Saturday afternoon, 22 October 2016, in
Milwaukee turned into a glorious afternoon - the gloom of the morning was
replaced by bright sun. I left my flat around 3:30pm to walk about 4
blocks to the nearby Starbucks. I had a backpack on my back, which held a
heavy book, a scarf, and other clothing in case it was coldside in the cafe.
I normally walk a certain path, but the usual was shaded, so I took a
sunnier, tho slightly longer way. It is all by Marquette Univ. and
pleasant, though because the university classes were on short break, and many
students traveled away, so very few people were on the the usually crowded
sidewalks.
On the sunny side, I could see a young
man approaching me, but walking directly toward me, even tho I was on the right
side of the sidewalk. Generally, in the
US folks walk on the right, just as they drive on the right side. Rather than have a confrontation, I
moved to the left. He mumbled and asked something. Many men live in
a nearby homeless shelter, and often ask passers-by for money, which I never
give. But he asked where a certain street was. I pointed south with
my finger, and he asked if I would show him. I said he could get to that
street if he turned left at the next corner, and he decided to walk with me
that half blockto the next corner.
.
Suddenly he moved very close, placing
his left arm above my backpak and round both my shoulders while simultaneously
jamming something in his right hand into my belly. "Give it up or
I'll pop you." I've taught British English and American English,
but I do not know criminal English. I assumed he meant, give me your
wallet or I'll shoot you. But the object in my belly did not feel like a
gun. It was hard and thin, red with small metal circles on it, with perhap
a knife inside it.
We struggled. I was able to shove
his hand with the slim object away from my stomach and above our heads, but he
got his right hand free from mine and hit me hard. I fell, trying to pull
his dredlocks as I wnt down, and pull him down too. But my hand did not close round his bleached
locks, so he had more of an advantage. I went down. More punches and
struggle. I was also yealling, “Help!” He was trying to get into my
pocket. Then I heard a male voice shout, "He's a police," and
the thief scrambled to get up and into a waiting car, as a Marquette Univ.
policeman and several others rushed to the scene. The thieves rode off.
I got up and could see little
with blood covering my eye. I had retained my wallet, and now gave it to
the policeman to show ID. An ambulance
came for me and rode me to a nearby hospital.
I received a cat scan, got stitches round my left eye, and was nauseated
because of blood dripping from my sinus into my stomach. But no one would give me water because of the
operations. Instead, I was given crushed
ice. A detedtive from the Milwaukee City
Police force interviewed me about the mugging, and even showed me a number of
pictures of possible perpetrators. I was
unable to identify any of those shown as the culprit. The doctor who stitched me up was from
Vietnam, a boat person, and we chatted about Saigon. But he was not able to stitch my eyelid, -
that required a specialist =- so I had to be transferred to another hospital
for that procedure. The other hospital
was out in the suburbs. Into another
ambulance and more nausea. It was about
midnight when I arrived. Waiting, more
crushed ice, more waiting. The doctor
and a helper stitched the area beside the eye.
Around 4 am a police van drove me back to my apartment building. I took a pill and slept until about noon
Sunday.
The thief got no money from me.
But I face medical bills.
It was probably a
random attack. But in Starbucks I do show a bookmark stressing Trump
(which is not popular in this neighborhood). Compared to the several
shootings over the past month in Milwaukee, my encounter was minor. But
this is Obama's America, where he has made the police into the enemy, and
defended the violent criminals. The result - more violent criminals.
Sunday afternoon,
I woke and decided to wear the very same clothing and go to Starbucks and read
– do what I had planned to do the previous day.
I purposely walked by the very spot of the mugging, and saw my blood on
the pavement, and knew for certain now in front of which business the mugging
occurred.
I entered
Starbucks with my half-closed eye, my black/blue eye area, my stitches, and, on
my light green sweat shirt, a large blood stain. When the servers looked at me, I stressed
that I was simply wearing my Halloween costume early
Hugh Murray.
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