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Tell your Busted story here!
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Fray Issue 1 is on the theme: Busted! True stories of getting caught in the act.
I got the idea for this theme from my sister, Jenny. Heather and I were visiting her and her hubby Jon, and we wound up talking about shoplifting. Turns out, we all had a childhood story about doing the ol' 5-finger pickup and getting busted. Personally, I still avoid K-Marts. Too many bad memories.
That lead to stories about all flavors of busting: Busted by cops, by girlfriends, by mom. I thought to myself, if Fray comes back, this is theme number one. And here we are.
In the book, in between the feature-length stories, I'd like to feature short stories. Like, just a few sentences. Got a quickie busted story? Post away!
Posted at 10:52AM, 19 September 2007 PDT
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So that's how you came up with it ;)
Photographically I can relate to busted -- mainly when I'm out doing street photography -- but it so rarely happens. And what's interesting is that when I first started even daring to shoot 'street' I was so worried that I'd get busted all the time. But I don't. Maybe it's because I stand in full view of people (I'm definitely not interested in ever being considered stalkerazzi-ish). About 99.9% of the time, people are so otherwise preoccupied that they don't even notice me or the fact that I have a camera glued to my face. But every once in a while, I get 'busted' (noticed) -- and their expression says it all.
Posted 57 months ago.
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You should never ask someone to tell a personal story that you wouldn't be willing to tell yourself. So, with Fray's current call for "Busted" stories in mind, here are some of the many times I've been busted:
* That time mom caught me with shoplifted candy and made me go back to Vons and apologize.
* That time I shoplifted 35mm film from K-Mart. My childhood rationalization: Buy one roll, steal two. It worked great until I walked out the sliding glass doors and there was a security guard waiting for me. Busted, right in front of my mom. They let me go, but told me I could never step foot in a K-Mart again. And I didn't. For years.
* That time as a kid when I, so desperate to fit in, pretended I knew what the hell the guys were talking about when discussing football (I'd never watched a game). One of the guys knew I was faking it, and said something about a team that didn't exist. "Yeah, I love that team," I said. Busted. In front of everyone. I never faked an interest in sports again. Now, when it comes to sports, I'm proud to not give a shit.
* The one time, in my entire life, that I cheated on my girlfriend. I felt so bad, I busted myself and told her all about it. She dumped me like a hot rock. I deserved it. It took me years to get over. I never cheated again. (I was cheated on, but that's a different theme.)
Looking back, I realize that all the times I've been busted have led me to where I am today. Each time, I got caught being someone I wasn't - a thief, a jock, a liar, a cheat. And each time, the embarrassment led me to be a better person. In a way, the times we've gotten busted are the defining moments that lead us to who we are.
So. When have you gotten busted?
Originally posted 57 months ago.
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fraying edited this topic 57 months ago.
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Busted? Hmmm, Does being asked for ID by the Secret Service count?
During lunch, my co-worker and I go for walks for an hour. Being a photographer, I bring my camera along and take photos of anything I find interesting.
On Election day, November 7th 2006, We were walking up Lexington Avenue and I see a really cool looking black SUV backing out of a building and I take a photo of it.
* Except that the building was the Cuban mission to the United Nations.
* The SUV was a Secret Service Security Detail.
* The people inside the SUV gave me Really Dirty Looks.
* An agent was stopping traffic to let the SUV out.
The agent on the street waved me over and asked to see the photo. The conversation went like this:
Agent: "Sir, can I see that photo?"
Me: "Sure. Um, is there a problem? Do you want me to delete it?"
Agent: "No Sir, that won't be necessary. Do you have ID?"
Me: "Ok (Reaching for wallet), Um, Who are you exactly?"
Agent: "Sir, I'm with the Secret Service."
Which is when I see the Badge and notice the ear piece. He looks over my ID, Smiles, Looks me dead in the Eye and says:
"Stefan, think twice before taking a photo of Secret Service Security Detail, ok?"
Best part: My friend is Laughing his Ass off the entire time right there next to me.
I must say, he was much friendlier then the foreign Agents outside the UN.
Posted 57 months ago.
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myla post remember me one time i was busted by a man i toke the photo in the street.
i was parked inside my car and i toke his picture by some distance with a zoom out so i could fake i was shooting something else. and next to that click i was already shooting something higher just to make notice that my interest was other then him. and i was so concentrated in faking that just after some time i get it that he was talking to me with a pissed voice. he was repeating him self so i could catch it in the next turn. he was just saying that it was better not to publish that anywhere or he will come after me. i dont remember if i tryed to say something or just got away, but i never published that picture. i dont know if its because also from the come to me part, but i m certain its because i didnt want to. just if he knew me he would know he didnt have to get me scared.
Posted 57 months ago.
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Stefan, you can take pictures of anything you want -- and you actually don't have to provide your Driver's License to any cop unless they have a warrant -- stating your name and address is sufficient. :)
Posted 57 months ago.
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*starsricochet [deleted] says:
I stole someone's birthday.
Now you probably are wondering -- how exactly does one steal a birthday? Well, I'm born in December. And when you're in kindergarten, it's a very, very big deal to get older. And my chance was last. In nursery school and in my first half of kindergarten, I watched every. single. kid. in my class have a birthday and turn 5. And I had to wait. Not fair.
One day, in late October (October 24, I'll never forget it), someone's mother brought in these delicious looking cupcakes and little birthday hats, so we could celebrate the 5th birthday in class. But when it was time for my classmate to be celebrated, my teacher (who was about 70 at the time - seriously) forgot whose birthday it was... and to top it off, my classmate was too shy to tell anyone it was hers!
So I said that it was my birthday. And no one argued. Everyone ran for the cupcakes and everyone celebrated me. My 5th birthday, two months and three days early. In school! I was so happy! I even asked for a second cupcake, telling my teacher that I deserved it, because it was my birthday!
Then my mother came to pick me up. She saw me with a birthday hat on. A bit confused, she asked me why I was wearing one. I told her all the kids got one but just didn't have the courage to wear theirs! And I almost had her -- that was, until the actual birthday girl's mother showed up, right behind mine. And proceeded to get pretty angry at my teacher, my mother, and of course, me.
I was punished for exactly two months and three days. On my birthday, December 27, I was finally "allowed to be 5." But I had to give little Amy back her 5th birthday first. And bring in a *lot* of cupcakes to make up for it.
Posted 57 months ago.
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Ok. Here is the story of the time I got busted lying.
About ten years ago I went over to see an old friend from high school. She was one of my 2 best friends and her slightly older brother, Todd, happened to be the guy that gave me my first French kiss. Todd opened the door when I knocked. I spoke with him for a few minutes, trying to figure out what exactly was different about him. Hair? Did he have face work done? I asked him what he'd been doing since school etc., the entire time trying to figure it out. Finally, after about 10 minutes, her other brother walked in the living room. And HE was Todd. I put the pieces together in record speed, that I'd been talking to the other brother and talking to him like he was Todd, but my face turned bright red, giving me away. When Shelly walked in the room, they both burst out that Leah had confused them and been talking to the wrong brother for like, ever, and hadn't known. I was so embarrassed and I flat out denied it. And then I got a case of the giggles and it just reinforced the fact that I had, in fact, been a liar liar pants on fire. Top five embarrassing moments for sure.
Posted 57 months ago.
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Got caught nicking promotional stickers off a product in a toy shop. I must have been around 9 or 10 or so. Got the stickers, put them in my pocket when another customer, a lady in her thirties, told me off. 'What do you think you're doing?' I walked away quickly and felt guilty for weeks. Still do when I think about it.
Posted 57 months ago.
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 Oh, I know, but I choose to comply since he identified himself.
Posted 57 months ago.
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When I was a kid I used to shoplift model figures from a big games shop, I was careful or so I thought. I did it maybe a couple of times.
I used to go and visit the shop often, but only took once or twice. Then one day I was looking and thinking when one of the shop assistants came over and presented me with a paper hat and told me I was really smart, but it was time to stop.
He didn't accuse me of anything outright, but it gave me the fear good and proper. I've never even considered shoplifting since.
Posted 57 months ago.
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hmmm.... better wait till I get my greencard so they have no ammo! But I'll just say that things like: cuanto? Bakshish? How much? You sneaky Bastard!!! and a few bills(sometimes more than a few ) seems to always get me out of trouble! - so technincally, am I busted it I pay my way out?
Ohh yeah, I guess I also got caught shoplifting as a kid from The Hudsons Bay Co. in Edmonton Alberta. I actually started running after they grabbed my buddy, then I got tackled by a security gaurd coming through the exit I was escape through. The Cops were cool and just said:"I hope you learned your lesson".. And I did. Never shoplifted again. No charges, no need!
Originally posted 57 months ago.
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mebooyou edited this topic 57 months ago.
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Busted By My First Kiss
At summer camp I met a guy who I knew would want to kiss me after we went for a walk in the evening. I was barely 13 and I told him beforehand that it had been so long since I kissed anyone I hoped I didn't "forget how". WTF? I was trying to cover in case I was bad at my real first kiss.
Right before he leaned into kiss me he said "You've never been kissed, have you?"
A weak little "No" escaped my mouth right before he planted one on me.
I floated back to my cabin on newly discovered hormones and excruciating embarrassment.
Originally posted 57 months ago.
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Penny Rene' edited this topic 54 months ago.
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My story turned out to be long and introspectively rich, and while nicely atypical of "busting" (spontaneous acts with a nameless cultural-outsider => dropping of a carefully crafted persona, with attendant emergence from my jailbait repose [80s sex/drugs/death|rock] in the wake of being busted as the real me) is perhaps fodder for a bigger piece. When I'm a little more recovered from hand surgery. And ready to share it with the perhaps-overburdened-caregiving-husband. For now, I've got a photo from a super spooky evening in New Orleans.
Posted 57 months ago.
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i got busted during the rodney king riots on market street in san francisco. there was a giant protest and they cordoned off the street and arrested *everyone*. they handcuffed us with zip ties and took us to a coca-cola plant in a muni bus, as the jail was full. i sat there for hours on the floor, was fingerprinted and polaroid mugshotted (oh those artsy cops, surprised they didn't have a holga!), and was let onto the street to find my way home (had no clue where i was) at 4 am. all the charges were later dropped, of course, because there was no reason to arrest us, it was just a protest. There's more back story about walking through a very empty Union Square and seeing broken windows on Macys and Victoria's Secret and seeing a battalion of cops in riot gear marching down Geary. Or when they arrested me, they threw me face down onto the street and put a knee into my back to handcuff me because i made the mistake of asking the cop if i could be handcuffed in front to have access to my asthma inhaler. He told me to shut up, said, "no one ever died from asthma", pushed me to the ground and handcuffed me while i cried. people yelled at him to stop. i got on the bus in tears and snot bubbles on my face which i couldn't wipe away. until a girl came over and told me to wipe my face on her shirt and stood next to me while i rubbed against her.
good times.
oh and i wrote and illustrated a children's book about it, called "Penny and the Protest" which told the story of a stick figure girl named Penny attending a protest and getting arrested. it was a handmade book, one copy, watercolor painted, and was displayed in a show in Vancouver.
Originally posted 57 months ago.
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fetching edited this topic 57 months ago.
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My elementary school had large communal sinks outside of the bathrooms. They were half circles, the radius would have been about 2.5 feet. The volume was roughly that of a small bathtub.
One day in fourth or fifth grade, I had gotten a pass to go to the bathroom. As I was washing up, I noticed how empty the halls were. Everyone was in class. I listened carefully and didn't hear any footfalls in the echoey halls. Looking over my shoulder, I carefully climbed into the sink. I stood. I put my hands in my pockets and looked around with a satisfied grin. I was standing in the sink.
Just then, the principal, rarely seen outside of his office, rounded the corner and looked right at me. He asked me what I was doing (it seemed pretty obvious to me) and escorted me back to my classroom. For my punishment, he informed the class that I had been standing in the sink. I got hassled about it occasionally, but people thought I was weird anyway. They might as well have a REASON.
I'm still proud of it. It's like that mountain that you climb just because it's there.
Posted 57 months ago.
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