Ten years and countless events. I've witnessed this man being thrown off a city bus. This was my first encounter. He smelled like a brewery. Even before he could open his mouth to speak, the other bus riders were already weary of him. He must've said something wrong to the bus driver, or the bus driver was  irritated and said something wrong to him which started the whole thing. The next thing I know, the driver pulls the bus over, unbuckles his seat belt and opens the door.


"Hey, hey you ****, get the hell off my bus!!"

 The language being thrown out gets everyone else  riled up. Wayne, the drunken passenger everyone is now fixated on, exchanges a few **** yous, the driver sends a couple **** yous right back at him. And because Wayne is wasted, the drivers hostility is tolerated by everyone, even encouraged to a degree.

You could tell he was homeless. It took him 5 trips on and off the bus before his being kicked off was complete. He had 2 soiled duffel bags, a few bags of groceries, his bicycle and a box of junk. Why would the driver allow him on in the first place? The situation had trouble written all over it. Some people are drawn to excitement I guess. I know if I was a bus driver, spending 8 hours of my day taking the same route back and forth back and forth, I would need something to keep me occupied. So, hey, why not pick up an intoxicated traveler whose carrying a truck load of belongings on his back?

Maybe that wasn't my first encounter. The more I think about it, the more I recollect memories of Wayne causing trouble or trouble being caused all throughout town. He actually isn't that bad of a guy. Sure, he reeks of alcohol and always seems to have cuts and bruises on his face giving the impression he was badly beaten up the night before. So he just so happens to go in and out of  convenient stores randomly cussing at anyone who is within 2 feet of his crocked path. His  behavior is that of any other drunks behavior. He just so happens to be this way around the clock and out in public. His your typical garden variety drunk! People who aren't used to seeing him around town get awfully scared when they first cross his path. This fear usually creates a bit of tension and hostility. I've found, if you just say "hey man, whats up you having a good day" Then he's usually very friendly. And once he starts talking, you learn that he is very intelligent as well. But, if you decide to beat him to the punchline and call him an **** before he has the chance to call you one, then the craziness begins. Fights break out, cops get called. Then the spectators are amazed when the cops show up. This guy has had so many run ins with the law, they usually know its Wayne on the scene before they even show up. And Wayne knows it too! He will proudly proclaim, "Go ahead and call the cops, they already have my back!" And its not so much that they have his back, they just know how to deal with him and make him feel human.

Today I was at the local pharmacy picking up some iced tea and a pack of marb reds. Just as I'm rounding the corner toward the refrigerated section,  low and behold who do I happen to run into but the infamous Wayne. He must've recently gotten out of the hospital because he was ranting and raving about a hospital bracelet. He recognizes me and stumbles over.

"God damn stupid bitches" He says in a raspy voice

"I told that dumb asian lady to just call in my **** bracelet and they'd tell her my prescription! You know what the bitch did, she threw it in the trash and said LEAVE!!! LEAVE??? What the hell, I need my medication, I'm in pain!!"

As he steps closer I notice the dried blood coming from his forehead directly beneath  the bill of his hat. He looks up and I see both eyes have been blackened accompanied with a gash right above his nose and below his left eye. I felt a lil uncomfortable, with the blood and all. Still, I acknowledge his presence and greeted him by name.

Me, " Hey Wayne, haven't seen you in a while, how's it going?"

He smiles and just as he's about to tell me something, the overhead speakers go off.

an automated voice announces, " Security sweep, code 47, Security sweep, code 47"

Grabbing up his belongings from a shopping cart a few feet away he angrily shouts, " You don't need to call Security, Im **** leaving this place, you're all a bunch of bitches, Punk bitches"

As he walks toward the door, I follow not too far behind and get in line to pay for my tea and cigarettes.  The manager walks up to the front of the store.

" Why was security called?" Asked the Manager to the Cashier

A devastated customer decides she should throw her 2 cents in, " That man was drunk, he was drunk and screaming profanities through the store! He should not be allowed in here!"

Another customer leaves and comes back in, " Um excuse me, that  man is standing by my car"

As I walk out the store toward the direction Wayne was headed, I notice that he wasn't standing by the customers car at all. He was only walking by it, walking his crocked path to get to his next destination. It was early morning and he was on a mission. No one cared about his mission, no one acknowledged or respected that he was a human living his own life with an agenda to keep. The customers, the Cashier, the Manager, everyone at that store in that moment in time were in a hysteria. As he was walking away, they continued to harass him, calling him names, trying to pick a fight with the drunken man who had caused a scene. Even as he walked down the road, out of sight, they all stood and watched while occasionally throwing out insults. Which makes you wonder, whose the real villain and whose the victim?