started this post last nightgoing to give it a glance
not really an edit
just a glance then post it up
the sopranos is playing in the background
initially I had pushed the computer aside
it had been a long while since I had seen the sopranos
it is nice getting re-introduced to the characters
after a few minutes of my full attention I picked up on that I had seen this one
with things moving more soap opera than action I am drifting back towards the blog
there was a story I wanted to tell
I remember running into a friend of mine in a dive bar in Adams Morgan
maybe it was Dan's Cafe maybe it was Millie and Al's
this was over a decade ago
the details are blurred
the details may have been blurred at reception of the information
this was a guy I knew from around town and when he told me the story we were in a bar
a guy I knew from the cycling culture
his name escapes me
he was a messenger
if I recall he rode a yellow cannondale
maybe it was a pink cannondale
maybe it was not a cannondale at all
it was a mountain bike with knobbies if I can recall
let me see what I can remember...
in the bicycle culture it is not uncommon to see a black eye or a plaster cast
maybe not plaster as fiberglass or velcro adjustable aparatus have replaced plaster
these things can appear from time to time as cycling has it risks
so I see this friend of mine across the bar
there is a wave and a nod
I stroll over to say hello
as I got closer I could see the black eye and the bruised face
thought it was going to be a story about a collision with a taxi cab
okay... he looked pretty bad... maybe a run in with a metrobus
not too far into a pitcher of beer and the story came out
as it was the lead in topic for the night
a few nights prior he was headed home from the pub
when he got to his bike he removed his kryptonite lock
before he even mounted the bike he noticed that his chain was missing
not a chain as in lock... but as in bicycle chain
not giving it much thought
he put his lock in his bag and started walking rather than riding his bike home
the walk did not bother him as he was only a few blocks from home
he figured once home he could just put on another chain
short cutting down the alley he got jumped
the beating was hard but not brutal
there were three young men, maybe four, maybe five
the numbers escape with more of the details
they men were not that old, maybe young adults maybe teens
even if there were only three of them and they were on the offensive
every time he tried to get up he got a kick and a punch
the agreement was simple
he stayed down and they would stop the beating
the would leave with the bike if he stayed down
after a few efforts to get up
he agreed to stay down
he was out a bike
he was a bit sore
not just his black eye but also a bruised ego
and a fracture to his view of the world
there was a certain degree of understanding that it was a nice bike
the whole thing had a certain feeling of a caper
which made it a riddle to be discussed and solved
how did they think of this?
had they pulled this stunt before?
how did they know the path that the cyclist would go home?
it all had at least a little sense of purpose
the bicycle was replaced and the bruises healed
it just became another story
some time last week
last week in the modern time
not in the time of that story
a friend of mine got jumped
not sure if he had his bicycle
not sure of the exact details
but I do know that he is a little bruised and his eye is blackened
and his view of the world is also a little fractured
his story is a little different
nothing was stolen
there was an attack and a beating but nothing was stolen
they did not take anything
which alters the purpose
the objective was not a bicycle, not a bag, not a wallet, not a pocket full of cash
the purpose was aggression
senseless aggression
as wrong as the beating was to my friend who had his bicycle stolen
at least there was a purpose
theft is wrong
there is no question that any act of violence outside of self defense is wrong
the concept of a mugging has greater purpose than simply jumping someone to beat them down
as wrong as it may be it can be understood
violence
senseless violence
I lack the focus to finish this thought
I gave it a glance
but no edits and no adition
theft
violence
life in the city?
I do not believe that it should be
these are the modern times
the world should be evolving in a more civilized direction
but it does not seem so
it sickens me to think that people think that such actions are okay or normal