(268)▪︎[ The Worst Day In August … 4•13•2022 ]

[ This Is A Story That Happened (1) Hot, August Night ]
[ When You Write Or Talk About This Event ] 
[ It Makes Your Chest Go Tight ]

[ There Was Nothing You Could Do ]      
[ But Sadly, This Did Happen To You ]   

[ It Was Just Supposed To Be A Regular Shift ]
[ When The (1) Staff That Was Disliked & Disruptive Called Out ]
[ You Thought That Was A Gift ]

[ You Had Another Senior Staff, So You Thought That The
     Night Would Be Good ]
[ Because Without That (1) Staff, Nothing Would Be
     Misunderstood ]

[ When The Kids Would Get A Directive From That (1) Staff ]
[ Most Would Disregard Him ]
[ While The Others Would Laugh ]

[ Your Other Staff Partner Decided To Take The Positive Kids To
The Gym ]
[ Were You Worried Something Dangerous Would Happen? ]
[ It Might You Thought, But The Chances Were Slim ]

[ You Were Left With (13) Kids That Had Their Privileges Taken  Away ]
[ But You Did Not Feel Threatened ]
[ Or Had The Feeling That Something Was Going To Happen That Day ]

[ You Took The Kids Out Back To Get Some Exercise ]
[ You Were Always The Shortest, In Comparative Size ]

[ The Air Was Getting Hot, Heavy & Sticky ]
[ When It Came To Kids Pairing Up ]
[ Some Were Being Really Picky ]

[ Most Kids Would Pair Up With The Same ]
[ Now Kids Paired Up With Different Names ]

[ Something Was Up ]
[ But You Just Couldn’t Figure Out What ]

[ You Got All Of The Kids Back Inside The Unit All Safe & Sound ]
[ You Went Into The Office So You Could See All Around ]

[ A Voice Distracted You To Look In The Dorm ]
[ After That ]
[ Nothing Was Ever The Norm ]

[ Jack And Bill Ran Into The Dorm Wielding A Fire Extinguisher
& A Wooden Cribbage Board ]
[ It Was Bryan That They Were Running Toward ]

[ You Immediately Pulled Your Duress Pin That Was On Your Waist ]
[ Then You Got On The Phone & Called Security ]
[ Telling Them That This Was Not A Mistake ]

[ Securty Told You Not To Engage ]
[ & Stay Safe ]

[ The Unit Went Crazy With Noise ]
[ It Drowned Out Your Voice ]

[ They Were Swinging & Hitting Bryan In The Head ]
[ You Were Hoping That He Was Not Dead ]

[ A Fire Extinguisher Or A Cribbage Board Makes A Distinctive
Sound When It Hits Someone Above The Shoulders ]
[ He  Covered His Head ]
[ So They Only Hit His Head Holders ]

[ (1) Securty Showed Up @ The Front Door, Starting To Come In ]
[ Jack Sprayed Him With The Fire Extinguisher, So He Would Back Out ]
[ You Did Not Know That It Would Be Over (3) Hours Later, Before Anybody Would Try Again ]

[ Jack Would Demand Your Keys Again & Again, But Whenever
     You Refused ]
[ They Would Continue To Hit Bryan ]
[ Who Seemed Dazed & Confused ]

[ They Took Mattresses & Desks To Barricade The Front Door ]
[ It Was Barricaded From Ceiling To Floor ]

[ You Never Knew That A Toilet Or Sink Could Be Busted By An Extinguisher ]
[ It Can, It Did, It Could ]
[ The Dorm Became Flooded With Water ]

[ They Busted Every Window ]
[ Why? ]
[ Maybe Just To Do So ]

[ (3) Hours Had Past ]
[ You Did Not Know How Long This Was Going To Last ]

[ Then You Saw The Hallway Leading Up To The Front Door Fill Up With Very Large Men Who Were Geared Up Head To Toe ]
[ They Busted Through The Door With Weapons Drawn ]
[ You Ran To The Officer Who Was Waving For You To Go ]

[ Once You Were Outside, Was When The Enormity Of The Situation Hit You ]
[ & What You Just Went Through ]

[ That Was When You Had Uncontrollable Shaking In Your Legs ]
[ They Felt Like (2) Heavy Sleds ]

[ (27) First Responder Vehicles Waited For You In The Yard ]
[ To This Day ]
[ You Have Never Been Through Something That Hard ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ] [酪]

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(452)▪︎[ It Continues … 7•10•2022 ]

[ Through The Years Of Having It, I Have Found That P.T.S.D.
     Has Scarred Me Deep ]
[ So Much So ]
[ It Can, Disrupt My Sleep ]

[ It Gets Into My Thoughts & Twists Time ]
[ It Puts In Front Of Me, A Huge Mountain To Climb ]

[ As My Temperature Gets Hotter ]
[ I Am Craving Water ]

[ But It Depends On How The Cold Water Is Made ]
[ What Helps Me To Drink It ]
[ Are Several Long Squirts Of Cherry Or Grape Kool-Aid ]

[ When I Finally, Lay My Head ]
[ Down On My Bed ]

[ It Is A Mystery, Of What Would Come Next ]
[ I Cannot Ask Google ]
[ Nobody Lets Me Know, Through A Text ]

[ My Mind Makes The Flashback, Look Really Clear ]
[ When My Flashbacks Takes Me Backwards, Almost (20) Years ]

[ In The Muggy Weather ]
[ How Do I Keep My Sanity Together? ]

[ Everything, Looks Normal ]
[ The Behaviors, Have Not Started Being Immoral ]

[ But Just Wait ]
[ My Attention Has Been Diverted To The Dorm ]
[ Watching Through The Rolled Down, Security Gate ]

[ This Is When, I Started To Sweat ]
[ By The End Of The Night ]
[ Both Of The Shirts That I Was Wearing, Were Wet ]

[ I Know What Is About To Happen, Physically ]
[ This Causes Others To Look @ Me, Quizzically ]

[ Mario Was Carrying A Fire Extinguisher & Gustavo Was
     Wielding A Cribbage Board ]
[ Made Of Solid Wood ]
[ But Who Were They Running Toward? ]

[ Then, There It Was ]
[ Mario Hit David ]
[ When He Was Asked Later, He Said It Was Just Because ] 

[ The Sound Of A Large, Full, Fire Extinguisher  Hitting A Kids
     Head Is A Sound That I Cannot Ever Forget ]
[ That Memory Is Set ]

[ After I Pushed My Duress, Security Was Coming In The Front
     Door ]
[ But Mario Made Them Backout ]
[ They Did Not Want To Be Sprayed By The Extinguisher Any-
     More ]

[ Then There Was A Change In The Tone ]
[ I Closed The Office ]
[ I Quietly Said To Myself (I GUESS THAT MEANS THAT I WAS
     GOING TO BE ALONE)

[ No One Else Was Coming Onto The Unit ]
[ In Other Words (I WAS IT) ]

[ The Security Office Kept Telling Me To Not Engage ]
[ So I Sat In My Own Cage ]
[ Watching Those (2) Kids Release All Of Their Pent-Up Rage ]

[ The Other Staff Never Came Back ]
[ With The Other (13) Kids ]
[ Maybe They Were Told That If They Stayed In The Gym, They
     Would Get A Snack ]

[ Time Seemed To Drag On As The (2) Kids, Mario & Gustavo, Went
     Around The Unit Breaking Every Window ]
[ They Could See ]
[ But, Why Was The Time Going By So Slow? ]

[ One Hour, (2) Hours Then (3) Dragged By ]
[ I Had So Many Questions, Starting With (WHY?) ]

[ Finally, The State Police S.W.A.T. Team Came Bursting Through
    The Door, Throwing The Desks To The Side ]
[ They Made A Path That Was Really Wide ]

[ One Of Them Pointed @ Me In My Direction, Telling Me To Come
     To Him With His Finger ]
[ I Grabbed My Lunch Box ]
[ & Did Not Linger ]

[ That Should Be A Positive ]
[ For As Long As I Live ]

[ Each Flashback Is The Same & As Different From Each Other ]
[ When One Ends ]
( Then I Experience Another ]

[ When Will The Flashbacks Stop? ]
[ When I Drop? ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ] [酪]

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(1153)▪︎[ One Day Over & Over … 9•12•2019 ]

[ Could Others Imagine Reliving One Day Over & Over & Over Again? ]
[ Yes, You Can ]
[ & You Remember When This Merry-Go-Round Began ]

[ It Began On A Sweltering Hot Day in August 2002 ]
[ What Affects You Now, May Not Affect Others, Too ]

[ It Was A Very Muggy Day That Quickly Turned To Night ]
[ You Were A Witness To An Event ]
[ That Affected Your Hearing & Sight ]
[ The Thing That You Could Not Prevent ]
[ Was Something That Started With A Fight ]

[ It Was More Like A Beating ]
[ But One Half Of Those Combatants Used A Fire Extinguisher ]
[ & That Was Cheating ]

[ It Seemed Like There Was A Beating Every Half Hour ]
[ As You Stood In The Office ]
[ Feeling Like You Had No Power ]

[ You Didn’t Want To Just Sit ]
[ You Wanted To Go Out On The Floor ]
[ & End It ]

[ But You Were Directed To Do Nothing ]
[ Not Even Something During Those (3), Very Long Hours ]
[ No, Not A Thing ]
[ You Had To Wait ]
[ & See What The State S.W.A.T. Team Had To Bring ]

[ With Their Shouts ]
[ They Were Able To Get You Out ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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