Screeching to Halt

It's late, and all I have are my thoughts and this stack of poker chips to shuffle until my hand hurts. Somebody crashed their vehicle into the local Harvey's last night, my place of daily grocery shopping about 200 meters north of here. Just last evening all was in perfect order with the southeast corner of the store, which forms the farthest point of the shortest line between my apartment building's lobby and tasty long-pickle goodness.

Then tonight, just before reaching the door, I looked up and froze at the sight of a chain-link fence surrounding a wooden plank placed against the entrance where a black set of tire tracks came screeching to a halt presumably sometime late last night. My first worry was that somebody had just been killed and I would not have my cheeseburger today. But after noticing people standing at the counter and sitting down at the tables, the panic subsided and I simply took the side door.

- Saturday, December 08, 2007