Day CCCXI

Pigs and Punks

    I needed to go to 59^th street and Columbus Circle, to catch the D train back to the Bronx. The other guys were going down to the village, but we were all going to the same station. It was my old high school stop, at 59^th and Columbus Circle. As we got closer to the statue of Columbus at the circle, the protestors, dumb punks, started harassing the cops, screaming, and throwing things at them.

     “Screw the pigs!”

     “No mo wah!”

     “Hell no I won’t go!”

    The cops put their shields up, and as rocks, bottles, and garbage bounced off them, they marched on the punks like a Roman Turtle, swinging their clubs as they went. Suddenly mayhem broke lose, as the crowd scattered, and the cops gave chase. They were running in every direction; dropping their signs; stopping to pick up rocks, cans, anything they could to throw at them; and all trying to get away and not get busted. It was a real wild scene.

     The three of us were standing on the lawn in disbelief, watching the unfolding melee as a large part of the crowd ran towards us…the cops right behind them. My new buddies panicked, and suddenly I saw them take off with the crowd. I guess they got scared, maybe they had pot on them or who knows, but they just ran and disappeared into the crowd. For some unknown reason I just froze, and stood there like a dummy or a statue, calmly maintaining my cool. Then I spread my arms out, as if I had been programmed to do so, with my hands opened, and turned towards the sky. Slowly I started walking to the parks entrance. I don’t know why, but the cops perhaps didn’t see me as a threat, and I saw them rush past me in pursuit of everybody else around me.