May 24th, 2021
“The one mistake you made was in your head
How do you sleep?
Ah how do you sleep at night?” – from How Do You Sleep? by John Lennon
My sister-in-law, Shawn, texted me last night from College Station, Texas. She seldom calls, but she often texts. Some of her messages are are about the book she’s writing. Sometimes she writes to me about the latest adventures of her young biracial granddaughter. Most of her texts are about things that are rather mundane.
Last night was different.
It went like this…
Shawn: “A young Black man was shot in the chest several times in front of my apartment.”
Me: “By the cops? Were you at home?”
Shawn: “Yes, and I saw the whole thing. I called to him to comply.”
Shawn: “When he was on the ground, I said, ‘Do what they say. Show your hands. I am praying for you’.”
Shawn: “I held his girlfriend in my arms.”
Note: the woman was actually the young Black man’s wife.
Me: “How are you now?”
No reply to my question.
Shawn: “He was conscious for a while but I don’t know if he made it.”
Later during the night…
Shawn: “He died.”
I didn’t sleep well. I’m sure that Shawn didn’t. I’m sure the man’s widow didn’t.
I wonder how the cop slept?
Frank is Emptiness 