Part 1 is here.
PART 2
The police were condensing everything into boxes and loading this stuff into one of their own trucks.
“There’s so much here to pack up,” complained one officer.
“Well if I’d known you were coming, I could’ve prepared better,” I said, half rebellious and half joking.
“That’s the spirit.”
I hated them so much. Outside, one of the officers was talking to a woman from Channel 16. The police were everywhere, defiling the place I knew and cared for. Nothing would be the same.
One of the officers asked me, “Do you like have any bug spray or wasp spray? There’s some wasps back by the vehicles and….[blah, blah.”
“No, I don’t. Sorry.” I wasn’t really sorry.
July 3rd is officially one of the worst days of my life. The man from the state denied ever having made the deal. The policemen treated my dad and myself like criminals. Our 48 Chevy was scratched because of the careless men as they went back into the garage to check out the motorcyles…to make sure that they weren’t stolen.
I was in a depressed daze for days afterwards. The only adjective that came to mind in the days was “wounded”. I felt wounded. I felt violated. I was so incredibly depressed and was sure I couldn’t afford college now. A bitterness brew inside me, making me hateful of everything and everyone. That bitterness lingered for a long time. I sometimes still feel it resurfacing, making me an angry person that I never once was.
How can I trust state officials or policemen after this debacle? Where is the justice, I ask you? I was raised to believe that the cops were the good guys. You were supposed to go to them when there was trouble. But they could be just as bad. How can you trust someone who lies, condescends, and doesn’t care about what is right? These people may be human, but certainly appear to be a bit more corrupted.
Not all law enforcement is as irresponsible as the ones I was in contact with, and I’m not suggesting that all policemen are crooks. All I’m saying is they’re aren’t not all crooks (excuse the double negative there).
Things are finally stabilizing, but it was rough going for quite some time. All because of this issue, we had no product to sell for the rest of the year. We finally paid the fee, but never received a permit. We haven’t received any of the items that were stolen from us that haven’t been paid for yet. We’re in incredible debt because one man couldn’t keep his promise.
There is one good thing: I did make it to college. Luckily some last minute fixing of the FAFSA allowed the government and one loan to pay for me to go to school. I can only hope this summer will greatly make up for last summer.
Still. Nothing can ever be the same.
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