I don't own the characters or the show or the song that
belongs to Collin Ray.
Chapter 1.
I was
sitting up in the cap area of the bus like always, reading the newspaper. More importantly the sports section. We were on a rest and snack break. I had gotten out for a minute to walk
around, but I wasn't hungry so I didn't join the others when they went down the
street to the ice-cream stand we had passed.
Carey promised he'd get me a double chocolate chunk cone if they had
any, my favorite. Knowing my son he'd
eat it before he was even half way back.
Plus like I said I'm not that hungry.
I click on
the radio and try to find a decent station; this town only seems to have county
stations. There's nothing wrong with
that kind of music, I grew up on it. It
was all my parent's ever listened to so in turn while living with them it was
all I ever listened to. The only way I
could hear Elvis, The Beatles or any other great bands of my generation was
when I slept at a friend's house. That
kind of music just was not allowed in our home. It was the work of the devil according to my parents. So of course when I moved out the first
thing I did was buy all the records I had been denied. I must admit it's been awhile since I've
really listened to country music, so I give up trying to find a rock and roll
song in the frequency.
Must of the
songs I don't recognize, I'm surprised how much this genre of music has
changed, but all music categories evolve over time. I look at my watch, 1:31 they have been gone for 20 minutes. Maybe I should of given them a ride to the
stand, it would have been the decent thing to do. But they did say no when I asked, still I should have
persisted. We have to get heading back
on the road soon. Molly's show starts
at 7:00 and I'm really not sure where the venue is actually located. I hate it when club managers give bad
directions; it's not that hard of a thing to do. At least I don't think it is.
I was about
to put the keys into the ignition when the music on the radio caught my
attention. I decided to listen to the
song, music usually when the music is good the lyrics are just as great.
Well the hammer fell down on a forty-four primer
Now there's one less problem in South Carolina tonight
Wrong or right
She just looked at me as she finished her tale
And her blank expression went another shade pale of grey
There was nothin' to say
In the shadows of her face, I saw the scars
That you get when you live where love is hard
And she said
Don't you sit and judge me
From some high and mighty seat
Don't you shrug off
Until you've walked a mile in my bare feet
'Cause there are people that you pass by every day
With harder cards than yours in life to play
Well I put the cuffs on her
And I put her in the car
And I walked in and he was on the floor
Stone dead
Shot in the head
There were whiskey bottles and dope by his chair
And a starving baby with nothin' to wear
But tears
You know, the picture was clear
He had finally pushed her farther than the line
And the badge i wore had lost all of it's shine
Don't you sit and judge me
From some high and mighty seat
Don't you shrug off
Until you've walked a mile in my bare feet
'Cause there are people that you pass by every day
With harder cards than yours in life to play
Well I stood there thinkin' how justice was blind
But I didn't see any and I could see just fine
And I made up my mind
So I took the cuffs off her
And I took her back in
I wiped off the gun
And wrapped it in his right hand
Where it should've been
And the morning paper told in black and white
Just another senseless case of suicide
Oh, just a suicide
Oh but don't you sit and judge me
From some high and mighty seat
Don't you shrug off
Until you've walked a mile on my beat
'Cause there are people that you pass by every day
With harder cards than yours in life to play
Yeah the hammer fell down on a forty-four primer
Now there's one less problem in South Carolina tonight
Damn
it! I wish I had never turned on the
radio. Wish I had continued my quest to
find a rock station, but it was too late.
That one song pushed up a thousand emotions I thought were buried so
deep that they no longer existed. That
they had become nothing but a silly once a blue moon of a bad dream. People say even the smallest things can stir
up memories, usually the ones you want to forget the most. That song had happened to me, I had played
the role of the cop. It was 23 years
ago while I was living in West Virginia and working at Barlen's Bar as a
bartender.
