Lunch Break Excitement

So, the other day, Thursday, I took my lunch break at the local Jack in the Box fast food restaurant. This has become at least a once a week occurence for me for the last couple of months. Until yesterday, nothing over the top exciting has happened.

I order my usual, an Ultimate Cheeseburger value meal with an upgrade to Curly Fries, a must at every Jack in the Box I visit. I pay the Hispanic employee, fill my beverage cup (Dr. Pepper) and take a seat at a table.

I'm waiting eagerly to devour my curly fries when I look out the front of the restaurant and see a police car pull into the driveway, stop abruptly and a police officer get out of his car. I then look to the front door of the restaurant and see a Mexican (I'm guessing in his 20's) wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt ready to walk in. I see him turn his head and a look of despair overcome his face. He turned around (away from the front door) bent down to his knees and placed his hands in the air.

At this point I turn to the Toyota of Escondido mechanic at the table next to him ask, "Are you watching this? This guy is getting arrested!!" Only seconds later there are two more Escondido police cruisers blocking the driveway. One officer is holding back his German Shepherd police dog, who is, thanfully, held tightly by his master.

The Escondido PD are able to handcuff and search Jose (a name I gave him because its a common name) without a problem. They sit him up in front of the door and begin to ask him several questions.

It is at this point that I realize two things:
1. I can't lip read. I desperately wish I could.
2. Jose is crying.

I feel bad for him, but I also wonder why he is in this kind of predicament. If you say, "This is a perfect case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," well then, I say this, "If you don't put yourself in the wrong place in the first place, you can't be caught there at the wrong time." I speculate that he is responsible for some sort of drug use/abuse because the Motel 6 next door to Jack in the Box is known for drugs and prostitution.

My curly fries are gone now and I have begun to take bites out of my favorite fast food burger. They continue to ask Jose questions, they stand him up and escort him to one of the now four police cruisers on site. The excitement indoors has now died down.

It was a good thing for Jose that he never made it indoors for one reason: I was ready.

If called upon by the Escondido PD, I was ready to spring into action and be all over Jose like Mexicans on the U.S./Mexico border fence. Who knows what would have happened to Jose if he had made it indoors, but I can confidently say one thing: I would be holding the "Key to the City" for Escondido and would be recognized at a public press conference as a Hero for the people of Southern California.

I finished my delicious burger and made my way back to work excited that I had the opportunity to witness something very serious and also very thrilling.