After a few nights at a friends place, a night or two with an old girl friend. I tried a sleeping bag on the ground and a few more nights on park benches, When the cop came around and would poke me with that damn stick a few times, I got up and poked him in the snout. He blew the hell out of his whistle and the Jail wagon came rolling around a street corner with a thousand cops that were hanging on to the sides and back. Clippadee clop, clippadee clop, was the sound of horses as they approached and went by, barely missing us These guys were not what you would call Keystone Cops, but they came close. The year was, the early 1900 and street light were still burning gas. Cops never had guns, only clubs and chains.
It took almost an hour for them ( the cops) to get the team stopped and the wagon turned around and back to where the officer had me laying on the ground and was setting on top of me. He couldn’t get the knots out of the chain, so they would fit around my ankles. Six of them guys lifted me up and tossed me in to the back of the jail wagon, and they weren’t very gentle in doing it either. The jail cell was nice, it had a really good mattress, a chair and a table with a lamp on it, a magazine rack with News papers and magazines. There was pen and paper and water in a pitcher. On the night stand by the bed, was a bible and another lamp with a colorful doily on it. The floor was covered with a nice home weaved rug. There was a curtain on the cell window and a pull down shade on the iron bars.
For breakfast, I had three fresh eggs sunny side up. a half pound of bacon. Hash browns, toast with six kinds of jelly and a pot of hot coffee and a large glass of juice (my choice ) There was a Catholic Church next door and the sisters cooked the food and gave all the room service at the jail. The priest came in and blessed the food before I ate. The guards gave me the bath and brushed my teeth and combed my hair of which there is very little left. The night of sleep was the best I had ever had, bar none!
Later, they came and got me and we went to see the judge. He ask a few questions and looked at some papers and said, You will have to pay a fine of $ 5.00 and asked if I had that amount? Than he said; "The fine has been paid and the prisoner is released."
It took almost an hour for them ( the cops) to get the team stopped and the wagon turned around and back to where the officer had me laying on the ground and was setting on top of me. He couldn’t get the knots out of the chain, so they would fit around my ankles. Six of them guys lifted me up and tossed me in to the back of the jail wagon, and they weren’t very gentle in doing it either. The jail cell was nice, it had a really good mattress, a chair and a table with a lamp on it, a magazine rack with News papers and magazines. There was pen and paper and water in a pitcher. On the night stand by the bed, was a bible and another lamp with a colorful doily on it. The floor was covered with a nice home weaved rug. There was a curtain on the cell window and a pull down shade on the iron bars.
For breakfast, I had three fresh eggs sunny side up. a half pound of bacon. Hash browns, toast with six kinds of jelly and a pot of hot coffee and a large glass of juice (my choice ) There was a Catholic Church next door and the sisters cooked the food and gave all the room service at the jail. The priest came in and blessed the food before I ate. The guards gave me the bath and brushed my teeth and combed my hair of which there is very little left. The night of sleep was the best I had ever had, bar none!
Later, they came and got me and we went to see the judge. He ask a few questions and looked at some papers and said, You will have to pay a fine of $ 5.00 and asked if I had that amount? Than he said; "The fine has been paid and the prisoner is released."
I looked at the judge and said, Please Judge, can I stay for the week end? He looked me in the eye, and said: “If I see you in my court again, you are going to get several years in our other jail”.
I was standing on a street corner, wondering what I was going to do, when around the corner came that damn jail wagon, this time it hit with the full force and knocked me through a big glass window of a bank, and little did anyone know, the bank was about to be rubbed at the same time. On my second bounce, I took out the guy with the gun and as I rolled two more of the hold-up men, were knocked off their feet, and the manager grabbed the gun and held it on the robbers.
Everyone patted me on the back and they took my picture as I smiled. And I walked out of the bank wondering, what was I going to do now? I wouldn’t have any fame until the paper came out tomorrow. I was hungry and had no place to sleep. No car, no bicycle to ride and no place to go. I wonder, could I smooth things over with that old girl friend, and maybe stay with her again? It’s worth a try, now if I can find a phone to call her, what was that number of hers. I don’t even remember what her married name was. I wonder, maybe I can! ............“No, those dogs of hers would tear me apart “.
Let’s see now, where can a person go to find shelter, a hospital or a Church, what about that one next to the Jail? Better try the hospital first, I’ll set in a waiting room like I was visiting someone or maybe the OB ward, lots of guy’s have slept there. I’ll bet they will have coffee and maybe a donut or two.
Tomorrow I will go back to work, just because she kicked me out of the house doesn’t mean that I lost my job also. She may have been my boss at work, but that doesn’t mean she can fire me! I’ll find out tomorrow…
That morning the sun was shining in my face and them babies kept me awake all night long, The coffee was terrible, I think they use it more for a sedative or to calm someone down, than to keep someone awake. Well here goes nothing, like they say, if you don’t try You can’t win or lose.
By; Ben R.
12/12/10
I was standing on a street corner, wondering what I was going to do, when around the corner came that damn jail wagon, this time it hit with the full force and knocked me through a big glass window of a bank, and little did anyone know, the bank was about to be rubbed at the same time. On my second bounce, I took out the guy with the gun and as I rolled two more of the hold-up men, were knocked off their feet, and the manager grabbed the gun and held it on the robbers.
Everyone patted me on the back and they took my picture as I smiled. And I walked out of the bank wondering, what was I going to do now? I wouldn’t have any fame until the paper came out tomorrow. I was hungry and had no place to sleep. No car, no bicycle to ride and no place to go. I wonder, could I smooth things over with that old girl friend, and maybe stay with her again? It’s worth a try, now if I can find a phone to call her, what was that number of hers. I don’t even remember what her married name was. I wonder, maybe I can! ............“No, those dogs of hers would tear me apart “.
Let’s see now, where can a person go to find shelter, a hospital or a Church, what about that one next to the Jail? Better try the hospital first, I’ll set in a waiting room like I was visiting someone or maybe the OB ward, lots of guy’s have slept there. I’ll bet they will have coffee and maybe a donut or two.
Tomorrow I will go back to work, just because she kicked me out of the house doesn’t mean that I lost my job also. She may have been my boss at work, but that doesn’t mean she can fire me! I’ll find out tomorrow…
That morning the sun was shining in my face and them babies kept me awake all night long, The coffee was terrible, I think they use it more for a sedative or to calm someone down, than to keep someone awake. Well here goes nothing, like they say, if you don’t try You can’t win or lose.
By; Ben R.
12/12/10
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