Overall, Saratoga Springs is an incredibly safe little city — one of the many reasons we love it here so much. From time to time, though, there’s the occasional minor violence — bar fights, bank robbery, home burglaries, and stabbings.
Typically the stabbings occur weekend nights on Caroline Street outside the bars that line the street. Last Friday night there was a stabbing that struck a little too close to home.
The night before, Jen, Justin, and I had gone out for drinks downtown, starting our evening at 9 Maple, the best martini bar in town. We walked into the bar and saw a guy with his belongings — wallet, keys, cash, credit cards — spread out across the bar. He immediately introduced himself to me. It was immediately clear something was amiss with this guy.
That something being amiss was reinforced as we observed him engaging others loudly in conversation, screaming into his cell phone, and pretty much talking nonsense. When he started talking about Satan and asking me what kind of fish I liked to spear (for lack of a better response, I said ahi tuna), we figured it was a good idea to avoid eye contact — especially after he accused me of spearing ahi dolphins.
After scaring away a few other patrons (the bartender really should’ve kicked him out), he eventually left.
The next morning (Friday) Jen saw him in town again. She avoided him and did not engage him.
That night, following an argument with a 23-year-old on Caroline Street, he stabbed the younger man in the stomach with a 5-inch knife.
He’s now in jail where he should belong (if not in a mental institution).
Moral of the story: If someone seems crazy and acts crazy, he probably is, and it’s best to avoid confrontation — or eye contact. I’m really thankful we weren’t the ones who ended up in the hospital.