Sunday, September 08, 2002
Sunday I've got Friday On My Mind
Sitting in a cell gives you time to ponder many things. I spent some of time ruminating on the series of seemingly-insignificant binary decisions brought me to that place...
[Friday 0400-0600]
Can't sleep. Nose is running, throat is sore.
Do I get up and find the cold & flu drugs?
No.
[0710]
Clock radio switches on.
Do I swat it off?
Yes.
[0830]
Should I get up & go to work?
Yes.
[0903]
You've just missed the bus; do you sit & wait for the 0922 bus or do you get up & walk to the bakery for some breakfast & come back for the bus?
Sit and wait; I'm tired & irritable & can't be bothered moving right now.
[0920]
T-bone and Pawnstar - walking up Kennedy St - turn when they see you and come over to the bus stop. They're still wearing the same clothes they were out in the night before. They smell & are obviously still drunk. They sit on the back of the seat on your shoulders like the devils they are.
The bus arrives; do you get on the bus or do you give in to the devils who've read your mind & know you don't want to go to work today?
I don't want to go to work today; I'm not getting on the bus.
Earlier in the week you promised Pawnstar that you'd help him move today; do you go home to bed or do you go to his place & help him and Ms S move?
I made a promise and I will keep it, but first I need coffee and something to eat.
[0925]
You have your coffee and food. You've gone to the apartment & given Ms S a coffee too. Do you go home & go back to bed?
No; I stay & help out where I can.
[1215]
It's lunchtime, you're hungry. Do you stay & keep Ms S company while the movers do their thing or do you go to lunch with Louise & T-bone in Green Square & promise to bring back hot chips from Vasco's?
Green Square here I come.
[1330]
You've had lunch, you've got Ms S' hot chips & are walking back. T-bone decides to go into the fancy dress shop; do you follow him in?
Yes.
You wander around for a bit looking at possibilities for Saturday night's disco bowling outing. You come across the toy guns; do you think they're a waste of money when you're trying to cut back on flippant spending or do you think they're a cool toy & choose to ignore better judgement & buy one anyway?
I buy the pistol that shoots sticky darts. T-bone buys an old-style rifle that comes with a revolver in a holster and sheriffs badge.
[1400]
Pawnstar is about to head up to Bruce to pick up some rope from T-bone's place and stop in at the storage place in Mitchell to sign all the paperwork before picking up the moving ute from Braddon; do you go with them or do you stay on the floor in front of Water Rats?
I go with them.
[1430]
You're all driving around; do you play with the toy guns?
Yes.
You see a girl in the passenger seat of a car on your right. She's on the phone and isn't smiling; does it occur to you that she could be calling the police or not?
Yes it does, but I dismiss that thought - she could be talking to anyone.
A little bit later you'r still driving around & playing with the toy guns; do you point them out of the car or not?
I do - I even yell something about how stupid a pink bus looks.
[1445]
The police pull you over; do you think Pawnstar was speeding?
The thought crosses my mind, but I doubt it.
At what point do you realise things are more serious?
When the constables approaching the vehicle have their hands on their holsters and are yelling at T-bone and the Pawnstar to place their hands on the dashboard & me to put my hands on my head.
When you exit the vehicle and are frisked are you compliant?
Completely.
Are you shit-scared?
Not really - from uni and working for the Qld Police Service I know the drill and go along with it. I also know that nothing really bad will happen because (a.) we're not restrained and (b.) our keys, phones and wallets aren't taken off us. I also know that a police check on my name won't turn up anything, and I'm pretty confident that the other guys are clear too.
When you're sitting in the back of the van with the other guys, what's going through your head?
'We're going to be late for dinner'. The second thing was that I'd heard the Sergeant talking to the Constables and Detectives about how they'd put us in the van & a cell for a while to sweat a bit - but I thought they might strip search us and/or the car, given that there was techno playing and T-bone giggled, so I figured they'd think we were on drugs.
[1500]
You're sitting in the cell while T-bone and Pawnstar are questioned - did you contact anyone?
No; the others had sent enough text messages out so word was going to get around all by itself.
How do you pass the time?
We consider singing showtunes (Oklahoma), but realise it wouldn't look too good when they opened the cell door.
[1530]
You're being told off cautioned & the female Constable breaks a smirk; do you smile back?
No - I continue nodding slowly while using my best sorry face.
[1600]
You're all out. Nobody's signed anything, so nothings been formally recorded - how do you feel?
Stupid and a little shaken, but ok. I'm sorry to have wasted the cops time by making them send three cars out to look for us when they should have been dealing with real criminals. In an academic sense I find it interesting that I've now experienced our criminal justice system in a new way and interacted with law enforcement on another level that I hadn't before (in the past as colleagues, as the victim, now as a 'person assisting inquiries'), and new experiences are always good as long as you learn something from them.
What did you learn?
Don't play with toy guns in moving vehicles. It might seem funny at the time, but when you're moving at 60kph other people probably won't be able to tell that they're only toys. Wasting cops' time isn't funny; they'll waste yours too.
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