Our next door neighbor, Desire, gave Kathy four tickets to the Braves game. Kathy called me, and we decided she could bring me some clothes and pick me up after work with the kids for the drive downtown.

Since I can see anyone drive up from my office window, I told her to drive up front, wave to me, and I would come out.

When Kathy drove up in front of Harland she looked in my office window, but saw my office was empty. She drove a few more feet and looked down the steps to the front doors and saw a man crouched down by the doors with a ski mask on and a gun! It was after hours, so Kathy had no idea what to do, except get the kids away fast. Was I being held hostage inside? Did I even know that man was there?

She drove around the corner to a dry cleaners, rushed in, told them what was happening, and borrowed the phone to call the police and me. Her heart was pounding. When she got me on the phone, I told her everything was ok and that none of it was real. Some people in marketing were making a security film!

The timing was uncanny. I heard a bunch of noise in the lobby as the filming was being staged, so I left my office to go see what was going on. When I saw the actor with the ski mask and gun posing outside the main doors, I said that could end up scaring my wife who was about to drive up, so I would go outside and wait for her.

I went to my office to get my things, and that was just when I saw Kathy’s car pulling away from my window. I ran as fast as I could to the front door to see Kathy speeding away!

[Update: Kathy got a free address stamp from the guy who was managing the film as an apology for the panic. Free tickets and free stamp. Not bad.]