snoopyboy
Antarctica
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I like this proverb: “Jail is never too far”. You could be a law-fearing and exemplary citizen and yet find yourself behind those stone cold bars, amongst some of the most unhinged criminals you could possibly imagine. If, God forbid, you don’t have anyone from the outside to vouch for your innocence you might just have to throw your lot with those felons, for years, decades, life. The calamities you could be exposed to during incarceration could stigmatize you with emotional and physical pains, and change you radically, for the better or worse. When you leave those walls, you either come out a reformed person or someone with sinister grudge against the society that vilified you.
I have never done time, fortunately. I’ve had very few encounters with law enforcers that couldn’t possibly land me jail time, most occurred on the road: being pulled over for defective brake lights or abrupt change of lane. Only one time, I answered my door and I was surprised to be greeted by three police officers… I was to identify the body of my former landlord who was passed out drunk and whatnot, on the sidewalk. He wasn’t dead; they just wanted me to confirm that he resided in the house. When I said that he was my landlord, one officer joked and said “your money is buying him a lot of troubles, sir”. I knew about his alcoholic debaucheries but when I found out that he was also a drug addict, I moved out. Months later I almost got myself into bigger troubles at the new place I rented in.
Weeks after I settled in this newfound haven which I shared with two other decent tenants, one guy moved in. I felt something bizarre about him when we first met. I was entering home from work and he was standing behind the front door as though he was expecting me. I introduced myself to him and he urged us to exchange phone numbers right away, I reluctantly did. I felt uneasy about his awkward smilings and his meth face : ). The next morning I found out he had mounted a camera so that he could monitor all traffic in and out of the main door of the house. That same day , my two other housemates and I petitioned our landlord on how we thought having a camera in the house didn’t make us feel secured, we thought it was a breach of privacy as well as an indication that there might be something suspicious about this new tenant. The next day he was asked to dismount his camera, he did. Another strange thing we noticed about him is that he was really jumpy, every times he hears the main door being opened or closed, he would peek out as to investigate and say something like “I thought we were getting burglarized” and laugh.
One night I was heading out when he asked me whether I liked to hunt or not. I told him I had no interest in such activity. I asked him the same question; he was very passionate in his response. He claimed that he enjoyed hunting very much. He revealed that he had a weapon in his room for hunting purposes; he invited me in to look at it. I followed him to his room, but I didn’t make myself comfortable and walk all the way in, I stood by the door and I made sure he couldn’t close it behind me : ). “There it is!” he said, pointing at a corner. I’m not a gun expert, but that rifle I saw was no ordinary hunting air gun- if it was in the first place. He offered his permission to touch it, if I wanted to, but I declined. I left and went about my business; I was very shocked by that discovery. I spent over a week pondering over it, debating whether I should share what I saw with my other housemates, at one point, I even considered calling the police on him, but I never did. I didn’t want to get him in any trouble if my allegation were only susceptible. I finally resolved that I didn’t want to play detective and leave this weirdo be.
So one day , at work, I received a call from one of my housemates telling me how two cops escorted him out of the house. Then, that’s when I told him about the gun he’d shown me. My housemate told me that I should have warned him but did well not to touch the rifle. None of us knew what he’d gotten apprehended for , but who knows?, if I’d touched that gun, I could have shed my fingerprints all over it and booby trapped myself in a tricky situation , like, “doing” time instead of enjoying Ebaby time : )
...Julito, about the elevator scandal: you were very lucky, and no matter what hardship you’re facing now it could have been worse, you should count your blessings and be grateful to whomever you devote your faith to, for sparing you of this dark fate. As for appearance, anyone could fit the profile of a felon or mistaken for one. You had a close call. Phew!
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