just a small story

this story is actually one of my favourites to tell, and also perhaps one of my most proud moments. and possibly my most eloquent. i used to live in a really bad ghetto in toronto. prostitutes. junkies. dealers. all of them "doing their thing" in my back and front yards. i was cycling home one night from my job as a security guard for a massive record store right downtown. i get about two blocks away from my apartment, and a cop motions for me to get off of my bike. and two other cops move right in the path of my movement, in an attempt to prevent me from going anywhere. the first cop asks me to dismount, which i do. he then starts to lecture me for not having a reflector on the back of my bike, (which is odd because he wouldn't have been able to see that from the front), for not having a bell on my bike, and also for not wearing a helmet. something inside me snapped. they probably actually heard it. this is my response. verbatim. "you've GOT to be fucking kidding me. there are guys up the street --- selling crack to CHILDREN!!! and you are harassing me for not having a bell????" the three of them looked stunned, and confused. i got back on my bike, and just before i rode off, i said "i suggest you find something a little more constructive to do with your time." i don't think i stopped smiling for a week!!!! by the way - the photo at the top of this post was taken in toronto this past week while i was there for work. i have no idea what kind of vehicle that is. anyone have any guesses???