square, there were about 6 men who were also watching the game and glancing at each other. Suddenly one glanced at Dave, glanced quickly at the others, and they scattered.

Dave thought, "That was a little weird." He needed to get food before class started, so he headed up the street to the pølser stand (hotdog stand). He bought his food and had to walk back through the square to get to class. He paused to watch again while he ate his hotdog. He noticed, this time, that there were not just 6, but close to 12 people glancing at eachother around the square. Again, one glanced at him, glanced at the others, and they scattered and disappeared.

That creeped David, so he left and walked quickly, glancing behind him as he turned each corner to see if he was followed. He didn't notice anyone following. He walked into the courtyard and to the stairs which lead up to his classroom. His classmate was sitting on the steps having a smoke, so he decided to chat with her. The windows of the classroom could be seen and they were dark still, so he'd be alone if he went up to class.

He told his classmate about what had just happened and how creepy it was. Suddenly three of the men from the square walked into the courtyard and up to David.

"What time is it?" one asked.
"I don't know," said David. "I don't have a watch."
"Where are you from?" the man asked.
"Canada" said David.
"Oh!"the man exclaimed and smiled. "We thought you were Italian."
He shook David's hand and the three men walked away.

David's classmate looked at David. "Was that THEM?" she asked.
"Uh, ya." said David.

So here's my question. What if David WAS Italian? What would have happened then?

It turns out that the group that runs these games on the walking streets are Romanien. They are like a mini mafia who run the area. Perhaps they thought David was undercover police, but more likely they thought he might be from another group, checking out the area. This group is serious about what they do and they are well organized. They will do a lot of harm to those who may be a threat. Several days later there was an article in the paper. Three or four of the ringleaders of this group had been caught and arrested.

Needless to say, I'm happy Dave came back without bruises or broken bones.