A creep he was, with his
slimy ways, his
slick hair and
grubby clothes! He sat next to me on the
streetcar that was going uphill to a view beyond the bay. The clang, clanging of the
trolleys bell being pulled by the
brakeman on the
streets of a fair city full of people who came to visit from everywhere. Clang, Clang! The brakeman brought the trolley car to a complete stop to let people on as some got off and continued to travel by foot. At the top of the steep hill, the
trolley car paused so we could get a good look at the boats and Fisherman's Grotto below, this was Pier 1, the finest seafood restaurants, gift shops, marketplace,
wax museum and other sights of entertainment. As the brakeman released the clutch, downhill slowly we moved ahead. We reached the bottom, the end of the line where the magnetic plate beneath the trolley car would turn around before going back to the other end. The
pesty little bug hopped off and began to walk towards the
Pier. I took my time moving along the busy street on the Pier
. The sidewalk had crowds of tourists, some in groups speaking other languages. I continued to be pushed and shoved by the people who seemed in a hurry to get nowhere fast! I stopped along the marketplace
to get a shrimp cocktail, then moved to a spot close to the entrance of a video game arcade with lots of noise and buzzed energy. My eye saw a green bench nearby where I sat down to rest while eating the shrimp cocktail. A stranger sat down next to me, I didn't look up, but I felt the energy coming my way from this strange person. The sunshine felt warm, the breeze was good, and I just sat for awhile meditating on this fantastic day. Before moving on, I pulled out a map and decided where to next.
The Wax Museum was just around the corner, so I proceeded to go in the direction that the map showed. I paid for my ticket to get in then sat in a small wagon that traveled on the rails through a dark tunnel. Lights, flashes of light, sounds of laughter, screams and then silence as the wagon came to an entrance with a sign that read "
Enter At Your Own Risk." Was this the house of horrors or what? I wondered! As I continued to read the sign, a message appeared.
"This is as far as it goes, get out and walk from here." A hand touched the back of my neck, I screamed, he laughed. I ran to the waxed figure of Michael Jackson and hid in a corner close to it. I held my breath hoping whatever it was had gone away. Silence, complete silence, then I made my move and ran all the way towards the exit sign ahead. A light, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and bam! There he was, the
pesty little bug waiting for me at the door that led outside. Without question, I pulled my little pink pepper spray out and sprayed his eyes. He started coughing, and rubbed his eyes, I ran as fast as I could to the cruise boat that was headed out on tour of
Alcatraz Island. After boarding, I blew a breath of relief from my aching belly. But as we approached the place where former prison inmates had been incarcerated for some of the worst, most horrifying crimes in history of the century, I caught a glimpse of a hand waving in the distance on the Island. It was behind bars, but frightfully familiar. I blinked, it was gone. I'm just tired, I thought and closed my eyes for a quick nap. A fly buzzed around my head, then I felt something touch the back of my neck. It was time I sprayed this
pesty little bug. It dropped to the floor where I stomped with my shoe, then I picked it up with a tissue and threw it overboard. "Now! You
Pesty Little Bug." And on my way back to the trolley car, I hummed a little tune in my head by Michael Jackson, "Beat It, Just Beat It
!"~
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