Saturday 16^th of February 2008

Jackie sat in a bus shelter on an extremely cold and bitter day in the industrial mini-city of Warren, Michigan. It was a cold Saturday with snow on the ground that came by two days ago. Although the weatherman this morning said that there was no snow coming down until after midnight, he did state that it was going to be a bitter cold day, so if needed to go somewhere, suit up. Jackie listened well, with her purple coat she had purchased from the Salvation Army for Three Dollars and Ninety-Nine cents. Her pair of two ply gloves she bought for One Dollar and Thirty-Five cents. The winter hat with just a bland non-color of black would protect Jackie's ears from frostbite, which was a mere ninety-nine cents from a value store that attracted many people in the low income level.

Included in that bus shelter was not only Jackie, but a black man nearing his sixties. Including a black woman who'd appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties. The two of them were trying to keep themselves warm. The bus shelter did block all of the wind from hitting the three in the bus shelter. But still, it was cold enough for the three of them to shiver inside the shelter. Jackie lifted up her sleeve of her left arm to see her watch, the big hand was at the three, the little hand slightly higher above the nine. She remembered the smart bus schedule stating that the route 710 outbound which was the Nine Mile Road going west, the bus was going to come by at nine-eighteen in the AM. But, as most times, the smart bus comes in five minutes after. And cold days like these, you can bet your ass that the Smart Bus will be coming on by a little later.

Jackie had no working vehicle anymore, it had died on the way to her temp job at a plastics plant that was located in Shelby Township. The shitty 1989 Ford Escort had took it's last breath while trying to take a left turn into a busy intersection. She had no choice but to let it sit, while she went around on that busy intersection of Twenty-Three mile and Hayes Roads, knocking on windows asking for help at first, in a frantic mood, while the red light was on. No one could or would help, she had to dial 911 to explain the predicament. The 911 operator on the other line pulled a pissy sigh and said under her breath, 'typical trash from Warren or Detroit.' Then assured the proper authority along with a tow truck are on there way. She was late for her job that faithful day on the second week of November, which didn't constitute her the lost of her job. But she no longer had the gift of her own transportation anymore, that she tried her best not to take for granted.

After, Jackie could get to her job with an agreement with a neighbor a few doors down from her apartment that he can drop her off to the Nine Mile / Van Dyke bus stop, where she can take the bus to the Van Dyke / 23 Mile intersection. Sadly, Twenty-Three mile did not offer a bus ride, so she would have to walk almost an hour to her job. After finishing up at ten o'clock PM, she would have to give a dollar bill or two out for a quick way back to the Twenty-Three Mile and Van Dyke bus shelter due to a ride, then opposed to walking. Where she could make it before the last bus arrived at around 11:30pm. However, she would have to walk back home, the last bus on Nine Mile was 11;25pm.

But the end of that job and a grueling commute would not be a nice one, thanks to Mother Nature, as she created an ice storm one Sunday in December, making it harsh the next Monday. Her dependency on a bus was delayed big time, the walk along twenty-three mile road with barely any sidewalk to walk on but the gravel should which was dangerously close to the road presenting speeding traffic. Not to mention the freeway pass as well. But the worst part of it all was the walking on Icy Grass and a foot of snow, with larger amounts being pushed onto the side. The whole walk down there took almost two and a half-hours. A little past the start of her job. When she walked in, punched in and began to start work, a supervisor reprimanded her and told her she was fired. She begged and cried to the supervisor to reconsider, but that went nowhere.

Jackie walked back on Twenty-Three mile with tears. She was in Michigan, lack of jobs. It was a miracle along with the temp job's secretary's preference of more women than men working, that she got that job. She walked back on Twenty-Three until she reached a little plaza that contained a specialty foods store where she attempted to warm herself up from the cold, along with a hot chocolate. She sat on the table, crying for over twenty minutes. A female clerk talked to her and while clocked in, dropped her off to the Twenty-Three Mile / Van Dyke bus shelter. It wasn't a big deal for the clerk and it was during a slow time. It was a franchise sub shop that was new to Michigan that made a mistake of opening shop there, since the economy was bad at the time.

All that daydreaming of the immediate past had created a time lapse to see that the bus was on it's way. Jackie would be temporarily glad to be able to walk into a warm bus. Even though she was the last in line, it was a godsend. Her first step in with a prepared one dollar and fifty cents while the grizzly sixty-something black man playing driver politely explained to the three walking in that he was sorry for the bus coming by late. Jackie deposited the one-fifty while the driver began to accelerate. She looked to the back to see a forty-something man that often rides the bus, at times drunk. Jackie stopped herself and sat next to the black women who entered the bus with her.

"I hope you don't mind, the guy over there...." Jackie told the black woman, who didn't seem to mind, but didn't say Yes or No.

Jackie had picked her own pocket to get out her wallet, she looked around to make sure that the drunk man wouldn't try anything. Jackie wasn't going to count what little cash she had, yet, she had her older son's cell phone number written on the business card for the temp service she was using. Not knowing another business card had fell out of her wallet.

Jackie had got out her cell phone and dialed her son's cell phone number. After three rings, a click came up with a teenage male voice being delayed, "Hello?"

"Donnie, it's your mom." Jackie stating the obvious.

"Hey." Donnie acknowledged, trying to wake up.

"Donnie, let's get one thing straight, I found that little bag of pot." Jackie said, saying out loud. The black woman turned her head to her.

"What?" Donnie blared out in question.

"Donnie, I found a little bag of pot on the floor this morning. Don't tell me that wasn't yours."

"It wasn't." Donnie said.

"Then whose is it, are you telling me it's Sean's?" Jackie referring to her other son.

"No..."

"Donnie, please, don't do that kind of crap. I don't want Sean seeing that, he's eight years old for crying out loud." Jackie urged.

"I'm sorry, mom." Donnie with a usual excuse.

"Donald... I do hope you get actually get caught, this hasn't been the first time you've brought that crap in the apartment. Now, get up, make sure Sean eats breakfast and clean up while you are there." Jackie giving directions.

"Okay mom, I'll clean up." Donnie assured.

"You better get off the bed and do it." Jackie urged.

"I'm getting up. Mom, what did you do with the bag of pot?" Don asked.

Jackie was disgusted with that question, she pulled a pissy sigh and pressed the red button to end the call.

"I would of kicked his ass." Said the black woman next to her.

"What?" Jackie asked, she didn't quite hear her.

"Your son, I would of kicked his ass if I were you." She said, "Smoking pot, I beat my son's ass."

Jackie laughed at that while she put her phone back in her pocket. "I don't want to go to jail." She said with a smile.

"By the way, you dropped this business card. It's all crippled up." The black woman said as she handed Jackie the card.

"You better tell that person to give you another card." She added.

Jackie had that business card in her hand, holding it up. It was Tina Ehret-Palavich's business card. Jackie looked at it and smiled, she had kept that card and never lost it. It was her keep sake, her very own keep sake. The smile had questioned the black woman next to her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Jackie looked away from the card and towards the black woman, "Oh, yes. I'm okay."

Jackie wanted to hold on to that card and daydream about the only person with power that was nice to her during those harsh times when she was living in California. But, she didn't want to appear as a mental case, she carefully placed the card in her wallet, without ripping it apart. It was her keepsake that she protected. It brought her happiness, although temporarily.

The bus had pulled over on Nine Mile, just a little before Van Dyke Avenue, to allow the possible elderly black man to step out of the bus, along with the crazy white drunk. Entering in the bus was a twenty-something white male, who worked with Jackie. He went by the name of Jake. The bus began to move while Jake deposited only a dollar, opposed a dollar and fifty-cents. He flashed his handicapped proof to the driver. He then sat up front and looked down. There was a story about Jake, he was mentally ill, seldom talking to himself. His history at school wasn't to well, a special ed kid often being bullied and getting his ass kicked. His exact age was unknown to Jackie, but it had been said he was just past twenty-one.

It would be a surprise that the mentally-screwed Jake would work overtime hours, but as he recently said to Jackie a week back, that he has an older brother at home who has no job and often drinks. And, according to him, his father and step-mother doesn't seem to care. It would appear that his older brother sure had the life, no worries and can get drunk each and every day. Jackie and Jake's bus stop had come up at an industrial building located closer to Stephens Street on the major road they stopped at. The two had to walk a little less than a half mile, to get to the building, in this could weather. Jake always walked fast, so he was a ways away.

After the blistering cold walk and the thoughts of why she voted for Jennifer Granholm as Governor of the great state turning bad state of Michigan, she finally got into the warm factory with the snuffles and a harsh cough. And the wish that she could walk as fast as Jake. She didn't see Jake around, but she saw a older male supervisor taking inventory. Jackie could punch in now but she could not start until 10am. Her end of her shift was 2:30pm. After she had pulled in, a black male, nearing thirty had stepped in to punch in as well. He then said to himself,

"It's cold as **** outside."

It passed an hour as Jackie and Jake were bending over backwards putting metal parts into metal containers. The emo-clothed, black-haired Jake was at the other side of the wall of stacked product, doing his own thing. He was talking to himself again, Jackie looked over and began to think. Jackie walkways knew he was mental, he had a story to tell, chances are that it wasn't a very good one. Jackie upon beginning of her job asked Jake why he would talk to himself. Jake didn't say any words, but he appeared pissed off when Jackie asked him that question. All and all, Jackie never talked to him much, only if it was job related. He was always to himself. He only discussed job related stuff to follow employees and supervisors. If anything personal, it would be on break, through his cell phone. Form what Jackie learned, his older bother with a enormous drinking problem. She had seen him on the cell phone, mainly insulting him, calling him a lowlife, an *******, a cocksucker, etc, etc, etc. From what Jackie gathered from other employees, he has issues with his family, and to keep secrets, he sees a shrink, yet, it is unknown how much he sees his shrink in a given month.

"Why the hell do you talk to yourself? The hell is wrong with you?" The black man said to Jake as he walked in. Jake stopped moving his lips, but continued on with his work though. The black man began to chuckle, shaking his head, "Seriously man, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Hey Rob, I need you to get the hi-lo going and get some of this stuff over here for Monday." said the supervisor that was a way's away. The black man now identified as Rob had turned his attention to the supervisor briefly to acknowledge his directive. Before Rob walked away, he took one last look at Jake, just working. He then laughed and walked away.

"Are you okay?" Jackie stopped and asked Jake. But Jake did not answer. He just kept moving with the work he was doing. No reply at all. It would be another version of Lila Hasserman. Only in the body of a skinny Emo adult with serious mental issues. Jackie rolled eyes, along with 'tch.' Why not? Jake was too interested in talking to himself over talking to others. Jackie instead, would stumble over her thoughts.

She allowed herself to think of the aftermath of the car accident. Jackie awoke sitting down in a moving ambulance heading towards the hospital, rather not urgently. Upon waking up, a medic next to her asked her if she needed oxygen. Jackie refused, ten looked over to her son who was sitting across, from her, appearing okay, yet sad. She asked her son if he was okay, he said he was, but his Sega Game Gear was destroyed. When they arrived at the hospital, which was one of the much nicer ones in the Los Angeles area, Donald was admitted with the City Health Plan card given to him from his mother for 'coverage.' It would later come with a large co-pay for Jackie of five hundred dollars.

However, it would be the same hospital that Lila was admitted to. Lila was sent to the third-floor of the hospital for care for a possible head injury. The prayers from Mary Hasserman seemed to work, she would later be okay. Jesus blessed her with her daughter being okay from a serious accident. It would be interesting to some, that it was the first time she prayed to Jesus for a long time. Besides that situation, why should she? She married a rich man, she didn't need Jesus, unless something really bad happened.

And another confrontation had erupted when the black-haired frowning spy had spotted Jackie from inside the room Donald was being cared for. Jackie saw the black-haired spy looking at her, then walking away quickly to inform Mary. Then an angry Mary waltzed into the room, to cause drama. This later had Mary pulled away by two nurses, informing security. Her next thought would be interrupted by Rob, with the Hi-Lo. Jake was done with his count and had walked away and appeared to be heading to the bathroom. Rob had to add a smart remark to Jake before he could step out of range. Jake did not offer a smart remark back. Although Jackie would think Jake as the rude-type, who wouldn't talk to anyone, she didn't like Rob insulting him each chance he would get. Now, it was silent again, but only with the sound of the Hi-Lo in the background being piloted by Rob.

Jackie had went onto the next thought. The day after the accident, Jackie was up that whole night before in her flat she had lived in for two years before, which the rent was being compensated for particularly by the State Of California, the larger portion. But, that hand that fed her was going to run away soon, due to a state cutback or two. She could not even sleep that night, he mind would not shut-off. The worst day of her life was now done, but the after-effects were still there, which would be a sleepless night.

The next morning, she had Donald not go to school. She sat there crying at times in front of the television, watching talk shows. Talk shows that featured happy people which made Jackie scream at the TV, changing it to the OJ Simpson Trial, which at that time, was the beginning of it. It bored Jackie after a while and switched to a talk show about children being bullied. It appeared it was staged, due to which that the children could confront there bullies on the show, but the acting was horrible. After that show, the news came one, the first ten minutes were about various shootings that had erupted in the Southern Los Angeles area. The after the news about the shootings and what not, was of the accident on Wilshire Blvd, which was Jackie's fault. Although her name was not mentioned, they did however mention that a woman working for Joel Hasserman, a well known music producer among a few pop star acts in the 80s and 90s, was driving his daughter, as well as her own son. When as the male news reporter had explained it, had not paid attention to the road and began to drive on the opposing lane, as said by the newsman, it was apparent that the woman had noticed that she was driving on the opposing lane and began to hit the breaks as she saw the semi-truck (which also was hitting the breaks) heading towards her.

Jackie was appalled by this viewing of the accident. It was easy for any persons not involved in that accident and everyone else to watch this. But not Jackie, she was involved. Then comments came up, one from the driver of that semi, who was a man appearing to be in his fifties with a deep redneck accent, commenting that he assumed at first that the car (as he referred it to the one Jackie was driving) was going to make a left turn, then suddenly was driving towards hi. Then another comment from a young lady stating that she wished that the car that was smashed did not have children in it. The newsman did state that no one was seriously injured.

The next thought would be interrupted by a bell ringing, which indicated it was break time. Jackie took off her industrial gloves and was on her way to the break room. She re-starting the thought process, going past the news to when she got a phone call from a towing company stating that her 1987 Ford Escort was at there towing yard. It was illegally parked right outside the Hasserman Mansion and had to be towed away to a car cut in Banning. Plus, the cost to get it out of there was $150. Jackie was surprised and asked how it got in the front of the Hasserman mansion when it was parked by the mansion, within the gates. The man one the phone paused and stated how the hell should he know, he then rudely warned about the price increasing each day she kept her vehicle, it would be an extra ten dollars per day.

Jackie had called for a possible babysitter, but no one answered or agreed. So she had Donald to come with her.

Jackie had entered the break room with Jake already inside, with a can of Pepsi. The drinking of dark pop in the turning noon hours appalled Jackie. Instead she would grab herself a coffee from the vending machine next to the pop machine for fifty cents. However, she did not have enough for the English Muffin at the vending machine, sad. She turned to see Jake sitting away from her, with a bag of sun chips and a sub that appeared he had bought it from a party store. It made Jackie stomach grumble, and she wanted to sob.

It would be interrupted by Rob's brisk entrance inside the break room. He had went straight to the coffee vending machine and put his change in for some coffee. Upon bending down to retrieve his cup, he looked over to Jake, who was sitting away from him and Jackie, his crunching sounds from the sun chips were rather loud.

"Hey, chew with you damn mouth close!" Rob yelled out. A pause came after, Jake's crunching stopped.

"God damn, my kids are better than that!" Rob adding more salt to the wound. A pause came after that comment as Rob was hoping and waiting for a possible response from Jake. Just one insult, and Rob would beat the **** out of him. But there was no reply at all.

"Rob, c'mon, leave him alone." Jackie finally had challenged. Rob got his eyes away form Jake and looked at Jackie.

"He's eating with his mouth open. I hate that, I have five kids, they all know better than that." Rob said. Then he left his right hand up, pointing at Jake, continuing, "And he's an adult."

Rob looked back, wanted Jake to react to that, instead, he kept eating and chewing with his mouth open.

"Did I tell you to chew with your ******* mouth closed?" Rob screamed at Jake.

This time, Jake stopped, but turned over.

"You're not my ******* dad, you chodesucking pile of ****." Jake said. Jackie was surprised by Jake now saying something to someone, not job related.

"Besides, do you have anything else better to do but to be concerned about what the **** I'm doing?" Jake asked another question to an irate Rob.

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Keyword: Warren Michigan Salvation Army Poor People Stupid People Industrial

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Posted by Xena 2008-06-21 16:55:06 more like thirteen years of GAy! ooh,,, no im just kidding.. thats what i thought it said when i read over the "recent stories section" i just thought id throw that out there + Report this comment

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