Doc Stevens

Tondeleo: The Occupy Movement in the US is in a sad situation. A sad situation for the people of the US, and ultimately for the government of the USA, I believe. I was discussing this with Doc after watching the scant coverage of it last weekend on the local Fox network from Washington DC. We also watched the coverage on NBC-4.

For some reason, the news media in the US cannot comprehend what Occupy is about. Even when the Occupiers articulate specifically what they are protesting, the American journalists seem to just not get it. And they SAY so. Doc and I discussed this and here are some highlights from that conversation.
Of course everyone knows that the American Constitution gives all citizens the right to protest, or assemble peaceably, but the police do not always see it that way. 

Doc: Well, Tondy, here’s what it’s about in my ‘pinion. You got the rich folks who is totally outta touch with the rest of us. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with makin’ money or getting’ rich because you’re makin’ somethin’ that people want to buy, or you’re helpin’ people in a big way and they reward you for it. Ain’t no one here mad about that.

What this is about, far as I am concerned is these are rich folk that make their money by buyin’ companies what wasn’t even for sale, but they bought up all the things called stocks so they controlled it. Then they sold off everything of value, an’ then sold what was left to another company. And all the workers there lost their jobs. But the first company what bought their company where they worked don’t care. They just wanted the money.

Now these folks ain’t got jobs, so they can’t pay the rent or the light bill or the car payment, so they are put out on the street and their car gets tooken away. That’s what some of ‘em is protestin’ about, and I don’t blame them one bit. It aint right.

Others have made big money by fore closin’ on peoples’ houses what they was tryin’ to buy, but then couldn’t pay for when they hours got cut down at the job, or they got laid off. So the banks take they houses, and lets ‘em sit empty rather than let the people what loved those houses be allowed to live in ‘em til things got better. 

So you got more people outta work an’ homeless, and no hope. But they’s house is sittin’ there empty and squirrels and possums and rats are livin’ in ‘em for free, and tearin’ ‘em up. That ain’t right neither.
Then we got them wars that ain’t right. Them people over there aint no threat to America. If they was, they’d be a threat to Canada and Mexico an’ Braazil an’ all the rest. So why do we think we gotta go over there an’ bomb the bejeezus outta they countries? 

I heard that some of them bombs we’re chuckin’ down over there is two million dollars apiece and some is three million dollars. And who pays for that? All these people over here what already can’t afford to live! What if they cut back by, say, 10 of them bombs a month? That would be… it’d be… uhhh…

Tondeleo: It would be twenty to thirty million a month, Doc. Good point.

Doc: Well, it would help a lot of people to pay off they houses or get ‘em back, and it would help a lot of businesses get back in business so people could work and spend money.

And if a man ain’t got nothin’ to do with his time, he’s gonna catch a bus up there to DC an’ make his voice be heard. 

When I finish up the couple of jobs I got in the shop, I’m gonna go up there myself. An’ I am takin’ my own little crowd with me.

What makes me mad is what I seen on TV, that the cops’ll come in an’ start sprayin’ people with pepper spray even though the people is just sittin’ there or ‘spressin’ they opinion. That ain’t American, Tondy. Ain’t American. 

I got some kids what is gonna protest with me an’ they ain’t care nothin’ about pepper spray! I got ‘em from in front of a buildin’ over to Virgina what was throwin’ ‘em out, an’ we got the preacher up to the church to help us letter ‘em up real good. I can Occupy anyplace I want now, Tondy! I am a one man protest!

I got a picture that Big Dave took of me last week when we was settin’ ‘em up to see how it would go. Put it in your blob about me.

Tondeleo: The conversation about using deer hair as insurance led into another one relating to auto insurance, this one which was a clumsy attempt at insurance fraud by one of Doc and Big Dave’s friends.

Doc: Yeah, Tondy, here’s one for you. A few years ago, Porky Burch got drunk and wrecked his pickup into a tree. He had insurance on it, which surprised me. It was a new truck, at least new for what it was. Probably maybe five years old, It was worth puttin’ insurance on, if you had the money. But anyway, Porky was drunk and didn’t want the cops in on it. I didn’t know all that at the time.

Anyways, he walked over to Duncan Williams’ house, we call him Dunk, and gets Dunk to run him over here. It was about three in the mornin’ at that time. Porky asks me to come and drag his car over here and sit it behind my shop till he could get it fixed.

So I get out my loggin’ chains and we ride over there in my panel truck and we drug it back onto the road, and Marilyn sat behind the wheel to steer it, cause Porky was still drunk, and we drug it home and set it behind my shop. No problem.

Well, he came by and took his stereo and speakers out of it. Then it sat back there for a couple months and one night Porky and Dunk came by. They’d been drinkin’ and said they was takin’ Porky’s truck. They had Dunk’s father-in-law’s truck and a chain. I asked about how come he weren’t getting’ me to fix it and he said he WAS, but he had to take it somewhere first.

Well, what they did was, they towed it about ten miles on that chain, and then pushed it up against a tree, like it had just wrecked into the tree. Porky also put a guitar what he had broke one time when he was drunk and mad, and he put it in the passenger seat, like it had got broke in the accident.

Then, they went to Scott’s Store and used the pay phone out front to call the Sheriff, to report it stolen! Porky said he’d been in Scott’s all evenin’ and when he came out, his truck was gone! He was drunk, but he weren’t drivin’ so the cops let him alone on that one.

He told the cops what it looked like, Tondy, and they started lookin’ for it. About two hours later, one of ‘em found it, smashed into that tree!

Now, Porky figured he’d be able to get some ‘surance money out of it, and then they could bring it to my shop and get me to fix it for about half what he got paid for it! I didn’t know that at the time neither.

But guess what?

Tondeleo: What?

Doc: The cops called a tow truck. Tow truck driver pulled it back from the tree. Then they looked inside, and the keys was in it! Not Porky’s WHOLE key ring, cause he needed his other keys, just his truck keys! His keys were in the ignition, Tondy!

And the radio was missin’, but taken out real neat! And his guitar was in its case in the front seat! The case weren’t tore up! Just the guitar in it was broke up!

Worser than that, where the paint had gotten knocked off when he wrecked it a couple months before, was all rusted! And worser than that, the tree where they had pushed it into, wasn’t even scarred up or hurt! They had just pushed it up against the tree!

The cops figured out right quick what happened.

They went to Porky’s house to tell him they found his truck. Of course, Porky had drunk another couple of beers, thinkin’ about all that insurance money he was gonna get.

All they said was, “Mr. Burch, we found your truck…”

Old Porky’s first words to the cops was, “Did they wreck it real bad? I hope they ain’t stole my radio, it was worth a thousand bucks, which it weren’t, he’d got it on sale at the Wal-Mart. And then he kept sayin’ “How about my guitar? Was it broke up real bad?” and stuff like that.

The cops said it looked like it’s been wrecked a good long time, and that there was no skid marks, no damage to the tree or the guitar case, and whoever took the radio did a real careful job on it.

Porky kept sayin’ it had just been stole, and what was they gonna do to get him his insurance money for his truck, his radio and his guitar and was they gonna get him a rent a car.

Then the cops talked about lockin’ him up for lyin’ and filin a false report and a bunch of other stuff. Dunk said Porky just hung his head and cried like a baby!

I know he got charged with somethin’ on that one. He had to go to court. And he never got the money to fix it, neither! It sat back there in his back yard for a couple years. I ain’t never fixed it. He traded it for a old 4 by 4 that was a piece of junk, but it run good. Now that’s crazy ain’t it? Drinkin’ don’t pay. Not in the long run.

Tondeleo: I am never certain when to take seriously the things said by Americans. They have an inherent love of taking the mickey out of you, and just about the time you are believing them, they begin to laugh and you feel a right fool.

Big Dave showed me a small plastic bag filled with stiff brown and white hairs, clearly from an animal. He asked if I knew what they were for, and I said that I didn’t.

Here is how the conversation developed:

Big Dave: Tondy, this is a bag of insurance.

Me: A bag of WHAT?

Big Dave: A bag of insurance. You carry it in your car or truck, Tondy.

Me: Well, it resembles a bag of bristles, of hairs, Big Dave.

Big Dave: To the untrained eye, that is exactly what it is. But to the expert eye, it is a bag of insurance. Here, look at it up close.

Marilyn: It’s a bag of DEER HAIR, Tondy!

Big Dave: It IS deer hair in its lowest form. Insurance in its highest.

Say, if a man has had a few beers, and ends up runnin’ off the road into a tree. If the cops come by, he’s gonna be in trouble. If he gots insurance, they ain’t gonna pay. BUT! If he kicks a part of his car, say the front fender, real hard, and then spits in the bag deer hairs, they become insurance!

Me: Insurance?

Doc: Yeah, Tondy, insurance.

Big Dave: You spit into the bag of deer hairs, then you take ‘em in your hand and smear a few in the dent you made by kickin’ your fender. Put a couple of ‘em in your headlight rim.

Then you, well, that man what hit the tree, can say that a deer run into his truck, and he hit it, and ran off the road and into that tree. That’s a lot better to a cop or a insurance company than you just havin’ a couple of beers and hittin’ that tree.

Doc: I ain’t never did that, but I heard of people what done it. Lotta people carry a little packet of deer hair in they car or truck. Say it’s good luck.

I fixed plenty of peoples’ cars what had dents on ‘em and deer hair in the dents. A deer can tear up a car real bad. A deer hittin’ your car is bad luck.

Big Dave: But deer HAIR is GOOD luck if a man runs off the road. He sprinkles them deer hair on the dent and it brings good luck, Tondy!

Marilyn: Yes, but it ain’t right.

Doc: That’s why I ain’t never done it, Marilyn. I only hit real deers.

Big Dave: And I pull some hairs off ‘em for good luck. But I ain’t never did it neither. Just heard about it bein’ done by crooks. It ain’t right.

Tondeleo: Everyone knows that it is dangerous to provoke police officers, particularly in the USA where, not only are they all armed, but it is likely that the people they are dealing with, the American people, are also armed. So the police in the USA are particularly wary of dealing with people. They know they have to treat people like V.I. P's or they may get sued. At the same time, they know that they may end up having to shoot the person.

Doc and I were talking about this one evening, and here is some of the counsel he gave me about what to do if I got pulled over whilst driving in America.

Doc: They don't act like it, but cops are nervous when they pull you over. 'Cause you might be armed, or drunk and ready for a fight. They ain't know if you just robbed somebody and think that they's caught you, so you're ready for a shootout. That's why they's kinda nervous and edgy over here. Ain't like England where the people ain't got guns and half the cops aint got 'em neither.

I been pulled over lots. When you get pulled over, here's what you need to do, Tondy:

Stay in the car. If you get out of the car and walk toward him, he thinks you're bein' 'gressive an' it'll make him go for his gun and order you back in the car. One night I got pulled over for havin' a headlight out. So I got out of my truck, and went back there to talk with the cop. He got nervous and told me to get back in my truck. I was wantin' to be friendly, so I kept comin' toward him. He pulled his gun and told me to GET BACK IN THE CAR! I got back in, and tol' him he ain't had to be grouchy and he tol' me that if I had kept a comin' he woulda busted a cap in my head!

When you get pulled over, just sit there in the car, till he comes up to your window. Have your license ready and registration. If it's night time, turn on your inside lights so he can see you ain't got no one hidin' in the car. They always ask me if I been drinkin' or have any drugs or alcohol in the truck with me. The answer is "No SIR! Just me an' my guitar an' I am in recovery, SIR."

I usually ain't got nobody with me but Marilyn, of a guitar or Dale, Jr. or Stubby. Dale, Jr. is a big boy and most cops ain't gonna provoke him. They mostly like dogs anyway. ANd they ALL like Marilyn! Some of 'em like guitars. I sang for one on the side of the road one time, cause he asked if I knew any Hank Williams songs. Of course I do, so I sang him a couple and we talked and laughed and he told me to take it easy and slow down, or I'd be joinin' Hank Senior soon!

Don't never threaten the cop. Don't threaten to sue him, or tell him to take off his badge and fight you like a man or none of that foolishness. He'll bust a cap in your head for sure. Even if you ain't did nothin' wrong, don't argue with the cop. He will think you're provokin' him an' will write you up for everything he can.

Don't get funny or smart: He ain't in no laughin' mood.

Don't tell him you ain't did nothin' wrong. He thinks you DID or he wouldna pulled you over in the first place.

Don't tell him you're friends with a cop, or your neighbor is a cop. He ain't care who's a cop. You ain't one and that is all that matters.

Don't get mouthy or argue with him. He'll just lock you up for it. Even if you think he stopped you cause you're a Brit or if you are black, don't tell him that. Tell the judge later. You just ain't want that cop gettin mad at you an' writin' you up for more than he planned on.

Also, that cop mighta just covered a fatal accident by someone drivin' like you, and he might be tryin' to protect you from your own bad drivin'. They done that to me plenty of times, so I am used to it. I might be speedin' a little or tailgatin' someone an' they pull me over to keep me from killin' myself.

He mighta just busted someone and been in fight, and is full of adrenaline still and be ready to jump on you like flies on stink. Help him to calm down. Be all on the humble.

See, cops go from bein' bored stiff to bein' all excited in just a few seconds. He mighta been sittin' there half asleep when you sped by, an' his radar beeped an' woke him up. Now he's all hyped and he ain't know if you're a bad guy or just a speeder. Just a bleep from his radar gun or a few words over a radio gets his heart rate boosted up, and if he's full of coffee and sugar from donuts or somethin', he will definitely be on the edge by the time he pulls you over.

Think about it like this, 'specially when you're down here in Nanjemoy. We're out in the STICKS, Tondy. How would YOU like to be a cop pullin' over a carload of drunk rednecks at two in the mornin ' who don't want to be stopped, and knowing that your back up cop might be 15 minutes away - and asleep or hookin' up with his girlfriend?

That's what he's dealin' with out here, and that could get a man shot. It has before, an' it won't be the last time. You don't want to be stopped by a scared cop, for sure.

So stay in the car, let him see your hands, no fast moves, call him "Sir" and just get on with it. That's the safest thing here in the USA. You ain't wanna get shot while you're over here. Play it safe, an' be on the lookout for cops.

In the previous post, I shared my experience with being stopped by an American cop. When I caught up with Doc and Marilyn, I told Doc about it and he gave me some pointers for dealing with American cops. He has made his share of mistakes with them. Here are some of what he said to do and not to do.

Doc: You don't want to threaten the cop, like by tellin' him you ain't did nothin' wrong and you're gonna take his badge number an' report him, an' he's gonna lose his job. Even if you think you ain't did nothin' wrong, you wait an' tell it to the judge. You aint want to make a cop mad on the side of the road. He can 'cuse you of ANYTHING and the judge'll believe his word over yours. Don't threaten the cop.

Don't get funny or smart, neither. Don't ask' him if he were one of the Village People or nothin' like that. Don't do NOTHIN' that could set him off. You be polite. And if it's at night, like I said, keep your inside light on and let him see your hands at all times. Otherwise he could get scared an' think you're goin' for a gun and he could shoot you right there an' then.This is America an' you might be carryin'.

Don't tell him you're friends with a cop, or your neighbor is a cop. He knows you is just tryin' to get out of a ticket. I tried that once an' he tol' me to take the ticket to my friend the cop and tell him that this cop wrote it. He were gonna give me a warnin' til I said I was best friends with this other cop.

Don't get mouthy and talk yourself into a ticket. If he's black, don't tell him he's a racist and just stopped you cause you're white and he don't like rednecks.

See, Tondy, when a cop pulls you over, his 'drenlin is runnin' high an' he is nervous cause he don't know if you is gonna try to fight him, cut him or shoot him. He mighta just come from coverin' a fatal accident by someone drivin' just like you was afore he stopped you. He might think he's savin' your life an' you're mad cause now how you gonna pay your rent if you get that ticket.

My friend's boy what is a cop says that cops go from bein' bored stiff to bein' all excited in just a few seconds. He might sit there in his patrol car for a hour just bein' bored an' then he sees a car speed by, an' he thinks you might be comin' from a crime or somethin' an' BLAM! He's out there chasin' you! Just a few words over the radio gets their heart rate boosted up!

Like, how would YOU like to be a cop pullin' over a carload of drunk rednecks at two in the mornin ' who don't want to be stopped, and knowing that your back up might be 15 minutes away - and asleep or hookin' up with his girlfriend? That's how it is, accordin' to my friend's boy what is a cop.

So I try to be as nice as I can to cops, even if I ain't really did nothin' wrong an' I feel like he's pickin' on me cause my truck ain't too nice.

Stay in the car, Tondy. Inside lights on. Hands where he can see them. Don't lie and say you was doin' the speed limit. Don't say you was goin' to the hospital to visit you're granny, cause he knows you're lyin' an' he MIGHT just have you step outta the car an' frisk you an' find some dope on you what you ain't even had, if you know what I mean. It ain't worth it. Judge ain't gonna believe it weren't yours.

Tondeleo: I am a careful driver, particularly when I am driving abroad, and even more especially when I am in the States. Last week, I was in the US briefly, and got pulled over by a county Police officer for driving 18 miles per hour over the speed limit. He told me that he had also witnessed me running through a red light, which I told him I thought was still amber.

As soon as I pulled to the side of the road, I got out my billfold containing my Drivers License and I got the registration card for the rental car I was driving, and got out of the car, and headed towards the police car.

I felt that I was being cooperative and hopefully demonstrating that I was innocent and friendly. Yes, I confess, I was trying to avoid a summons.

What happened? The copper got out of his patrol car, and began to shout at me to get back into my car, and close the door! I stopped dead in my tracks and said, "I have my driving permit and registration for you, Officer!" He shouted again, this time even louder, "Back in the car, Sir! I am not telling you again!"

He acted as though I was a criminal that was threatening him. I weigh maybe 8 stone and am quite small. Do I look like a threat to you? I am not a threat to ANY one!The officer was at least 6'2" weighing perhaps 15 stone! And he acted as though he was threatened by me!

I returned to my car, and he came to my window, which he commanded me to roll down. I did, and handed him my paperwork. I could tell that he was a bit nervous and could see he was sweating. He gave me a warning instead of a citation and told me that the next time an officer pulls me over, to stay in the car, and wait to be approached. I thanked him and continued my journey.

Later, I was telling Doc Stevens about my encounter. I thought that he would not believe me. But, strangely he did. It also was the beginning of several conversations about American cops. Doc knows several local cops - actually American Sheriff Deputies - and has an understanding and a level of respect for them and what they do. I was surprised, actually. I recorded much or our conversation. This begins after telling Doc about the cop shouting at me when I got out of the car and walked towards his patrol car.

Doc: Heck, Tondy, you coulda got yourself shot. That cop thought you were bein' 'gressive. He thought you mighta been high on drugs... skinny as you are, you looked like a crackhead to him... you mighta had a gun on you.. youlooked like you was threatenin' him.

Marilyn: You DO look like a crackhead, Tondy! You look all eat up!

Me: How could I have been a threat to him, Doc? He was a really large bloke! I couldn't have hurt him if I wanted to!

"The worst thing in the world is to be pulled over by a scared cop."

Doc: See, Tondy, in America, when a cop pulls you over, he don't know what you just done or didn't do. Even if you're little and skinny like you. You mighta robbed some place, or kilt your old lady. He is pulling you over for speeding, but you mighta just done a crime, and you migh think he's pullin' you over for that. You might be aimin' to shoot him an' make a getaway.

When you got outta that car, he probably thought you had a dead body or drugs or something you were tryin' to hide or cover up. So he wanted you back in that car. When you're in the car, he at least can keep an eye on you. That's what that's about.

Plus, you don't know where he just come from. He mighta just come from a crime where he busted someone or he mighta been in a fight on the side of the road and been full of 'drenaline. And coffee and sugar. And doughnuts.

Marilyn: American cops eat doughnuts, Tondy. They get them free and free coffee at 7 - Eleven so they could be on a sugar and caffeine high!

Doc: Anyway Tondy, last thing you wanna do is make that cop nervous. He gotta gun, he gots pepper spray, he gots a tazer an' he don't know what you might be carryin'. He ain't scared of YOU, he's scared of what you might be thinkin' and what kind of gun you might be carryin'.

When a cop pulls you over, you best stay in the car, keep your hands on the steerin' wheel and if it's at night, turn on your inside light. The worst thing in the world is to be pulled over by a scared cop.

Even if you is in the car, and reach for your wallet too fast he could think you're going for a gun and might go for his gun. Cause if you DID pull out a gun real fast, he would have to be faster so he could stay alive. So you get your wallet out R-E-A-L slow, like this.

Same with the registration. If it's in your glove box, you tell him. Heck, I sometimes ask him if HE wants to get it out. I ain't wantin' no scared cop feelin' threatened and then shootin' me on the side of the road.

Me: Why would he be scared of you getting your registration? What is scary about that?

Doc: Tondy! This is AMERICA!!!! THE U - S - A!!! WE GOT GUNS HERE! You might have a gun in your glove box and come up shootin'! Americans carry guns under the driver seat, beside the driver seat if you got bucket seats, in the console and in the glove box and in the waist band of they's jeans!

Cops gotta deal with that every day! That's why they is all pumped full of 'drenaline when they come up to the door. They gotta treat you like a million bucks and they also gotta be ready to kill you if they have to! This is AMERICA, boy. It ain't no ENGLAND!

Doc: I ain't no criminal but I have in the past got into trouble for just day to day stuff. Stealin'. Trespassin'. Disorderly. Fightin'. Drivin' while suspended. Just everyday stuff what happens in a man's life when his luck is down.

Tondeleo: That may be day to day things to some people, Doc, but it isn't to me, and is not just "everyday" to most people. How is that "everyday?" I would be devastated if I was in trouble for even ONE of those!

Doc: Well, it's day to day if you're a poor man. Not like each and every day, but meanin' a good person will be put in a situation that it seems like there aint no choice but to take something, to eat or pay a bill. I ain't did it much but have did it before. If you ain't never been poor, you might think you wouldn't ever get into no trouble. But no matter how good you might be, you gonna maybe sleep somewhere you ain't s'posed to be... or fall asleep at the laundromat or something. Poor folks get into more trouble than folks with money.

Tondeleo: Why don't you just go to a Homeless Shelter? I would!

Doc: No, you wouldn't! You ain't never even BEEN to a shelter! Ain't everyplace GOT a men's shelter. This aint England, This is America where a man is s'posed to be able to stand on his own two feet, and if youhave too many shelters, men aint gonna do it.

But even if you are somewhere what's got one, they aint no room in the men's shelter. They's always a waiting list. So where you gonna sleep while you're waitin? You ain't thought about that, had you?

If you could get in, you ain't wanna be there. Who slept in that bed and left crabs [body lice], or scabies or puked in it or took a leak in it 'cause they was drunk? You gonna sleep in that? I aint.

You aint wanna sleep in them places 'cause someone might try to steal your stuff, an' if you wake up and stop it, you're in a fight an' they call the law an you're goin' to jail. Why? Because you is poor an' in that shelter an' someone tried to steal from you an' you was tryin' to protect your property.

See, Tondy here's how it works when you're poor. The courts and law are all made for folks with money. Poor folks don't get a fair shake. Like, if YOU got in trouble, you could post bond and go to work and make money and call the best lawyer you could. You'd have the money or the credit an' could get a loan. A man with a good lawyer ain't goin to jail most the time. That's anywhere you go, it's like that.

If you got money, you'll get non prossed, PBJ'd or dismissed, or community service or suspended sentence. That's cause you got money an' a good lawyer an' they want you out in society spending money.

A poor man ain't no use to society an' ain't got credit, an' aint posted bond, so he loses his job, which means losin' his place to live an' all his stuff,if he is on his own an' stays at a motel. Then, he gets a public defender who gets paid no matter how dumb he is,so he ain't gonna take no interest in gettin' you off. Mostly, that public defender don't even meet you til your court day an then he just makes up somethin' to tell the judge an' you're gonna do time.

If I came in with a suit an' tie an' a lawyer what the judge knows, I ain't doin' time, not for the kind of stuff I ever done. But when I come in wearin' work clothes an' got a public defender, I will be found guilty and do some time.

Most of the trouble I got in was from bein' poor or from bein' around other poor folks. Got in trouble for breakin' up a fight where a dude was strong arm robbin' another dude what was too drunk to defend himself.

Tondeleo: Strong arm robbing? I'm not familiar with that term...

Doc: Strong arm robbin' is robbin' without a weapon. Like this dude come up behind the other dude an' was chokin' him so he'd pass out and he could go through his pockets. I told him to cut it out, it was right outside my motel room, and he kept at it, and then he dropped that guy he was robbin' and came after me. I did put a hurtin' on him. Didn't cut him, but did push his head against my door frame and we went round and round a couple minutes. Someone called the cops. His head looked like a bowl full of plums when they got there, so since I won, they thought I was the bad guy. It weren't no big deal though, once they heard the story from the guy what was gettin' robbed.

I been in trouble for trespassin, for sleepin' in a boat that was covered up for the winter, in a man's back yard an' he saw me gettin' out of it one morning. He called the law an' pressed charges for trespassin' and vagrancy. Cause I didn't have no money. No! I had SPENT it all on food and my motel room which I was locked out of!

Drivin' while suspended when I couldn't pay insurance because I had spent my money on a used starter and a alternator which cost me $80 at a junkyard an' then I had a flat tire and had to buy a used tire on a rim for $40. I couldn't pay insurance an' keep my truck on the road. And if I didn't fix my truck I woulda lost my job an' then I woulda lost my room.

So what you gonna do? You're gonna drive and be real careful. And on that one, the first time I got that one, I had fixed a lady's car, to try to get money for insurance an' rent, and the cop what had stopped me before for a tag light out or a brake light out, I ain't remember why, saw me behind the wheel of her car, an' thought I had stole it an' he knew I ain't had no license.

Tondeleo: Wasn't there a little bit more to it than that, Doc?

Doc: Yeah, but that ain't what's the important part. It's about what happens when you're poor what you ain't directly choosin'.

Been in trouble another time for fightin'. I was takin' a late night walk, so I had my cane with me. A crackhead tried to rob me an' I knocked the knife outta his hands with my cane and then I did teach him a lesson - do NOT rob a 200 pound man what carries a cane and already had a bad day! But I didn't start nothin, he did. That was assault and disorderly. Disorderly 'cause the cops let him go and was lockin' ME up. I ain't had no money but maybe $30, an' was stayin' at a motel. To a cop, that means you're no good an' nothin' but trouble. But that ain't true just because a man is poor.

You have to be twice as good if you is poor an' keep your mouth shut twiced as much, cause if you ain't got money, you ain't got no room for mistakes.

Tondeleo: During some of my interviews with Doc Stevens on poverty and the lifestyles of the poor and anonymous : ], he tells me stories that are just beyond my scope of life experience. He told me this one about domestic violence, a man hitting his girlfriend, and why it was good that the man did not at least spend the night in jail. Doc's friend Big Dave was there during the interview, and was in agreement. Here is an edited version of this incident. By the way, these pictures are not from the scene. They are some I found online to illustrate the story. If any of them are yours and you don't want them here, tell me and I'll take them down.

Doc: I don't believe in a man hittin' a woman or kids, 'cept spankin' a kid what is askin' for it if you know what I mean. Mostly the mama ought to do that. But sometimes it happens. No doubt. I don't ever approve of it. I ain't never hit a woman, but I been around plenty of women what would push a man to the limit! But I stay away from big mouth women and women what's pushy.

Big Dave: I HAVE hit a woman before. Didn't want to, but she asked for it. She been drinkin liquor and gettin' mouthy and was shovin' people around. We was in a bar what I was playin' at over to Tennessee, in Kingsport, and she was gettin' loud and the bouncer came over and told me to get her under control or leave. I couldn't do anything with her. I didn't even like her that well. She was a big gal, sort of a horse type. Maybe 225 - 250 pounds. I tried to get her to leave and she started cussin' me and shovin' and she hit me in the face andd without even thinking, I hit her and restrained her and took her back to the motel and left her there. I'm not proud of it, Tondeleo, but it gets rough out here. American women aren't as respectable acting as English women are.

Tondy: We have English women who can get mouthy after a couple of pints...

Doc: Well, here's somethin' what happened with the guy in the room next to me and' can help someone understand some of what goes on in a person's life.

Like a couple years ago I was stayin' in a motel down south for a couple months. The guy in the room next to me had his old lady, his two boys, his girl and his brother all stayin' in the one room. After work, I'd go over to talk for a couple of minutes, bein' neighborly.

His brother worked at a junkyard [auto breakers - Tondeleo] for about $25 a day, so he aint got no money for rentin' his own place. AJ [the guy who was Doc's neighbor], worked at another junkyard for eight bucks an hour. AJ got a car at least. It aint much but it's a car.

Him and Eddie [the brother] rides to work together every day, and the old lady stays there in the room with the youngest boy. The other two is in school, so they's gone all day til about 3 or 4. Then she got to deal with them, and TV and trying to come up with something to put in the microwave.

She's tired of bein' broke an' never havin' any time to herself and puttin' up with the kids whinin.' When AJ an' Eddie comes home from work, they don't walk to walk in on all that. They tend to stop off and play a video game up the liquor store an' they each get a 20 oz as a break from work an' to rest afore goin' home.

When they get there, Lillian's tired and grouchy and the kids are fussin' and whinin' and Lillian's tired of bein' crowded in one room. All them sharin' one toilet, an' Eddie got bad gas and can sit on a toilet til he's got ring around the rosey. He just does that to get away from AJ, Lillian and the kids. When Lillian's on her time of month, and Eddie's on the toilet, and the kids are fightin, and AJ's yellin' for them all to shut up it gets crazy.

Big Dave: You know, that's when AJ shoulda gone to the carry out or somewhere and calmed down and Lillian had fallen asleep. That woulda done it, and Eddie coulda gone with him.

Doc: Yeah, but he ain't got enough money to do that and still pay the rent.

My room is on one side of them, and in the room on the other side is Clifford and Marquita who both does crack and drink and fight alot. They aint like hearin all the drama over at AJ's every night. AJ and Eddie listens to country music kinda loud and Clifford and Marquita is into rap. Loud rap, so they is all of them sick and tired of each other and everything else. But really they is friends. You got to be when you are living that close and need each other to help out sometime, and you don't want to be fightin' your neighbor.

So, one night, AJ and Eddie walk in, an' he had bought two lotto tickets, and had drank a 20 ounce and bought cigarettes for hisself but he aint bought none for Lillian. She's havin' a nicotine fit, and the kids been worse n' usual, hittin, and bitin' each other an' won't calm down.

Lillian's all over AJ like ants on hard candy about not gettin' her cigarettes. He smokes Camels and she smokes Newports. He tells her he had to have some Camels to keep him calm comin' home to her every night an' dealin' with her, the kids and her mouth. Eddie puts his two cents worth in and tells her to shut her big mouth.

Now she's up in AJ's face waggin' her head and lookin' wild eyed, and cussin' at Eddie and tellin' him to shut up an' Eddies tellin' her to make him shut up, the kids are screamin' and cryin' and then Clifford comes over and tells them all to shut up. Lillian tells him to mind his own business, and gets in his face, which gets Marquita out there tellin' Lillian don't talk to her man like that, and comes over to slap Lillian's face and get in a girl fight.

Now all the people is out there watchin' and shoutin' and some wanting to see a fight cause they is bored and others tellin' everyone to be quiet so they can get to sleep.

Clifford don't want the cops around, so he runs over and grabs Marquita's arms and bear hugs her back to the room, She's cussin' and bitin' the air and kickin' and everybody's laughin' and shoutin'. Lillin keeps yellin' and callin Marquita names and cuss words and flickin' her off.

Eddie tells AJ to calm his old lady down like Clifford did HIS old lady. AJ tells Lillian to shut up and go inside. But she won't do that. As he moves in closer she gets in his face and pulls her lips back and is sneering at him and tellin' him he ain't MAN enough to make her be quiet. He ain't MAN enough!

He tells her to shut up, everybody out there is yelling for him to quiet her down and keep his kids quiet and she shoves him! What's he gonna do? Everybody;s laughin' at him, and hollering "Whoooooaaaa!" and he is stressed, broke, embarrased and don't know what to do. You know what he did, Tondy.

He drew back his fist and said "Girl shut your mouth and go inside or I'll bust you in the eye." He was bein' restrained, considering. What did Lillian do? She SPIT on him, and and stuck her tongue out. So, AJ busted in the eye just like he said he would! Made a POP sound! Woulda made you sick to hear it. The whole thing would. The fightin' the arguin, the cussin', the hatred. When people is stressed, there is a lot of that kind of thing. I think the devil hangs out around them situations.

Lillian commenced to screaming at the top of her lungs like she was bein' skinned alive and set on fire, and hollerin' for someone to call the cops, and someone did.

OK. The cops get there and most people was back in they's room, ceptin' me, Eddie, AJ, Lillian and folks standin' far enough away but close enough to listen in. AN ambulance comes too, cause the person what called dialed 911. Three cop cars pull in cause the 911 operator heard all the hollerin' and thought it was a riot.

I tell the one cop what happened best I could over Lillian's screamin' how it happened and how she was wrong, AJ was wrong, everybody was wrong. The cops ask AJ, and ask Eddie, and Lillian is just screamin' that she is going to need a makeover. The rescue folks take her in the ambulance to deal with her black eye and to give her time to cool off, which Lillian just don't do, Tondy. They release her after maybe 20 minutes. The kids is screamin bloody murder and everybody's tired an' don't feel like hearin' it.

The cops cuffed AJ and was gonna charge him with assault and battery. They threaten Lillian to shut up or they will lock her up for disturbin' the peace. She spits on AJ there in the cop car.

A lady cop gets Lillian and sits her down on the curb and talks sense to her. If they gotta take AJ to jail, he'll be there til a trial date because he cain't afford to post bail. She asks Lillian if she has anywhere for her and the kids to go and Lillian says no. AJ is all they got for real money. The lady cop asks about Eddie who's been keepin' quiet. He says he don't care, he can sleep on the streets. He ain't wanna live there in the first place. he was just helpin' AJ out.

The cops know that Lillian'll drop charges. They know she is a big mouth trouble maker an' they have also seen her drunk which is worse. She drinks Peach Shnapps and acts like a alligator with a big mouth when she is drink. They know those kids ain't gonna be easy to place in foster care, not around here. They know that if AJ is locked up for more than the weekend he's gonna lose his job and then the whole bunch of them'll be homeless.

So these cops gotta be cops an' they gotta be human, too. They send the ambulance back, and the other cop pulls out leavin' the lady cop and the cop with AJ cuffed in the back of the car. He gives AJ a talk about bein' calm, walkin' away and smokin' a cigarette when Lillian's mouthin' off and the lady cop talks to Lillian about how it's hard for a man to feel like he cain't please his old lady and that he ain't makin' enough money to treat her or the kids good enough. She tells Lillian to lighten up and asks if she can go say she loves AJ and that he can come in and they won't bring it up no more.

The lady cop walks over to the car where AJ is, and tells him she loves him and to come on back in. AJ now ain't got so much drenalin in his blood and he is just tired an' wants to go to bed so he tells the cop he'll be alright. The cop uncuffs him and tells them both to go get some sleep and be good to each other.

Them cops was good human beings, Tondy. They know their people and they know the pressures on poor folk and they know that sometimes people ain't really bad, they just get pushed to the limit and cain't take no more. The cops give Lillian, AJ and Eddie their cards and give me one, too, in case anything starts up again. They tell Lillian that they can lock her up if she acts up again and tell AJ they'll lock him up for aggravated assault if he does it again and everyone goes inside an' tries to sleep. Poor folks have a harder time than folks with money. It's tough out there.