Micky pulled up at the top of the hill and rode the clutch as he waited for a break in the traffic before venturing out on to the main road to town . He took a look to the left and then right and one more , then off he went , in his Ford Zephyr going through the gears and blending with the morning traffic . He hit the brakes as the on coming traffic light’s turned red .
It was his first day driving to work and he was a little nervous because he had just got his drivers license the day before .
Suddenly a car bomb exploded on the corner on the other side of the road . The lights turned green and he drove off along the road ,
Strange how you get used to the sound of bombs exploding and gunshots . It was just part of everyday life now since the troubles started . Finally he got to the linen mill where he worked as a clothes inspector . After he parked his car he went through the doors to the foreman’s office for his work orders for the day .
He was shocked to find the foreman lying on the floor in his underwear with his hands and feet tied up and his mouth gagged .
Micky untied the foreman and removed the gag from his mouth .
“About time . I’ve been lying here all night “
“What’s happened Walter ?“
Micky asked .
“After every one finished work yesterday I was locking up the place for the night and an intruder took me by surprise . He took my clothes and walked out with the petty cash box . “
“That’s terrible Walter . So you spent the night here . Must have been a cold uncomfortable time you had here .“
Said Micky who took a white coat from the cupboard and gave it to
the foreman rang the police and his wife to explain what had happened .
Micky brought the foreman a cup of tea and a chocolate bar . Reaching out he took the cup off tea and said ,
“Thanks , you can’t beat a decent cup of tea. I’ve got to going down to the barracks to have a look at some photos . Then I’ll go home for the rest of the day . You’ll have to fill in for me today Mickey “
“No problem Walter .”
“I’ll get some overalls in the store and head off “
He drank his tea and left . Micky sat down at the desk and checked the run for the day . There was no special additions to the usual cloth orders . As he looked out the window of the foreman’s office he noticed some of the workers were arriving to start work .
He turned in the radio and thee was a mention on the news about the prisoner who had escaped from jail the day before . The news report also mentioned about several car bombs that had exploded around
the city with some innocent people loosing their lives .
Funny how you get used to people being killed , it’s just another day in a troubled city . Most people these days would leave for work not knowing if they would get home alive at the end of the day .
The mill workers finished the shift and Micky locked up and got into his car . He drove along the main road back to his village where hundreds of houses had been burned out during the day . Flames and smoke filled the sky and the sound of windows shattering was everywhere . Burned out buses stood at the top of every street as he parked his car in the street .
Another day in a troubled city had come to a close .
I have a good idea this was written some time ago when Belfast was just like you describe. Those troubled times lasted a very long time, but seem to have eased greatly in recent years, thank heaven!
And it is strange how people will continue their routine things when war is raging all around them. It is different when an army moves in and either forces the residents to leave, captures them or kills them. When the people in dispute all live in same place, like a city like Gaza. You hardly know who is a enemy or a friend and the killing becomes even more brutal and criminal until people just ignore it going crazy.
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