guns are not the problem part 5

i had had this fantastic idea to get away from it all, had just met this beautiful film maker from Romania, named after a flower, and like i had said i had to get away from it all, the drama, the stupidity, summer was coming,and i liked to swim across things. so like the swimmer, i was going to swim across the country.

out side the new river gorge we found a great cliff to leap from and in Mississippi i swam in water the color of coffee and as warm as sperm, but none of this has to do with guns being pointed at me, which leads us to a little reservoir outside of Albuquerque and as i always do when i get to lakes, i thought i would swim across, so i'm swimming and it's wonderfully cool in this hot desert air when a boat pulls up to me and slows way down, and a bull horn screams at me, get in the boat! and theirs no way i'm getting in the boat,

You can't swim in the lake

I am i say and keep swimming, when the boat forest ranger pulls a gun and tells me to get in and i say, i'll swim in, i swam out here, i'll swim back,and i turn around and swim back pissed off, your going to shoot me for illegally swimming across a country. in a blue pick up truck with the hot air blowing against my eyes,

i had three guns drawn on me, that summer, that was the first,

the next time, we had been driving all night and pulled into some camp site late and someone called us in or saw the head lights, so while standing around stretching and getting ready to build a tiny pocket sized fire, a spot light blinds us and Hi, i say and wave,

and here i am talking to another forest ranger, when he pulls his gun on me and he thinks my belt is a flashed gun, so he searches me and points his .9 at my chest, never says sorry, but tells me the park is full, get the hell out.

we don't stop at national parks from then on, or anywhere civilized only country roads, and farm stands for tomatoes, sleep in the truck, and drive, i don't know what we're doing.

crossing the boarder from Texas to somewhere, at some immigration tollbooth, we get pulled over, the truck gets searched and as i stand in the shade, watching them search my truck, smiling, the cop watching me whips his piece out and Freeze.

he's going to drop me and Hands up.

i raise my hands.

What's in your pocket?

and now there are two guns pointed at me.

take it easy guys, there's a pen in my pocket, and someone lifts my shirt and pulls out my pen throws it on the ground and shoots it.

fuck you America, you'll never be free.