All the Nuts aren’t with The Pancake’s Part 26

The full brunt of the AIDS epidemic is about to wipe out millions of people. It has already sickened, weakened and killed several in our community. 

Everyone is afraid of getting it. Every day we hear a different version of how it spreads. People stop shaking hands and every head cold gets diagnosed as AIDS. We feel as if there is a time stamp on our lives. 

The world would like us to go away.

The cop steps forward, opens his book, clicks his pen and with the toe of his boot, nudges Chris.

Chris is somewhere between out cold and hanging on. He is groaning quietly.

“Can you get him out of here?!” George asks a little to loudly causing Bill and me to jump. George is looking directly at the cop.

“I’m not touching him without a ten foot pole.” Says the cop as he continues to nudge Chris with his boot.

“But you’re going to kick him?” Bill hisses in my ear.

A long low groan escapes Chris.

“He looks pretty fucked up,” responds the cop rolling Chris onto his side with the help of his boot.

Chris is coming around and begins to sob.

“How did he end up here?” the cops asks as he puts pen to paper.

“He needs to be taken to a mental ward and locked up, not kicked around on the sidewalk!” Screams Bill stepping forward.

“Hold on Miss,” the cop says raising one hand.

“My partner has called an ambulance and since he’s not dead, we have to wait for the ambulance to get here.” “So if we have to wait, so do you.” The cop then asks if there are any statements we would like to make.

George begins to massage his wrist with his hand before blurting out,

“This kid is a hustler, a crook and a thief.” “You need to come see what he did to my house!”

George presents the front door with one arm.

“Nope, I don’t.” responds the cop as he writes.

In the distance a sound of an ambulance can be heard.

It is clear to me that I have to move, now, far away from this place. In two weeks I am on my way to Boston.

To be continued…

Geoffrey Doig-Marx holds all written and electronic rights to his writing "A Day in the Life/Down the Rabbit Hole". It cannot be reprinted in part or whole without his written consent.