Strange Times

The old detective stared up and down the street looking at the people walking by. He was checking them all out like he always did. Profiling them. This time though he chuckled at himself, not just because it really wasn't necessary anymore but also because he realized he would do it again next time.  It had been so many years since it was actually necessary. He was old now and by now all of his enemies were dead, still in prison, or just as old as he. If anybody had wanted to get him they could have done so a long time ago. He realized though that his years as a police detective and then as a private investigator had ingrained an instinct in him. He fought it but didn't always win.  But things were different now, even though his way of doing things had not caught up with real life. 

He was wearing a thick jacket today because as a visitor he never could get used to the cold New York air. It wasn't just his age talking either. He was from South Texas and it never gets cold there. He hated that fact about South Texas but now he wished for that warmth. After checking the parking lot he walked in to the coffee shop and played out his routine again. He found the 2 exit signs on either side of the back of the building and quickly noticed that the tables and chairs were made of metal. That made the first suitable for cover and the latter a weapon. Only 3 employees in place and about 10 customers who all wore somewhat fitted clothing that could not hide weapons and no one looked suspicious. Again he chuckled at himself. He realized that with his thick jacket in this weather he was the suspicious one walking in looking around checking out the employees, customers, and back exits. Every one else had t-shirts on. Someday his brain will stop he thought.  But not today. He sat himself at the back table with this back to the wall as always, making sure he had a good view of the entry doors.  A young pretty employee 1/4 his nearly 80 years came up to him and asked him what he wanted to drink.

"Regular coffee please."

"What kind of coffee would you like sir?"  He sighed at the question. 

"Any coffee that doesn't say mocha or latte after it. And before you ask yes I want it hot. If it's cold it isn't coffee."

"How about an Expresso Americano?"

"Is that real coffee?"

"I can make a pot of regular coffee if you want." 

"Yes I want."

"Oh okay sir is that all sir?"

"Yes thank you. Oh and can you put in a real coffee cup please not a paper one or foam one?"

"They don't make foam cups anymore sir but yes I will put it in a real cup for you."

"Thank you". 

It used to be so easy to order coffee he thought. When the coffee arrived he added one cream and 2 Sweet N' Lows. He took a sip and sat back in his chair. He was waiting for an old friend and wondered if she would make it this time. The last time they tried to get together was 3 years ago and she had to cancel. He was hoping to see her this time. He had flown to New York to visit his oldest son and his grandchildren so he took this time to try again. They had only seen each other a few times in their strange friendship but used to write to each other a lot years back when Facebook was popular and then on Book-Space (for writers) when it came along. Now they just emailed each other every once in awhile but still they felt a connection. He wondered why that connection was so strong when two New York Police officers walked in the coffee shop. They looked like rookies. Brand new cops. Seeing them he realized what that connection was.

He thought back to 2011 to when a movement called Occupy Wall Street began. It started out like any other movement with dissatisfaction with the status quo and a few people getting together and putting together a march or protest. People were getting tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and they felt that the government was responsible for letting this happen. The movement gained momentum and by late 2011 there were protests everywhere. Streets in many cities in the nation and around the world were getting crowded with protesters. The protesters claimed to be the 99% of those that bore the burden of government cost and taxation while the other 1% just got richer and richer and paid fewer and fewer taxes. Before you knew it other causes joined the protests and they became larger and lasted longer. Occupy Oakland in 2011 started a new police trend in dealing with these protesters. The police changed their tactics. They went from "keeping the peace and maintaining order" to pushing everyone out forcibly. Tactics often reserved for looters and barricaded subjects were used on ordinary folks carrying signs. Many people were injured that day. But the tide turned against the crowd. For the next 3 years protests were nonstop and police violence escalated. And then on March 1, 2015 Occupy Toronto happened. That had been the second major Occupy Toronto protest that year but this was different. Two thousand people gathered in Toronto for the protest but this time the police were not in a good mood. Before the first speaker ever got on the platform to speak they fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The crowd was ready this time and many of the hardcore protesters had bought gas masks. Seeing this, officers switched to rubber bullets, believing that if the crowd had masks then maybe they brought weapons too. People started getting hit hard when one of the tear gas canisters landed near some tents and make shift platforms in the center of the crowd. Tear gas cans produce a lot of heat and one of the cans landed near the tents where one of the protesters had a can of kerosene he used to refill some old kerosene lamps he used at night. One of tent caught on fire.  Amid the tear gas, smoke from the fire, and rubber bullets, someone fired a real shot. Then many shots were fired. By the end of the night 19 protesters were killed by police bullets and one 7 year old child who got separated from her mother during the protest also died. The 7-year-old girl sought refuge in one of the tents when the tear gas landed and died of complications from smoke inhalation  after 3 days in the hospital.