Real Life Anxiety and Jets T-Shirts

It was Sunday, 26 August and the Jets were playing the Panthers.  

The Jet fans made their pilgrimage to Game On to watch the Jets loose…again.   Yaega Lee was working and no music played while the Jets were on TV, at least for the first three quarters.  

Isley, B.B. (who grilled some burgers, steaks, and sausages) and quite a few other regulars including Mr. Clean (Yaega’s Man-friend) all became steadily disgusted as the Jets lost but none more disgusted than T.D. who chose to keep the faith, even though Jenny chose to leave.

They arrived together from hanging with friends in Manhattan and just spending a day as a couple.  They plan to get married and a small window into married life was going to open up for T.D. in ways he couldn’t begin to imagine.  Jenny was emotional (moon was going into a three quarter phase) and worried about her teenage son, who after a day with friends hooked himself up to his X-Box and played some online war games with other video game junkies.

Even though she hinted she was leaving T.D. kissed her and said he would see her later…after the game.  Sometime in the fourth quarter, after Isley, BB, and some other regulars were beating up on some of the video games in the bar after realizing the Jets were going to lose as usual, T.D. got a phone call.  T.D. spoke into his phone loud and aggravated.  T.D. said “No, No, not now, the game is almost over…what, are you for real?  OK!  OK!  I’m leaving now.”

T.D. stormed out of the bar and left for home.  The regulars decided to watch “Worlds Dumbest Criminals” and I, just decided to finish my beer and go home.  I really had nothing to go home to except aggravation and conflict, but at night most instigators would be asleep and some expectation of peace, just for one night, was calming me down.  But the demons in the universe had other plans.

The Jets game had not been finished yet a half hour when Yaega took a phone call on the bar phone.  Yaega disappeared hanging up the bar phone and calling someone on her cell phone. 

I was now in a good state of mind, not thinking of anything except a hot cup of tea, a shot of Jack and my bible.  When the mellow tunes and the din of talk and laughter was interrupted by the loud exclamation of “OH MY GOD”, Yaega gasped and started yelling into the phone… “don’t do anything, cooperate with them Jenny…I know who can handle this, just don’t do something stupid.”

Every eyeball in the Game was on Yaega as she came straight to me.  Yaega’s eyes were as big as half dollars and her face braced in terror. 

 “RJ, you need to go to T.D’s and Jenny’s something bad is going on, their having some kind of fight and the police are in a ‘situation with T.D.’”  “What kind of situation Yaega?”  “Just go, you know how to talk to the police.”  About that time I wanted to say fuck it and go home, but as a friend and advisor I went to T.D.’s

T.D. lived down the street and around the corner from Goldies, a landmark restaurant in the South area of town by the Gibson Station.  As I went up the road, I was impeded by three police units which had blocked the street.  I called Yaega before I got out of the car and informed her of the situation.  “Yaega, some guy is laying face up, palms up, nearly naked talking to the police, I can’t get through.”  “It’s T.D. RJ, Go and talk to the cops before things get worse.”

I said a quick prayer, asking God for wisdom and rebuking the devil, who screwed up a really good buzz and a good frame of mind.  “Good evening officers” I said upon approach, “I’m Reuben James and I came to see about my friend, T.D., if I may enquire officer, what has T.D. done?   The three tall imposing African American officers all looked at me as if I lost my mind.

The lead officer asked, “So you do know him?”  Before I could answer T.D. yelled “he’s my minister, he’s advising me on marriage”.  I produced my credentials for the lead officer who handed them off to his partner and said, “talk to your friend, he hasn’t done anything yet, but he and his woman are in a dispute.”  I thanked the officer who had his partner hand me back my credentials as he whispered something to the lead officer.

“T.D., what are you doing undressed laying in the street?” (I could not help to notice the number of eyeballs peeping through blinds and curtains, looking out of their windows).  

 “Officer, would it be alright if my friend was able to sit up?”  “Fine with me Deputy” said the officer, acknowledging he ran my credentials. Lead Officer said “we didn’t put him in the street, he did that all by himself.”

“Yo, T.D., stand up, slow, catch your breath and relax.”  “OK RJ,” said T.D. standing up, beer belly sagging, neon pale, near naked, looking like the Fellini version of the Michelin Man, lit up by police car headlights, flashing red and blue strobes, now T.D. put his hands behind his head, dramatically awaiting his fate. 

I had to ask, “Officer, do you have T.D. in custody?”  “Hell no, he told us he wants us to arrest him because if he stays he might do something stupid…can you talk to your friend?” (I had to keep the drunk tank out of T.D.’s future)

“T.D., where are your clothes?”  “In a bag in the garbage with the rest of my Jets jerseys, t-shirts and gym gear RJ.” 

“T.D. get your things out of the trash and get dressed.  What did Jenny do to make you want to call the cops on yourself?”  “Flipping out… RJ, Jenny is shouting, screaming and aggravating me because I want to hang out and watch the Jets…”

Before T.D. could go on a rant I stopped him and asked, “where is your wallet?”  “In the house RJ.”  “Wait here T.D. as I talk to Jenny.”  I asked the lead officer if I could talk to Jenny. “Please!” was the lead officers response.  “Jenny is it all right if I come up?" 

“RJ you can come up but not him, not that nasty lowlife…he called the cops on me!”  Before Jenny could go into ultra bitchy mode (her eyes as big as silver dollars and on fire with pure rage) I asked if T.D. could get his wallet.

“No, he can’t come back in here RJ.”  

“Jenny, T.D. needs identification to fill out forms with the police.”  Jenny took off her engagement ring and told me to give it to T.D. then said “OK, RJ he comes up with the police, that’s the only way.”  Immediately I get the officers to escort T.D. up the stairs to get his wallet.   I told T.D. to make sure he got “everything he needed” especially his keys.  

“I don’t need my car keys.”  After getting his wallet he went back outside with the lead officer. Jenny screamed about getting her $20,000 deposit back for the wedding hall and reception area and ranted about exposing her son to a nasty negative example.  

Jenny went into a panic when the other officer asked her for identification.  (Problems with the DMV)  After the officers took the necessary information they wanted to know if the parties had a resolution.  When they began shouting at each other the officers quickly got them quiet and then looked at me.

I suggested, to quickly defuse the conflict, that T.D. leave for the night or at least a few hours and stay at his mothers house.  The officers said that was a sound idea.  T.D. and I walked out of the door, I stopped and asked him if he had everything he said “yes” and we walked out waiting for the officers to finish up with Jenny.   

The officers, who were happy with the resolution, got off the block as quickly as they showed up.  I collected T.D. who now did not want to go to his Mom’s house. 

“Remember what you told the police T.D.”  “Lets go back to Game On” said T.D. as I rolled down the street as quiet as I could.  “You have your keys T.D.?”  

“No RJ.”  “How do you expect to get back into your house when she goes to work?”  T.D. shook his head and said, “I need a beer.”  I took him to Game On where I was going to leave him.  Game On patrons scattered after I left fearing the police would follow me back or I would show up with T.D.

Yaega Lee and Mr. Clean negotiated with Jenny the terms under which T.D. 

could return to his house (which he made clear was his house, he pays the bills, he buys the booze and cigarettes, he also pays the rent).  About that time while T.D. swore he would never apologize for anything, I played B.B. King’s “I Pay the Cost to Be the Boss” and old soul begging music that put him in the mood to apologize to Jenny.  (I was really outraged by the silliness of this drama)

(Jenny did make him beg and humiliated him by having him blow kisses) Hours after he called the cops on himself I took T.D. back home to Jenny, making sure he had Jenny’s engagement ring and his ‘Jetswear’. It was about a half hour before sunrise.

T.D. thanked me, Yaega thanked me.  I got home just in time to put out the garbage. 

RJ