Peace is broken. by Wesley

There are times when the events in our lives happen quite unexpectedly.  Not because we are careless or because we are willfully ignorant, but because sometimes shit just happens.  There are other times when events are as predictable as sunset, yet we are surprised.

If I began an anecdote with:  "I'm playing poker with guys who are members of the bloods, the Aryan circle and the Aryan Brotherhood..." There are endings that are predictable and endings that might surprise you:  I'm playing poker who are members of the Bloods, the Aryan circle, and the Aryan Brotherhood.  There are a smattering of independent violent felons who come and go, but we have a core group of guys who play.  It takes our minds off where we are and it passes the time.

We play tournaments, winner take all.  It is a format we developed over the last couple of weeks and it was working well.  The buy in is a soup and a stamped envelope.  That costs $1.45. 

The games have been highlighted by laughs and camaraderie and general pleasant times since we began. 

Cracks have been developing.  Some I have seen and some I have missed.  I try to keep an eye on events and relationships so that I can avoid trouble.  I have a pretty good track record of predicting events, and I began to feel like I needed to quit playing poker.

It began with the coffee shots the "Aryans" do.  The put 10 or more teaspoons of instant coffee into Dr. Pepper with cinnamon candy and suck it all down.

To this day, I have no idea why these guys do this.  Why would you want to get pumped up on caffeine locked in a small room packed with men?  I just want to go to sleep and wake up in 40 days....pee...and go back to sleep.

Mostly only white guys with little hair and "SS" tattoos do this.

Yesterday, they were pumped on their shots and insults were being hurled around by one of the Aryan Circle guys, who is obviously convinced that he is the smartest guy in the room.  He is constantly insulting people and would probably be beaten up on a daily basis if he weren't a steroid junkie no one will challenge.

He and a small time dope dealer nearly went into a fist fight over the disposition of 15 cents. Yes, the proper allocation of one dime and one nickel nearly had them throwing punches.  I decided it was time for me to quit.

Later, the leader of the Bloods was head to head against one of his underlings.  He decided, when he was short stacked, that he wanted to end it right then and split the winnings.  His underling refused and subsequently won the pot. 

He also won a serious beating for refusing to do what was demanded and share the soup and envelopes.

Then we all were rewarded with a couple of hours of shouting that the beaten man was not really a Blood, was weak, probably gay, and a man with a painful immediate future.  He was called a "bitch ass ho" and a "Ho ass bitch" and many more terrible accusations that I can neither confirm, deny, or accurately translate.

But they must be bad.

In any case, my card playing days are over.  Chess anyone?

Battle of Texas. By Wesley

10/5/2014

For a week it was all the talk.  Everyone in this human zoo exhibit was expected to take sides in the approaching clash.  You supported one or the other.  Black or white, good or evil, there was no neutral. 

The game: Texans vs. Cowboys.  The NFL battle of Texas. 

It's beyond debate that Houston is the superior city in every conceivable way.  Houston is awesome. The museum district, the theater district, the lack of winter, the food scene, the lack of people from Dallas, nevermind The Astros, Rockets and the Mighty Houston Cougars, all are factors in why the city of Houston is awesome!

Also, Dallas blows.  Everything about Dallas blows.  The fact that my ex-wife lives there alone makes me cheer for the Ebola virus.  Don't get me started on the douche bag dudes, the bimbo blonds, The Mavericks, the Texas Rangers, the existence of Fort Worth, the proximity to Oklahoma, and the gall of the city to think they are better than Houston, namesake of the former President of the Republic and hero of the war of Independence.

When it comes to NFL football however, due to  an accident of childhood geography, I am an ardent supporter of the Mighty Dallas Cowboys! I have tried to support the Texans, but I cannot.  I managed to cheer for them in 2013 when Case Keenum (former QB of my Alma Mater) played for them, but when he was gone, so was I.

But Montgomery County is in the Houston area, so in this tank, there were 2 Cowboys fans and 22 people that wanted to kill us.

By game time, there was as much testosterone in here as a monster truck rally.  Insults were hurled, bets made, and the game began.

There was agony, screaming, prayers, threats, promises, rebukes, curses, guarantees, lamentations, and MORE ARE CHAIR QUARTERBACKING than you can imagine (or stomach) before halftime. 

Every single play was analyzed and critiqued by a panel of felons.  Every single man who once played Junior high school football (and had a shot at the pros, except for that damn injury!) explained how they could do it better. 

When the Cowboys won the game in overtime, the crowd fell silent except for one person who loudly reminded everyone that he had told them so! That was me! and damn, I made a killing! I won a coke, M&M's (peanut! I'm naming the 1st one "Cornelius Pumpernickle"), 2 soups, 2 bags of coffee, and 500 push ups which had to be interspersed with exclamations of "Tony Romo did this to me!". 

I'm jail house rich today.  SUCK IT TEXANS!!!!!