I am a big believer in energy, whether negative or positive. That instantaneous pinch in the belly that says "something is happening here, pay attention." This so-called energy is important information, it has often been called the fight or flight instinct; I prefer to call it the truth within ... one that should never - ever - be ignored.
When I was in 6th grade riding the streetcar to school in New Orleans, I remember scoring a window seat on a very crowded car one morning. I was always thrilled by a window seat where you could stare aimilessly out of the cool, open window, like a happy dog hanging his head out of the passenger side of a car window. There I was in a 6th grade daze or haze or both, with several different passengers coming and going using the aisle seat next to me, none of them energetically triggering me to turn away from the open window. But then this man sat next to me and in an instant, I went from feeling like a free spirit to feeling scared and quickly turned around to see who had sat down next to me. He was bald, late 40's and dressed in a full suit. I was now looking straight ahead staring at the back of the person's head in front of me. He started reading the newspaper, which he strategically placed to the left of his body, making the newspaper a wall which he held with his left hand. He then pulled out his penis with his right hand and started rubbing it. I stood up frantically, petrified, and quickly pushed past him, operating on full fight or flight instinct. When I got off the streetcar, several stops before my school stop, I started sprinting towards school. He had subsequently moved to the window seat and as the streetcar pulled away, he hung his head out the window, we got eye contact and he grinned.
Today around 2:00 p.m. as I was taking my power walk/jog, I passed a liquor store where a man in his late 50's or early 60's was exiting, obviously already intoxicated, with a new bottle of poison in a brown paper bag in his right hand - and a three year old girl holding his left hand. He was actually telling her that his favorite liquor was too expensive to buy so that's why he bought this stuff (gesturing the bag towards her); there was that immediate stomach pinch saying - pay attention to what you're seeing. He then stumbled into his black car while shoving her into the back seat where I saw a doll sitting tall on the seat. He dangerously pulled out of the parking lot, barely noticing a driver that slammed on her brakes to avoid hitting him, I memorized his license plate number. Without a cell phone, my eyes dashed everywhere looking for a police car, perhaps parked at Starbucks or Safeway next door, nothing. Seconds later, like an angel from heaven, as I crossed Mcloughlin Blvd., there in front of me sat a cop at a stop sign who I flagged down. I asked him if one can file a complaint when there is no hard evidence, just a pinch in the belly that signals something isn't right. He encouraged me to share what I had seen, which I did, and because I had a license plate number, the cop fed the number into his computer, which then provided a home address. The cop quickly pulled away, saying he was on his way to this man's house. I wish I could know if that little girl is okay.
