In the year 1947, San Diego, California was a beautiful city. Perhaps it still is, I do not know. But in those days the town was clean, with many attractions for the many Navy men who went there for training. I was there between April and September.

There were, however, certain elements that frequented the down town area, victimizing the young sailors, or any one else, for that matter. The worst was theft and robbery.

In the center of downtown was a small park, with a beautiful fountain, wide walks all around, a grassy area, and benches for people to rest and refresh themselves. It was a favorite place to sit and observe people, especially the opposite gender.

Two sailors were sitting near the north-west corner of the park, talking together and watching the traffic along Broadway. Sitting near the curb, directly in front of them, was a shiny, aluminum suit case, about two feet long, one foot thick, and one and a half feet high. The sailors seemed to be watching the case, but made no effort to remove it from the curb, where it was sure to be picked up by some of the less-than-desirable elements driving by.

An automobile with four young men drove past, slowed down, and looked at the case, then drove on up Broadway. The same action was repeated several times. Then the auto slowed and drove close to the curb. The back door opened and one of the young men inside grabbed the case. The car sped up Broadway at a fast pace.

The two sailors ran to the curb and watched the car as it sped away, laughing and slapping each other on the shoulders.

About two blocks from the park the car suddenly stopped and all four doors flew open. The four men exited the machine very fast. The one that had grabbed the case fell to the street screaming with pain. The driver was bleeding from a wound on his back.

It seems that inside the case was a large wild bob cat. When the young man opened the case to see what he had stolen, the cat, now angry as hell, came out, scratching and biting anyone and everything near.

Someone shut the doors of the car, trapping the angry kitty inside, and the police were called. The young man who had opened the case was rushed to the hospital, as was the driver. Both were bleeding badly.

The animal control people came, and after a struggle, captured the bob cat and took it away. They said they would take it to the zoo where there were people who knew how to handle such wild critters.

The police questioned everyone who had witnessed the incident. The two sailors claimed they did not know anything about it, although they watched the case sitting next to the curb for a long time, and ran to the curb to watch the car speed away.

The question most people really wanted to know was how the cat was put in the case to start with. If the sailors had done it, and I believe they did, how did they get the bob cat in the case without being scratched themselves? After all, the cat was so large he filled that case.

The car driven by the rough necks was stolen. One lady, resting herself on a bench, said to me, "Serves them bad boys right. I hope they all got hurt."

- - - Tom Nance