ABOB

<body text=#ff0000 link=#0000cc vlink=#0000cc bgcolor=000000> <table border="0" width="585" height="80" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tr><td width="495" align="center" colspan="4"> Picture Slug </td><td width="90" bgcolor="ff0000" align="center"> </td></tr> </table>  <br> <br> <br>  <table cellpaddin=0 cellspacing=0 border=1 width=80% height=500 align=center> <tr> <td width=80% align=left> <font color=ff0000 size=+1>       Before I get into the meat of the story I should probably note about the mood I was in last night. It was the night before I was leaving so I wanted to film some parts of San Francisco and the area so I could show my friends back home. And normally I’m kinda shy about filming in public unless I have good reasoning, and that’s just what I found. <br>     As I crossed the street to reach the bus stop, I stopped at the curb to admired the beauty of the night. It was a good-looking shot of a cop car and a trolley car waiting at the red light. But me being the timid guy that I am, I decided not to bother with my camera. I already had enough good footage for the night. <br>     As the light turned from red to green a sneaky cop car started pulling toward me. Oh no, I thought, do they know something that I don’t. The cop car continued to approach me… I kept my cool. Stopping about ten feet short, the officer in the passenger seat rolled down his window and like out of a movie, slowly fingered the nearby homeless guy to come over and talk. No worries I thought, I was off the hook… at least for now. <br>     The homeless man was scruffy looking, about in his thirties. He carried a sack of tobacco and a book of rolling papers and looked rusty like tar. As he warily approached the cops I recognized the opportunity and decided to whip out my video camera. It was my intention that if the officers were going to verbally abuse the homeless guy I would have it on tape. Anyway, that’s what I was hopping. Unfortunately, all that my video camera did for me was to piss off this homeless man. <br>     I started to film, capturing the homeless guy and the cops as they talked about who knows what. After about twenty seconds or so the homeless guy noticed me taping and immediately took offence, He was pissed! He started yelling at me and bitching and demanded that I stop taping and give him the film. He obviously didn’t want me to take his picture. I apologized and immediately turned off my camera. The homeless guy, still very angry, started to advance toward me. While he moved to confront me, the officers, in their squad car, did the same. Things were getting interesting so I stealthy snuck my video camera back into record. <br>     The homeless guy started bitching and moaning and demanding that I give him my tape (he called it that). Now, from what I’ve learned at school, which was two blocks away, if you ever get into a situation like this, you’re best bet is to give up you film, plain and simple, and no one gets hurt. Well, under the current circumstances with the cops right next to me, I wasn’t too afraid. And, as the homeless guy continued to insist that I give him the film, the officers started to interject. They asked me what I was doing here and why I was video taping. I simply told them that I was waiting for the bus. They bitched and moaned and told me to go stand by the bus stop thirty feet back. <br>     If there’s one thing I’ve learned in San Francisco it’s that the cops are dicks. I didn’t hesitate to follow their directions and began to put my camera back into my bag, readying myself to leave the conversation. Then, obviously still pissed, the homeless dude starts to close in. Noticing that I was putting my camera away, he says something like give me my film and you stole my picture and that if I didn’t give it back he would… <br>     “Don’t threaten him.” The officer says. <br>     This is getting bad.<br>     “I wasn’t” replied the homeless guy… “Give me my picture.” He continued. Obviously this was ridiculous. I had done nothing illegal and the cops knew it. They continued to try to calm the guy down.<br>     They told him that he was drunk and not thinking. All the homeless guy wanted to do was smoke some weed. He not only wanted more intoxicants, he wanted his “God damn” picture back. The cops once again got pissed at me and threatened to detain me. No problem I thought, I’m outa here.<br>     I grabbed my bag, turned around, and headed toward the staring crowd. I choose a comfortable spot in the middle of the 15 or so people and continued to watch the ‘scene’, hoping the bus would arrive soon.<br>     About five minutes go by and the cops finish their talk with Mr. Pissed and drive away. At the same time I noticed my bus approaching the traffic light. Oh no… the homeless guy’s coming this way… he’s looking right at me… <br>     With a muddled face of anger and rage the homeless guy starts yelling about his picture… Oh shit, not again! Parting the crowd and insisting on his film, the guy raises his hand to single me out. This was not looking good. The cops had left and my bus was pulling over and I’m stuck here with this sketchy dude in my face, yelling at me. What do I do? Stay calm, talk soft, and definitely don’t do anything to piss this guy off… and don’t give him the tape. At this point I once again thought about what I learned in class. Do I give the guy the tape or just get the fuck away? All I needed to do was board the bus and leave this guy behind and it would all be over, but it wasn’t that simple. The crowd quickly started to board the bus, rapidly leaving the gross tension behind. I didn’t blame them. I wanted to do the same. <br>     Still defending my stance, I attempted to board the bus. The homeless guy, insisting on the film, reached out and prevented me from boarding the bus by blocking my way. With his hand firmly clenched on the rail to my right, all I could do was stand there, blocked by the outstretched reach of some crazy guy. I was half way between freedom (boarding the bus) and sudden terror (being left at the bus stop, alone with Him). Fuck. I was in a dilemma and all because I wouldn’t give this guy my tape. <br>     So there we stood, debating what should be done. The homeless guy was insisting on the tape, I just wanted to board the bus, and the bus driver picked up the phone to call the police. Pretty ironic considering that they were just here. For some strange reason the homeless guy was happy about the police being called. He thought that they would be able to force me into forfeiture. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Should I give up the tape and loose everything? Would I be putting myself at risk by pulling out my video camera? When was this guy going to get understand? I was now determined to get on that bus without giving him my damn tape! <br>     After a while of meaningless arguing, I finally started to plead for some assistance. Obviously the ENTIRE bus was wondering what was going on. For some odd reason the bus hadn’t moved from it’s spot in a long time. How long? I can’t say. It seemed like I was standing there forever until finally one of the passengers stood up to help. He was a big man, quite muscular, and reminded me of a cop. He was in street clothes and held a backpack over one shoulder. <br>     “What’s going on here?” he questioned. Wasn’t it apparent? It was clearly visible that the homeless guy was holding me against my will. I wanted to board the bus and he wouldn’t let me. The big guy kept telling me to rip his hand off and shove through. In theory this sounded good but there were a few flaws he didn’t see. For one, the guy’s grip was more like a clench. He wasn’t letting go until he got his tape. Also, my backpack was very large; filled with books, a sweatshirt, and my camera. For me to duck under his arm was out of the question. I was also hesitant about messin’ with the homeless guy ‘cause who knows what he’d do to me. I just stood there and continued my verbal battle with the stubborn immovable bastard, watching for an opportunity to squeeze by. <br>     By now at least five minutes have gone by. The people on the bus are starting to get anxious, I’m starting to get really irritated, and the bus driver was looking for action. It would have been real easy for me to step down two steps and back out of the bus, but that was not an option. The bus was my safety. I needed to get on the bus and the driver needed to keep his schedule. Where were the damn police? <br>     Then, without notice, the homeless guy swung his free hand and landed square on my cheek. CRACK! Sharp needles of pain stitched across my face as the image of a gun flashed before my eyes. Fortunately the guy didn’t have one. The battle of whits had ended and I was the winner. The guy finally stepped down. The driver rapidly closed the door while I heard the homeless guy spitting enraged words of resentment and frustration, obviously still upset about the tape. I spoke up myself. <br>     “I just want to apologize” I announced to the bus, “I know you’re all on schedules and have places to go, but I’m sorry.” I was doing all I could to hold back my tears of relief. “I’m sorry to inconvenience everyone but I had no choice.” And with that said I sat down, in the front of the bus, away from as many people as possible. <br>     Needless to say, I got some pretty strange looks on the way home. I could almost hear people whispering and discussing the event that just transpired. I didn’t care thought. I was free! I somehow held myself up to the crazed man on the street, unscathed and alive. I was mildly bruised and my pride was shot but I was free…… And what’s the use of being alive if you can’t live to tell about it (or show it:)</font> </td></tr> </table  <p align=center> <br> <br> <img src="/main/pictures/Album4/jail.bmp"> <br> <br> <b><a href="https://adamith.tripod.com/2go.html#stuff">HOME</a> <font color=red> | </font> <a href="https://adamith.tripod.com/main/ABOB/A1.html#stuff"> <font size=+1>A</font>BOB</a></b><br> <br>  <font color=333399 size=-1> Copyright <font color=ffff00>A</font>ndersonian <font color=ffff00>A</font>rts 2001. <br> A division of Adamith Inc.</font></p> </body> </HTML>