State of Emergency
This was the first year Mac wasn’t at the mall shopping. He had no one to buy for. The crippling economy his alcoholism and his wife dying had left him homeless. Even after 25 years in the same factory he was made to lay on a piece of card board around his peers going through similar mess. A few days until Christmas and the only feeling he had was to escape the cold somehow.
Suddenly the snow fell. It was the size of lint that was sometime in the rich’s belly button. Then it got bigger, and bigger as it started to stick.
Mac had ten dollars in his pocket that he collected through hand outs from the passersbys doing their Christmas shopping. He felt like he could take that money and go to a restaurant for breakfast the next morning. It was a full day for him. He wanted to sleep now.
Mac stayed at Monroe Park. It was a large grassy field where his fellow bums stayed. This time a year they would use the garbage cans for a source of fire to help keep them warm. This usually didn’t last long however, because the fire department came like clock work to put the fire out.
Monroe Park was the only place they could go. Mac’s friends would call it Mase Park named after the owner of the Mase factory that some of them had been laid off from. They lost their jobs so the owner could pay for his kids college education and his wife new breast implants.
The neighborhood surrounding Mase park was a mix between lawyers doctors and teachers depending on how far you ventured in. Some hated the site of a bunch of homeless men sleeping on cardboard. Some of the residents would say it brought down the property value others would say someone should do something about that but they never knew what that was.
Mac had been staying there for several months now. He stood infront of one of the trashcan that was smoldering from the fire put out by the fire department. The ten dollars was burning a hole in his pocket. He figured if he could buy some liqure he could go to bed warm that night.
Several of the other men were talking about their day to who ever would listen, but mostly they just wanted to get warm. They weren’t looking forward to laying their head down on the wet snow.
That was when Spike another homeless man walked up with his friend Ted who had a whole box of something.
Spike and Ted were always together, but it was sometimes difficult to figure out who was leading who. Sometimes Spike was the boss, and sometime however very quiet Ted was the one leading the duo.
“Shapiro is having his Christmas party and the people catering it left the back gate opened. There’s liqure and wine. If you hurry you may even get something to eat.” Spike announced.
Several of the men left.
Mr. Shapiro was a defense attorney and he lived in a mansion- the only mansion in the neighborhood so everyone knew where it was.
Spike was a good friend of Mac’s, but under different circumstances they wouldn’t of been friends. The only thing that brought them together was Monroe Park. Earlier in their friendship they decided that who they were in the past didn’t matter. There was only now.
Spike place the box of boos infront of Mac. He then took out a bottle of single molt scotch and handed it to Mac.
Mac smiled at Spike and took it. He looked at the bottle and almost cried. It was the same scotch his wife saved months for to buy him for Christmas. Mac didn’t remember the year but he remembered how good it taste.
“Merry Christmas Spike.”
“Merry Christmas Mac.” Spike said smiling at the bottle in Mac’s hand.
Spike took out a bottle for himself, unscrew the cap and took a big gulp.
Mac shook his head. “You don’t gulp this kind of scotch. You sip it.”
Ted came over to the two men. He laid his box of boose down. He looked at the trashcan they were standing beside.
“Let’s make another fire.”
“Hey what’s the date?” Mac asked to whoever was listening.
“Christmas Eve.” Spike answered.
The snow was now falling in golf balls. The three men drank and drank until the other men came back with toothless grins, holding a case of wine.
“Does anyone know how to open a bottle of wine? I have the wine opener.” One of the men asked.
Mac went over with his bottle of scotch.
“I know how.”
He laid his bottle inbetween his feet. The man with the case of wine handed him the wine opener, and a bottle of wine.
“You have to screw it in the cork, watch the rabbit ears go up, and then push them down.” Mac explained.
The men cheered as the cork popped out.
Mac looked at the men and said.
“Enjoy the banquet gentlemen.”
The wine opener was passed to bottle to bottle. The corks popped individually.
Ted smiled as he drank. Spike’s head felt heavy but this didn’t stop him from singing Jolly ole Saint Nicolas. Mac joined in. After more chugs of scotch and wine the whole crowd joined in. The men sang Silent Night and jingle bells. The words they didn’t know they muttered incoherently.
They drank and drank. They may have been cold as the snow was up to a foot but they didn’t stop them from singing. Some men went back to Shapiro’s house for more boos and whatever they could find.
The residence suddenly came home from shopping. As they parked their cars and got out with their Christmas presents, they looked in disgust at the homeless men singing Christmas carols drunk as skunks.
Suddenly they heard a scream a block away where Shapiro’s mansion was. This stopped the singing.
Mac looked at Spike and they looked towards the house. Several men ran away with their arms full of bread, candy, and boos.
“Looks like Shapiro is on to us.” Spike laughed.
Some of the men laughed. Mac was worried. What was going to happen now?
The men now ate and drank as if it was a Christmas party. They were warm despite the chills of the snow. An hour went by of celebrations. Suddenly they heard sirens but the men stayed. They had nowhere else to be.
The cops pulled up with two patty wagons and a few cruisers. Some of the men left not knowing where they can go. Then it happened. The cops started shooting tear gas at the homeless men surrounding the smoldering trash cans drinking Shapiro’s boos. The snow was still falling.
Some of the men were running around with tears in their eyes yelling and screaming for it to stop. Mac looked at Ted and Spike.
“Lay down and put your face in the snow.”
The three men did this but occasionally looked up at the chaos as they finished their bottles of scotch.
The police then came running in full riot gear. They started swinging their night sticks beating anyone in their way. Ted Spike and Mac however just laid there.
“I have a bad feeling about this, Mac.” Spike said.
The crowd of boosers dispersed in their own directions. Several of the men left with bruises on their body from being beaten. The police officers stopped as they got to the three men with their faces in the snow.
“Where’d you get the scotch?” One police officer asked as picked up one of the men’s empty bottles.
The three men laughed drunkenly.
“Santa Clause.” Mac answered.
The same police officer tapped him on his head with his knight stick.
Two other police officers showed up.
“Were you gentlemen having a Christmas party?” One asked.
The three men just laughed.
The same police officer picked Ted up from the ground. Ted puked on his shoe.
“Drunk in public.” The same officer concluded.
The police officers picked up the other two men, and put the three of them in handcuffs. Then they led them to one of the paddy wagons. The men got inside.
“Was this your master plan?” Spike asked Mac.
“I’ll bet it will be warm.” Mac answered.
“Can we bring the scotch?” Spike asked one of the police officers.
“I don’t want any more scotch. In fact I don’t think I ever want to drink scotch again.” Ted moaned.
The police closed the doors behind the men who were now sitting down. Finally the paddy wagon drove off occasionally skidding on the snow whenever it put on the brakes.
The paddy wagon arrives at the police station which was decorated for Christmas. There was lights, reefs and a bright red Santa Clause.
The three men were ushered inside by three police officers. They noticed the decorations and smiled.
“These men are going to the drunk tank!” One of the police officers yelled.
Another police officer pressed a button and three doors open which were apart of three cells. Ted, Spike, and Mac went into their individual cells as if they had done this before. One of the police officers actually laughed when he saw this.
Inside the cell there was two bunk beds and a single toilet. The three men looked at each other through the bars. They were each laying down on the bottom bunk.
“Where were we?” Asked Mac.
Spiked belted out Joy to the world. The two other men followed, and they did this until they went to sleep on their own beds.