Jack answered his cell phone. He listened a few minutes, then
turned to the rest of us and said, Its Clare. Shes been
arrested. Up until that moment, it had been a pleasant afternoon. It was
a warm spring day. We were sitting around the pool, having cold drinks.
Id recently retired from the State and my wife Sally and I were on a
motor trip through California, starting from our home in Sacramento. Wed
stopped at San Francisco, then Monterey and Carmel and now we were at the home
of Sallys younger brother Jack and his wife Alice in Santa Barbara. Alice
was the first to react. What? Are you joking?
No. She got into some protest at school. Clare was
their daughter, a junior at the local college. The cops swooped down and
put a lot of the kids in the county jail. Jack spoke into the phone.
Dont worry, sweetheart. Im leaving right now. Ill be
there as soon as I can. He hung up and said, Guess Im going
to have to bail her out. I wonder if they take credit cards.
Im going with you, said Alice. Ill
get our checkbook.
Do you want us to go with you? asked Sally.
No, said Alice. Why dont you stay here.
Rita will be back from school pretty soon. Rita was their other daughter,
a high school senior.
All right. Call us if theres any trouble.
Jack and Alice hurried out and in a few minutes we heard their
car speeding away. Sally and I were left by the pool with our drinks, the sky a
clear blue overhead, the sun reflecting off the pool, green mountains in the
distance. And our niece in jail. Clare lived in a college dorm but shed
come to dinner the previous night. She was a pretty blonde, soft-voiced with
good manners. She even made us feel she was happy to see us, the elderly
relatives from the north.
She didnt look the type to be protesting
anything, said Sally.
Thats just what I was thinking. I wonder what it was
all about?
I think there was something that happened at the college
last week, about students occupying a bank or something and the police used
mace.
Police brutality, I said.
Well, I hope they can get her out.
We heard noise from inside the house and our niece Rita came
out. She was about 17 and a redhead, not as pretty as her sister but very
likeable. Wheres Mom and Pop? she asked.
I looked at Sally. Theres been some mix-up,
she said. Clare called, something about a protest at the college and some
students were arrested.
Clares in jail!
Im sure your folks will get her out.
But Rita wasnt shocked; she was amused. What a
hoot, she said.
Your parents didnt think so, observed Sally.
Im sorry. I bet I know what happened. Its that
boy Eddy.
Eddy?
Yes, hes a senior. Hes a black, uh, an
African-American guy. Very good-looking and into all of these great causes.
Clare likes him.
Well, lets hope your parents bring her home
soon, I said.
Later on we were all, including Clare, inside in the dining
room. Jack and Alice had stopped to get Chinese take-out after bailing her out.
Did they put Eddy in jail, too? asked Rita.
Yes, its so unfair. All we were doing was having a
sit-in at the bank.
Whats a bank doing on a college campus? I
asked.
They were supposed to make things convenient for
students.
So whats wrong with that?
Theyre a part of the establishment that
discriminates against blacks, uh, African-Americans and poor people.
Thats the reason we had the great Recession and now the rich have gotten
richer and the poor are poorer.
I bet you got that from Eddy, said Rita.
I thought Clare blushed slightly. Eddy knows all about
discrimination, she said. Then yesterday when we had a protest the
cops used mace against some of us, including Eddy.
Thats because they told the protestors to stop
blocking the entrance to the bank. Some students were trying to get in,
said Jack. I talked to one of the cops.
Thats still no reason to use mace. Its
violating our civil rights.
What about the civil rights of the students who were
trying to get in? said Jack.
At this point, the doorbell rang. Clare sprang up and went to
the door, returning with an African-American boy who I assumed was the famous
Eddy. He had some bruises on his face and a black eye. Are you
okay? asked Clare.
Im fine. My parents bailed me out soon after you
were released. I came over here as soon as I could.
What about your face? askedClare, with some concern.
Its nothing. The cops like to rough me up a little,
because of the color of my skin.
Oh, said Clare to Eddy, This if my uncle Paul
and my Aunt Sally from Sacramento.
Nice to meet you, said Eddy. I stood up and we shook
hands. He had a nice firm grip. As Rita had told us, he was a good-looking
young man. Sorry you had to come when we were having all this commotion
on campus.
Do I understand it correctly? asked Sally. The
first protest was against the bank, then the police maced the protestors, then
you were protesting the macing?
Thats about it, said Eddy, except this
is only one battle in the larger war against the establishment.
I didnt want to get into a discussion about this so I
said, Well, are you and Clare okay? They wont press charges on
you?
Yeah, Im pretty sure were okay. The president
of the college is going to make a speech tomorrow and shes going to say
the macing was an over-reaction and a violation of our civil rights.
Have you eaten anything? Clare asked Eddy. We
have plenty of Chinese.
No, said Eddy. Now you mention it Im
pretty hungry.
So we all sat back down to our meal. Eddy asked Sally and I
about Sacramento and about our trip to Southern California. He was polite and
really seemed interested. After a while, he and Clare decided to return to the
campus and their dorms.
Youre not going to have another protest
tomorrow? asked Alice.
Well see what the college prez has to say,
said Eddy. Shes supposed to make a statement first thing in the
morning. Then well have a meeting and decide what to do.
We were up early the next morning and on our way. Our next stop
was Palm Springs. It was another nice day. Well, that was
interesting, said Sally.
Yes. Our niece Clare in jail. How about that? And her boy
friend Eddy. Thats even harder to believe.
Do you think well have a black person in the
family?
African-American, I corrected. Watch out or
the PC police will get you. I dont know. He seemed like a nice kid.
And a leader of protests.
Yes. Anyway, we should be out of town before any new
protest if they decide to block the roads. On to Palm Springs.