Marjorie Perkins and her cat, Mary. Jason Claffey/The Times Record
Marjorie Perkins doesn’t understand all the fuss.
The 87-year-old said she did what anyone would do when a teenager broke into her home and attacked her in the middle of the night last month: After fighting him off, she fed him snacks because he said he was hungry, giving her the opportunity to call police for help.
Her story spread to media outlets across the globe.
“I don’t understand it,” Perkins said last week. “It baffles me, all this attention. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t do what I did. Aren’t you going to fight for yourself if someone attacks you?”
She said she has received phone calls from national talk shows and media outlets in Germany and Canada. The BBC, The Associated Press and New York Post picked up her story, and it was featured on Reddit, where it received thousands of upvotes and comments. Commenters called her a hero and a “Level 100 Mainer.”
“There it is. The most New England thing I’ve ever read,” another commenter said.
Perkins said she hasn’t seen any of the stories because she doesn’t have a computer. She said she has declined to do any more interviews and wants to put the incident behind her.
Marjorie Perkins’ story of fighting off a home invader then feeding him has been featured by media outlets across the globe. Jason Claffey/The Times Record
“I’m tired of it,” she said. “I want to forget about it.”
She said she initially wanted to share her story to warn people about securing air conditioners. She said the intruder got into her home by moving a loose air conditioner side panel and squeezing through a window. She has since had the air conditioner reinforced with screws.
Perkins is still healing from several bruises on her head, arms and legs she said she received during her scrum with the unidentified teenager, who was taken to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland and faces charges that include burglary, criminal threatening, assault and consuming liquor as a minor.
Perkins said she hopes the teen gets the help he needs.
Meanwhile, she’s glad things have returned to normal so she can focus things like teaching line dancing in the Midcoast, tending to the hostas in her garden and spending time with her 16-year-old cat, Mary.
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