Article: 261420 of talk.bizarre
From: Edward Lopez <zed@apricot.com>
Newsgroups: talk.bizarre
Subject: kyosaku
Date: 1 Dec 1995 07:41:36 -0800
Organization: Liars for Truth
Lines: 91
Sender: zed@idiom.com
Message-ID: <zed.817832404@idiom.com>
Reply-To: zed@apricot.com
Status: O
X-Status: 

"Alright," Doherty said, leaning across the table in the interrogation
room.  "Would you mind telling us just _why_ you were attacking
homeless people, Mister..."

"Deshimaru," his partner, Martinez, provided.

"Deshimaru," Doherty said, staring down at the small Asian man
opposite him.

"I have attacked no one," Deshimaru replied quietly.

"Mr. Deshimaru, a police officer _saw_ you attacking Dirty Harry.  And
we'd had four previous calls from the neighborhood, and one of them
callers picked you out of a line-up, if you recall.  She saw you hit a
man on Sixth.  So I'll ask you one more time.  Why were you attacking
them?"

"I answer one more time.  I have attacked no one."

"Then what did Officer Martin see?"

"It is not for me to say what someone else perceives."

Doherty and Martinez looked at each other.  Martinez continued.
"Officer Martin reports you sneaked up on Dirty Harry and hit him with
a stick.  Why?"

Deshimaru sat even straighter.  "I walked in broad daylight.  I am not
wearing sneakers.  How did I sneak?"

Doherty started to reply, but Martinez quieted him with a glance.
"Alright, you walked up to him in broad daylight and hit him with a
stick.  _Why_?"

"To assist his awakening."

Doherty couldn't hold himself.  "He wasn't sleeping!  Neither were any
of the others!"

"I do not speak of awaking from sleep.  I speak of awaking from the
waking sleep."

Doherty threw back his head and threw up his hand, releasing an
exasperated sigh.  Martinez broke in, "Well, it's still against the
law.  They didn't ask to be hit."

"Did they not ask?  They have given up the householder's life.  They
own nothing but their clothes and their begging bowls.  They have
taken refuge.  Your city is full of holy men and women.  You do not
know it.  Maybe they do not know it.  I am a teacher."

Doherty and Martinez just looked at each other, and Doherty shook his
head.

---

"Doherty," Martinez said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear about Deshimaru?"

"What about him?"

"He made bail.  Three hundred bucks."

"Who put it up?"

"Harry."

"Harry who?"

"Dirty Harry."

"WHAT?"

"In pennies and nickels and dimes and quarters and wrinkled dollar
bills, Rachel in the courthouse told me.  Him and a whole little crowd
of panhandlers.  Said he didn't want to press charges, neither did two
other people there Deshimaru had hit, and he was rounding up the
others to talk them out of it.  D.A.'s office is already going to have
to drop charges anyway -- at this point, we only have him on
second-hand reports."

"I don't understand," said Doherty.

"I don't think that's the point," Martinez said.
--
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