Jail

(Circa 1997)

This was the worst year of my life. It was. Nothing made it good.

I was officially out of school.

I had no money and had stopped paying my car insurance.

I worked 2 jobs and never had a day off. I would wake up at 3 am to load trucks for UPS and then go to work at Uhaul.

I was such a winner.

In September of 1996 I got pulled over for doing 35 in a 25 MPH zone.

I meant to fight the ticket but I just forgot about it.

I'm not sure if I posted this before, but who cares it bears repeating. I would work until about 8:30 AM at UPS.

The fucking thing is I thought about it. I fucking thought about it. That still pisses me off to this day.

I had thought to take a different route to my apartment from work that morning. I did it because the cops in town were always pulling guys over for no reason.

I missed my turn because I was daydreaming about the 6 hours I had between UPS and Uhaul to have breakfast and sleep.

I got pulled over.

That ticket from 1996 came back to haunt me. I had been driving with a suspended license. I got arrested.

I had zero money. All I had was an ATM card and a checkbook. The cop only gave me enough time to grab my checkbook.

I was brought and booked at the towny police station. They had me handcuffed to a wall while they got a holding cell for me. Once the cell was ready I just went to sleep.

I was so tired. They took me to the Brockton courthouse. Brockton is a shithole. Murders and gangs. I don't belong there. I was just some kid who didn't pay a fucking speeding ticket. Life couldn't be this unfair. I have to sit down while this huge cop makes me take out my earring and my shoelaces. I am handcuffed and my legs are cuffed together too.

I get brought to another cell. I'm just in shock. How did I end up here? I'm not a bad person. There is only 1 other white guy there with me and he looks 12. I'm fucked. It's Febuary and I am wearing shorts. I have no money and no car. My case gets called up and I have to try to manage up the stairs with cuffed legs.

I get brough to the courthouse but where I have to sit there is messed up. There is a sheet of glass between myself and the court. I couldn't call my folks. I didn't want to deal with their bullshit. I know I fucked up. I couldn't deal with it.

I plead my case to the judge and he lets me go as long as I pay off what I owe. There goes the little cash I had managed to save up. Of course I have only a checkbook.

No ATM card which means no cash. This means I have to walk in the aformentioned shorts to the DMV to get my license reinstated.

It's cold. It is Febuary. I make it to the DMV and bump into one of my best friends. I don't know how. I just do. He drives me to get my car.

I've been up since 3 am. It's about 5 pm. I get home and explain to my roommate what happened. There are like 5 messages from Uhaul asking where the fuck I am. I am just fucked. I call work and explain what happened. They ask if I can still come in.

I need the money. What else can I do? I go in. That was the beginning of the worst year of my life. I would eventually break up with my future wife. I would have to move back home.

I come out of it ok in the end. I just like to look back every now and then and see how far I've come.