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LITTLE BEIRUT PORTLAND SHOWS UP

little beirut Portland

Protest preparation sheds in Portland. image via DG Studios

 

Get ready for Little Beirut Portland the right way.

Ask your policeman friends the right questions.

+ Is it safe?

– No, it’s not safe.

+ Is tonight the night?

–  We’re totally hands off. That’s why you see what you see.

+ Giving up the freeway?

–  The big surprise was getting to The Pearl. No one expected that.

+ They made the pivot. I heard the horse police are shooting paint balls at guys with bats.

–  I haven’t heard that.

+ Then the guys sweeping the streets can identify them.

–  Is this blog material? Are you interviewing for BoomerPdx?

+ Only with permission.

–  No names, no places, no nothing.

+ You’d be a good blogger. That’s always my focus.

–  That’s why I subscribed to boomerpdx.

+ Because it speaks to you?

–  No, because you don’t bash and crash, and when you do it’s not about you.

+ It’s never about me. That’s the rule here.

–  Good rule.

+ Is it ever about you?

–  You know the answer. You’ve worn a uniform. Put on a police uniform and it’s about you in the uniform, not you.

+ Respect the uniform?

–  That’s right. Respect the uniform, the law, and your fellow citizens.

+ Like the baby boomer couple looking for a Portland restaurant on date night.

–  I wouldn’t go downtown unless you want to ruin date night. Bridgeport Village is close. So’s the new place.

+ Progress Ridge.

–  Even closer.

+ This plays into the stereotype of secluded suburban types hiding inside gated communities.

–  Do you live in a gated community?

+ No.

–  Then no problem, no stigma.

+ Except the fear of the city.

–  This one night. Maybe a few more.

+ When do the gloves come off?

–  It’s not that easy. We’ve got more to deal with in a bigger picture.

+ Always a bigger picture, even when it’s just dinner.

–  Unless you want your car clubbed, windows broken, and your wife frightened.

+ She grew up in LA. She doesn’t frighten much.

–  How about you. This might be your call for both of you.

+ That’s why we’re talking. If I tell her police officers are concerned she might reconsider.

–  So this is marriage counseling.

+ Are you married? We all look for a little help with wives.

–  I’ll let you know when I need help. For now, downtown isn’t a prime destination.

+ Like little Beirut Portland when President Bush I showed up?

–  Something like that. We lost the freeway then, too.

+ So you’d stay home?

–  I wouldn’t go downtown.

+ You are going downtown.

–  That’s what I do, what policemen do.

+ That’s what Oregon’s boomer blogger does.

–  Oregon is more than Portland. A lot more.

+ This makes me soft.

–  We’re all soft, pal. That’s why we wear the hard gear in the street.

About David Gillaspie

I am a writer. This is my blog story day by day.