WILKES-BARRE, PA — As the morning fog rolled into eastern Wilkes-barre from the Pocono mountains, Mrs. Ashcroft slipped on a pair of sandals and walked the short path from her front door to the mailbox. Little did she know the trauma about to unfold.

“I never in my life would have expected what happened,” said Mrs. Ashcroft, “Wilkes-barre’s a quiet little city, surrounded by nature. The citizens are God-fearing folk who respect their body’s as temples.”

Upon reaching her mailbox, Mrs. Ashcroft removed the newspaper from her bin, scanned the front page, and out of the corner of eye noticed someone approaching from a block away.

“Let me start by saying, I’m not racist, okay?,” she said, “So, although I noticed the man approaching me was black, I didn’t call the police or run, but you bet my pulse started racing. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but after he got closer, I saw that he had neck tattoo! I knew then that he was trouble. He definitely didn’t live here. And I didn’t see any of the neighbors escorting him. Was he in a gang? Was he dangerous? I didn’t know what to think. But, I’m very attuned to people’s intentions and I could tell this man did not have God in his heart. Why else would he tattoo his neck like that? So, I began to scream to alert the neighbors. I yelled ‘Help! Help! He has a neck tattoo! Call the Police!’”

After Mrs. Ashcroft’s screams brought the neighbors running outside, she learned that the man, James Durston, recently moved to Wilkes-barre from the nearby town of Jim Thorpe, where he worked as a freelance photographer and sold homegrown herbs to farmer’s markets. But on that fateful morning, Durston had decided to take a stroll around the neighborhood for some light exercise.

“I don’t know what the hell happened,” Durston said. “I can’t be the first black person she’s ever seen, right? I mean Wilkes-barre has black people… I’m not the only one. She seemed really frightened, I don’t know. She kept pointing to my tattoo like it was a murder weapon and I’d been caught red-handed. I told her I’m just in art school. It’s just an aesthetic thing. I guess I’ll have to go back to wearing sweaters and thick glasses... Just when you think white folk are getting less crazy too…”