He Poured Beer Down My Jacket And Demanded My Call Sign Until He Realized Who I Really Was

with the windows cracked and the neighborhood settling into its nighttime sounds around me. No bar noise. No laughter at my expense. Nobody leaning over me with something to prove.

I had wanted ten quiet minutes at the start of that evening. I hadn’t gotten them. I’d gotten something harder and something better: a room full of people who saw, and stayed,continue reading …