... meh
- read Henry Miller
- fix it; rational to rationale /check
- fix it; all the paragraph spaces / check
- never apologize (United States massively violates citizens’ right to private life) /check
- tell the story about the pension mgr mistaking me for a federal agent
- make your peace with Sun Ra before it's too late
- Global warming and the confrontation between the West and the rest of the world
- take the heat ... eh? what eat? edit: heat
- (The Collapse of Kiev)
Oh, good morning. How was your evening? Oh, alright ... this is fine.
I'm making a list. No, no, not that List. I'm not important enough for that.
No, a list of all the stuff I say on here that might/could/should/shall be deemed inappropriate before the Po Po come in and haul me, literally, away. I can cut it, though
. C'mon. I dodged four tackles the last time. I wrote that haibun after that. City of Thieves. What? No, a complaint about the neighbor's radio.
I just got caught in No Man's Land, is all. Before that, I was afraid my wife would get hurt so I used command voice to tell her get in the house. She did, quick! like a bunny. It's a good command voice. Cops heard it, too.
One cop chased her,like a dog and a stick, or just for something to do, I guess, but, man, she was faster! oer the threshold, turned round, and locked the screen like he was mosquito; then standing facing each other, a few inches apart, began to mock him, right - to - his - face.
Oooooh! baby! I love you!! I know that mocking oh so well ... ungh. That woman has no fear! ... no lie, gives me chills thinkin' about it now.
And the look on that cop's face was priceless! ... and then they noticed me, the last man standing ... not all twenty of them. A dozen or so were in a fist fight in the street. With each other. What?
Sure, it's a true story. We used to drink together. The precinct was just down the street. It's no big deal. Most of those guys are retired. A lot of war vets took their places. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Special Forces, special training, special tactics, hardened, confrontational, shoot first, ask questions later ...
One cop chased her,like a dog and a stick, or just for something to do, I guess, but, man, she was faster! oer the threshold, turned round, and locked the screen like he was mosquito; then standing facing each other, a few inches apart, began to mock him, right - to - his - face.
Oooooh! baby! I love you!! I know that mocking oh so well ... ungh. That woman has no fear! ... no lie, gives me chills thinkin' about it now.
And the look on that cop's face was priceless! ... and then they noticed me, the last man standing ... not all twenty of them. A dozen or so were in a fist fight in the street. With each other. What?
Sure, it's a true story. We used to drink together. The precinct was just down the street. It's no big deal. Most of those guys are retired. A lot of war vets took their places. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Special Forces, special training, special tactics, hardened, confrontational, shoot first, ask questions later ...
I had my vision back in a few days. Some bruising, from the boots ... what the heck, This is America! . . . Ain't it?
Up top? That's just a to do list, a dry run, kind of ... I think ... I'll not use the bullet points
Heck, your input is invited. I wanted to choose something topical, you know, like, creating a coming to an impromptu barrier near you! kind of buzz?
Don't be shy. I'm not totally crazy. I just called you lazy self-indulgent peeping tom shit heels to extend my concern ... and for the Apathy. That has to stop.
Heck, your input is invited. I wanted to choose something topical, you know, like, creating a coming to an impromptu barrier near you! kind of buzz?
Don't be shy. I'm not totally crazy. I just called you lazy self-indulgent peeping tom shit heels to extend my concern ... and for the Apathy. That has to stop.
But, you'll catch on. Just leave the area if they use gas ... have a route to safety prepared.
I'm not a criminal, either! Those charges were dismissed. I never felt the taser. For obstructing justice. I got Charlie to defend me. Never went to court.
Charlie had been a public defender who had opened his own practice. I'm a little embarrassed; I forgot his last name. He was very involved in Alcoholics Anonymous. They met at a church on Arundel, in the neighborhood where Scott Fitzgerald grew up. Not the Downtown Alano on Robert. Although, he looked more like a misplaced hipster with a colorful past. A dark, penetrating gaze. I was a little in awe of him.
We sat in his office, a few floors up in a sandstone building, facing one of those high vaulted, ornate atriums that rise all the way up ten stories. A reminder of River Town's halcyon days.
"I mix my metaphors." Still do.
"You read a lot, don't you?" Cross examination.
"Yes". All the wrong things now.
We sat in his office, a few floors up in a sandstone building, facing one of those high vaulted, ornate atriums that rise all the way up ten stories. A reminder of River Town's halcyon days.
"I mix my metaphors." Still do.
"You read a lot, don't you?" Cross examination.
"Yes". All the wrong things now.
"Well, see here." His corduroy jacket shifted over his stout frame as he leaned toward me.
"huh."
" One officer reports he told you to stay put. This one says he told you to 'get out of there'. I quote." His eyes smiled craftily. I remember now he was Irish.
"Cool." I tried to remain aloof. Traffic noise from the street careened off the tall plaster ceilings and down on to the dark wooden furnishings below.
A summer afternoon spent in idle conversation, cool as the breeze in shadowy stillness, Charlie all the while gently nudging me to come back into the fold.
His fee of a thousand dollars was exactly what I had on hand. Of course, I didn't mention that. Agreed without hesitation; never changed expression, never a complaint.
His fee of a thousand dollars was exactly what I had on hand. Of course, I didn't mention that. Agreed without hesitation; never changed expression, never a complaint.
I think that impressed him.
Although, they do keep records. Lots of records. I complained about a mistake on some property once, and they reminded me about a thing ... I let it drop.
Hell, I was recruited by the East Team Commander, just for my work in the community. Can you imagine, me, in full riot gear, in a relay race as you try to make it to cover gasping for air while stun grenades explode around you? Don't lose your cool ... the adrenaline will kick in and give you 50 more yards before your legs give out.
Hey, hey, hey, don't cry ... it's ok, just breathe... that can't happen ... I'm your neighbor
Okey dokey, that'll do. It's Sunday, I'm gonna goof off a little, maybe put on some Sun Ra.
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1 comment:
I was thinking ... this one got a little brutal.
The memory just came to mind. I'd laugh out loud with each new paragraph...
To think I used to watch cartoons on a Sunday morning.
oh, ho! what i forgot to mention, among others things, was when the cops pulled me up,
I could hear neighbors applauding ... ha ha ha !
It started when the lady next door began to argue - too much. lol ...
There was this other person there, he jumped up and got all froggie. After that ...
it was like I was in the eye of a hurricane. if I ...haha ahaaaa ... if I had just stood by that big ol' pine ... i would have been ok!
And, maybe it was only three tackles I slipped through. I was just testing them. wwwwwwwwww
But after that I went right to ground!
Well ... it was F.....i that got me in an eye socket hold from behind that convinced me.
Ever been in one of those? ... they work well.
So I said out loud, "good hold," That's when they put the boots to me! HA HA ...
I should stop right here. But I won't. It's that kind of attitude that got me in trouble...
I met F.....i's son years later, at some community function, I believe. A real sharp young man, he had joined the police force himself. he already had that reserved air that cops get. It's a place they never let you in.
I remember Bradley was there ... I was watching this Tasmanian Devil take two officers through the paces; up the stairs to the porch, through the house and out the back, and I turned to see Bradley bearing down on me at a sprint, all 250 lbs of him. I stood there like a deer in the headlights - he zipped around me like some determined wolfhound and was gone.
... and Blakley, who I'd met on a call in the neighborhood. His brother was the first black city council member. He talked about his divorce, making fun of his choices and their consequence. Weiss, he died of a heart attack, younger than me now. One big blonde dude, forget his name, he looked like a drug dealer for the surfer crowd. We have lakes. He was smug, like he knew something you didn't - like he could turn around and be his own opposite, a good cop/bad cop doppelgänger.
... oh, this one fella, we'd both, our wive's,too, we would frequent Vogel's lounge, a step up from Louie's in class as far as local dive bars go. The girls would chat together, we'd take turns buying rounds, tell a few jokes, and we'd go home before it closed. It was common for police to mingle in the neighborhood.
Our paths crossed often. He was officer of the year at one time. He must have felt bad for what happened. He offered to take me on a ride along.Had to call it off. The lady who filed our complaint was a chronic curmudgeon, with dozens of calls on officers themselves ... and, we befriended her, oddly enough. we'd partnered to petition the county to remove a residential facility that was hummed into existence under false pretense.
It took up an old church but with partition inside to house 26 "residents". they'd give them a bologna sandwich and kick them out in the day to find a job. They'd forfeit their pay if they found one. Two years later we succeeded in closing it down. County employees had a corner on the market, with number of them throughout the twin cities. Rule 25. They were drawing per diem payments from county funds to house minor criminals with liar's letters to keep the jails uncrowded. The practice continues, with varying success.
Maki. Yeah. Outgoing personality for a police officer. He knew how not to escalate a scene. He had that command voice, too. Poor guy, he worked in liaison with the sheriff's dept later, and he and a deputy got busted taking fifteen thou' off a money sting. Caught two years from that one.
My wife had a bird's eye view of the cops in a fist fight with each other. She called 911! she tried to describe the scene to the dispatcher who insisted on not believing her. I was too occupied to be able to support her statement.
... heh heh ... she said it looked like sharks at a kill.
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