There is a curfew in Baltimore city after 10 p.m. for the next 7 days. Normally the thugs, bum-rushers and robbers hit retail and food service employees between 8 and 10. I avoid this by leaving for work at 10. This coming week, I will either have to fight my way through the thugs between 8-10—who will be reinforced by those frustrated over not drawing first blood against Whitey this week—or must brave the army of pigs that will be harassing me for being out and about.

I remember, when I started working nights in 1981, and complained about being attacked by black thugs on my way to work, that an old grisled grocer from the 1960s snarled at me while biting his cigar, “Christ kid, you got it easy. Back in sixty-eight I had to dodge bricks and bottles from the darkies just to get on my way, then the cops would be hunting us workers like we were escaping from Stalag Thirteen. Eventually the management wrote us passes and they let us on our way.”

Remembering Cigar Face, as I stocked the frozen waffles, I asked my boss this morning, “Hey John, how about a curfew pass?”

He was thrilled, management geek that he is, went to his office, and returned with an envelope and smiled, “This is the first one of these I ever did. Thank you sir!”

My pass reads, under the company letterhead:

April 28, 2015

To: Whom it may concern

Re: Curfew pass

James Lafond is an associate at Geresbeck’s Food Market in Middle River, MD. He works the overnight shift and will need to travel during the Baltimore City curfew period.

Thank you,

John Stricker, manager

I hope to post 4 more articles on my riot experiences today. Sorry, I had to work over.