Officially teasing

Update 3 of 3 for tonight.

God only knows how many bloody blogs I have now, but this is my 3rd update for tonight and not only could I not be bothered updating the other ones, I've scarcely got any idea where they bloody well are. Does frappr even exist anymore?

Anyway, there are things going on which I put in some blogs and don't put in others which, when I read over them makes all of them sound a teeny weeny bit hollow. The reason I put stuff in some blogs and not in others is because of the prejudices of the various people reading them.

The kids don't want to know about my history with the police which has resulted in one of the longest and most valuable offline friendships I've ever had. I also don't make mention of the kids I met offline over the other side because I don't want those kids feeling like there's competition. There isn't, they're just in two totally different worlds.

I don't feel like responding to questions about the kids from the other side in the other blog so I don't mention them very often there and more people read that one than either of the other two.

But for my own sanity and in some sort of probably misguided effort to put the whole shebang into perspective, the first blog I ever had, this one, shall hereby be the beneficiary of what's what in the goings on in my world right now.

A few months ago, a kid approached me at a train station late at night to ask for change for a phone call. I gave him change. Coincidentally, we got off the train at the same stop and that kid then asked me for a cig when he saw me rolling one for myself. I obliged and after a brief conversation, he asked for my phone number and I gave it to him.

A few weeks later, he rang me up and we met up at the station again.

We've met up quite a few times since then and together with one of his friends, we've spent a lot of very relaxed time together. Through this association, I've also met half a dozen of his other friends and meeting up at the station has become a regular occurence. I draw the line at meeting at my place because, like with all of my friends, when I'm at home, I don't mind going out but home is where I go to get away from everything and everyone and I need that space to remain one where I can be sure I won't have people invading - no matter how much I enjoy their company. The unspoken law, therefore, is my place is off limits to everyone. I won't be happy if someone lobs on my doorstep unannounced and odds on I'd pretend to not be home anyway.

Tom is 17, his constant sidekick, Ahmed, is 16. The others range in ages from 17 to 20 and I enjoy being around all of them singularly or in the group. We just all get along so well and it's always just so relaxed, easy and comfortable - sitting under the trees at the station.

I'll just note here that all these kids are well known to the local constabulary for all the wrong reasons. So they're not what the deadhearts would call "nice kids". They're not "nice", they're fairly wild, tough and wilful - and they look it - and I adore them.

I recruited Tom and Ahmed one night a couple of months ago to engage in a spot of judicious burglary and theft which they did with admirable professionalism. They stole everything I said they could steal and didn't touch anything else. They also made a very tidy profit out of it. And no, it wasn't any sort of insurance or any other kind of scam either. It was a sitting duck waiting to be knocked off by someone and I just made sure we were first. Hey, I never said I was an angel. I can be bad to the bone when the mood suits me.

Moving right along, a month or so ago, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and as a result, I got pulled in by some city cops with a few other people who were also in the wrong place at the wrong time. We all got searched and my wallet just happened to contain a credit card belonging to a friend of mine so I came in for some special attention. Before I was able to prove that I hadn't stolen George's credit card, I was being treated by these cops as a lying thief. Two of the cops stayed in the background, one behaved like a shithead, but the acting sergeant was a decent bloke so I made a point of getting his details and after a couple of days, I got in touch with him to point him in the direction of some crew of which I'm aware who would be something of a challenge to wrap up.

Gently testing the waters, it's pretty clear if this cop is going to have a hand in wrapping up this crew, they're going to need a contact to do the legwork because referrals from peripheral contacts like me won't get anywhere. I know one minor member of this gang and that's not enough even for me to be introduced to any other member. I have no chance of introducing anyone else to anyone at all.

Now, because this is heavy stuff, I have a need to cover my own arse, therefore I got in touch with my old cop mate from years ago who was only too pleased to see me. Mick was the one who set me up in a hotel with a recording device strapped to my body in order to catch a serial pedophile - way back in 1998. Mick knows me and he knows how touchy I am about having my name splashed all around police headquarters and he knows which groups I trust and those I don't. I gave him the name and unit of the acting sergeant to whom I gave the info on that crew from up north but Mick sees no reason to get in touch and asked me explicitly to keep a low profile as far as contact with police is concerned because he has some things in mind for which he will be glad to have my help. Of course, everything I do with the other cop, he will be kept up to date as and when anything happens. The other cop knows I have a contact and is just going to have to content himself with the fact I won't drop Mick's name to him.

Mick is also particularly useful in that if Tom or his mates get into trouble with the cops and I get to hear of it, there's a reasonable chance I can get them off with a caution - depending on what it is.

Shoot forward to today, or more correctly, yesterday; I bumped into the guys yesterday at the station as I was coming home from work and after the others left, Tom and I discussed this notion I had of using my contacts and local knowledge to get a job as an employment consultant in one of the employment agencies established for the benefit of those on welfare. Tom liked the idea when I told him earlier in the week, and yesterday he liked it even more. I'm likely to get a temporary gig leading up to Christmas but after Christmas when demand for employment consultants goes up sharply, that's what I want to do.

So now, I'm waiting for the city cop to let me know whether or not his crew is going to have a go at wrapping up the gang up north whereupon I'll update Mick on the progress of that venture. I'm waiting to see if I get this gig up to Christmas, thereafter to launch into a long term career which I can conceivably use to launch the professional lives of a bunch of great young people whom I can see getting nowhere without the sort of help I'd be only too keen to give them. (Criminal records don't look good on anyone's resume, but referees with industry contacts can overcome many a major stumbling block.)

I'm also waiting for Mick to get in touch as he said he would after this G20 fiasco in the city this week.

There is much to do and I hate waiting. But at least I've tied these three blogs together so that's something I can say I've done.

My graffiti.net email addy gets emails from two MSN groups updating me on the latest activity in the groups. I can't get that addy out of the groups because I can't log in to groups using chatrat@graffiti.net and since I'm not a member of P&A with any other addy, I can't see what's going on in there any more because I can't log in. I did note with a wry smile, however, that my last entry in P&A, the Can't Fucking Stand it Any More thread, is still active. I wonder if it has become the battle ground for those who can still see a ChatRat nick in the member list who use that to convince themselves and others what a dreadful liar I am versus those who don't think any such thing, if it has become a battleground over whether or not Bong should be allowed to keep doing what he's doing which bugged the living shit out of me and was the reason I quit Philochat as well - or if it has just become yet one more dumping ground for that demented fuckwit and his youtube links...

Whatever is going on with that thread though, I know one thing for sure: no matter who says what, the whole sodding mess of a thing just would not interest anyone of the calibre of any one of those kids I know either in rl or on the other side. The whole thing would just be beneath all of them and that is yet one more reason in a very long list of reasons why I so much prefer interaction with them than with the likes of those legally defined as adult fucking retarded jackasses.

I'm sick to the back teeth of having to watch my back, side with anyone, be careful of double entendres and innuendo which is usually taken the wrong way, misunderstandings which invariably leads to unbelievably inane mud slinging or just general manipulation and dodging - and all the other concommitant bullshit that goes with groups of people who just cannot accept differences of opinion as anything other than personal confrontations.

If I disagree with the kids or they disagree with me, we have a laugh and talk about something else. If it were a contest between the kids and the deadhearts for my time, it'd be the shortest contest in the history of contests.

So, with a head full of steam and my generally impatient disposition, I find myself awaiting the new year in keen anticipation of making a real difference to as many youngsters as it may be within my power to make. And without MSN Groups to hold me back, I also intend to build more contacts with people on the internet with whom I share common interests without competition or distraction. With any luck, I'll have more (and more interesting) things to share with my readership of 2.5 here at blogger.

(Waves to the ladies...)

Enjoy your week, mine's shaping up to be huge. :)