To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

I Check in on downtown Denver from one of two different routes, depending on my point of origin. During the work week I typically arrive there amidst the crowd of commuters on the light rail train on their way home from their jobs. If I choose to depart from my home I wade my way through a solid Latino community of hard working people, just trying to get by (like me). Some local bar has a lit message on their outdoor marquee announcing ‘entrada gratis‘-no cover. They’re in direct competition with the place across the street that offers a loud, mariachi beat amid pool tables and cheap beer. Some people may witness this and feel sad but I hold no sorrow for this community. The people here are pretty happy for the most part. The human spirit can take on quite a load of shit before it gives in and self implodes. I witnessed a whole lot of shit tonight on someone named Ayeesha.

I went down to play around with some new tech I got that would help me keep notes easier when I go downtown to get updates on the Occupy Denver protesters. I didn’t know what would be going on down there, it’s always a flip of the coin when I go downtown and this time I was hoping for a good circus act to test out my new device. My luck, no protests this evening; that was earlier today and I had missed it. I did get the opportunity to talk with someone I had seen there at the protesting site a few times now. This smooth skinned, beautiful doe-eyed black girl of about 23 or so smiled and walked right up to me and said it first. “I’ve seen you down here before.” She kept getting closer and I admitted that I did remember seeing her down here as well. I always think one of these people living here are going to point at me and shout “there he is, the guy that calls us zombies!” Then they come after me with boards and chains, chasing me like those skinwalker Pod People from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Luckily this night’s phobia didn’t end that way and she gave me a hug. I hate it when strangers do that, especially when I’m really high-it scares the living hell out of me. After that initial tenseness I relaxed and got to talking with her. She was 14 cents short of having enough money for a hamburger from McDonalds so I gave her a quarter. You would have thought I gave her a couple hundred, her eyes started welling up. I felt like a heel not offering to buy her an entire meal with fries and a drink but my defenses left me on guard. If you’re not careful you’ll be buying a whole sack full of burgers for all the creatures out here and then they start flocking around you like pigeons.

She said she was happy I was covering the protesters. She walked with me to look at the chalk messages they scrawled on the sidewalk; WE NEED A CAN OPENER…..NEED MORE CHALK…WE ARE NOT COLUMBINE. I had her explain the Columbine message to me because that comparison wasn’t sinking in. According to Ayeesha, the kids involved with that tragedy ended up shooting people so the protesters are definitely opposed to shooting type violence. I’ll take that message and analysis. It’s better than writing WE WILL BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD, DENVER. Soon she looked over my shoulder at someone approaching and said she had to go make some money.