part 14

2024

That's a whole book my bro

6/9/24

mm/dd/yy?

June 9th, 2024

I got June 7
"I've begun to write my memoir of... sheesh... my high school days. I feel old just writing that. I've hit a bit of a block during Fall 2022 when I start talking about the highlights of Biology partnering with [REDACTED]. I just can't find the words to do her justice."

august 12 2024

Already taken, want another one?

december 20 2024

"Though the days grow short and the nights long
and the frost gathers in your windows,
let not the cold reach your heart
let not the darkness enter your soul
but take a moment to marvel
at the beauty of it all

Let your heart be warm and merry
Let your soul be light as a feather
cast aside your fears and doubts
and cherish these precious days
when the world sleeps
and humanity rejoices"

April 1st, 2024

I ain't writing the raw version, it'll take too long. Here's the refined version that I already had:

The CrimGov class had taken a field trip, and the original plan was to sit in on the jury selection proceedings at the municipal courthouse. However, the line to get in was easily 70 people long. Fortunately, Ms. India had a backup plan; sitting in on the bond court, which happened to be in the jail. For the unfamiliar, a bond court essentially processes all arrests, giving the miscreants a time and date to show up at court and setting their bonds.
We waited in the lobby of the jail for about 30 minutes. During that time, three or four pairs of people dropped in. From overhearing them talking and maybe a touch of telepathy, since some of them were speaking Spanish, I deduced that they were here because the people on trial were relatives or friends of theirs. After what seemed like forever, the proceedings began, and we all went to the courtroom. The judge (name of Myers) was a middle-aged black guy with a shiny bald pate. For some reason that kind of look strikes me as kindly and grandfatherly.
Judge Myers introduced himself to us, and when he learned we were there on a school trip, he gave us front row seats. Literally! We were up so close, we could see the faces of the miscreants behind the door to what I presumed was the cell blocks. I’ll go through each one in order because it’s interesting.
First up was an older white lady named Angela Something (I didn’t catch her last name). She was charged with a DUI and a DWL (Driving Under Influence of booze or drugs, Driving Without a License). Fairly unremarkable case. She was charged a $1500 PR bond.
The first dramatic case of the day was the second one. The… I need a better word… convict-to-be… was a young (I estimated around 20) black woman named Gabrielle. She was charged with trespassing, inappropriate conduct, and resisting arrest. Poor girl, she was homeless, jobless (unless you count online college), and had a long criminal record that included prostitution, vagrancy, and various other charges. Her parents “don’t give a f**k” about her (her words). There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I had seen this before. Then she said “I lost everything because of this officer”, and a wave of déjà vu hit me so strongly that I physically flinched. This wasn’t just any déjà vu, I KNEW that I had been here before.

The third case was by far the most serious of the day. The suspect – no, it’s not right to call him that because he was caught red-handed, monster is a better word – was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala named Arnoflo Salas, and he had been in the U.S.A for FIVE years as a construction worker. In all that time, he never thought to learn English… supposedly. At one point Myers told him to stand closer to the window and he did so before the interpreter could do his thing. Speaking of the interpreter, he had a rough time because the guy wasn’t even fluent in Spanish! He spoke primarily “Mam”, some kind of Inca/Maya dialect that I had never heard of before. Anyway, what did Salas do to earn the title of “monster”. The charged explain themselves: criminal sexual intercourse with a minor and first-degree rape. That… that MONSTER was caught red-handed in the act of raping a little girl who lived with him and another family in his trailer. That she got an STD is almost beside the point. The detective on the case requested that bond be denied, and it was. I don’t hate many people, but this guy definitely makes the grade. I hope he’s still rotting behind bars to this day.
The next three cases were more Hispanic guys: Jose, Francisco, and Vasquez. They also needed an interpreter and were all charged with DUIs, but unlike Angela Something, they got surety bonds, which are more severe.
The seventh case was a middle-aged, potbellied white guy named Eric Giamater who was booked for speeding. Tame stuff.

The eighth case was a black guy named Dana Hilton who was charged with driving under suspension and dealing weed. He got a bit feisty with Judge Myers and bond was set at $1500, PR.
The ninth case was a Japanese guy named Brandon Sato, who didn’t have an actual job. Instead, he volunteered as an online pastor (which is kinda shady in and of itself) and still ended up being fairly well off, which is even shadier. He was charged with second-degree domestic violence towards his wife. It would’ve been third-degree (anything from arguing to a slap), but the fact that their children were witnesses automatically bumped it up a degree. His wife was in the courtroom and looked very frightened. She presented Judge Myers with a written statement of some kind, which he read, and a dark scowl crossed his face. Whatever it was must’ve been pretty bad, bond was set at $5000 PR and Sato was released to his sister’s custody with orders not to interact with his wife in any way.
The tenth case was a guy named Norman, a security contractor who was charged with domestic violence (I didn’t catch the degree) towards his daughter. He also had a previous record that involved exploitation of the elderly. Bond was set at $500, surety.
The last case of the day was a guy named George Diggs III, what a swanky name. He was an Iraq vet who was charged with third-degree assault and battery. Apparently, he lent his son his truck, whereupon his son proceeded to wreck his truck, so George slapped him. I don’t blame the guy. Bond was set at $1000, PR.

4/20/2025