Photo Character Analysis by Matt Crowley

So I was riding through upstate New York in a rush to beat the rain and I heard sirens behind me. I checked my mirrors and saw a cop on a motorcycle behind me so I pulled over. I knew I was speeding, but did not know how much over the speed limit I was driving. The officer turned his bike off took his helmet off and walked in my direction. As he approached I started to recognize him. He had cafe brown skin with bushy eyebrows and had a big nose and lips. As he got closer I finally knew where I had seen him before; I saw him at the bar the night before. Maybe I can get away without a ticket. Maybe he will recognize me I thought. We made eye contact and I could tell he recognized me. I yelled “Billy” and he looked and me and responded “No shit, Jerry, I never expected to run into you in upstate New York.”

“And I never knew you were a cop! Especially after everything you did last night. You are a fucking bad ass cop, man.” I responded.

“And why am I not surprised you are driving twenty five miles per hour over the speed limit?” Jerry said.

“Really? I was going that fast? I’m just trying to beat the bad whether that is heading this way.” I said.

Jerry looked up at the sky and saw the storm clouds approaching. “Alright, I will let you go. I wouldn’t want my good friend to get caught up in the rain on a motorcycle. Just slow it down a little. Here is my number if you ever wanna go to the bar again. Have a good day Billy.”

I was so relieved. Jerry walked back to his motorcycle without even looking at my license and registration. He didn’t write down my plate number or anything. He was a good friend that I look forward to seeing at the bar in the near future.

20 years later...

I was cruising down the highway on my old harley going too fast for comfort, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to get away. I couldn’t get caught or my life would come to an end. If I fell of my bike I probably would have died anyways. I had been riding this bike almost all of my life and it was still in great condition, almost running as well as when I got it. Sirens were following me everywhere I went, but not because of a minor crime. This time I fucked up big time. Luckily it was two in the morning so there were very few cars on the road. I was riding as fast as I could, hoping I would lose the cops. I had my duffle bag full money strapped to my back and was hoping to get to a place that I could hide for a few days. At this point I realized I would be on the run for the rest of my life.

The sirens were becoming quieter and quieter; I was gaining separation from them. Another five miles to the next exit and I could find a place to camp out there and lose the cops. I still had enough gas to make it five more miles, but barely. I accelerated to one hundred miles per hour and took the exit in no time. I took the exit then took as many sharp turns as I could to lose the cops. First took a right shortly after the first intersection then kept going until I saw another hard right turn. I turned and saw a shitty motel. There was an abandoned shack across the street so I hid my bike there and ran to the hotel. I checked in under a fake name and told them I left my license at home and told them I would be leaving the next day so they let it slide. They must have been happy to get service because it appeared to be entirely vacant.

I got to my room and opened the windows a crack to listen for sirens. I heard some shortly after I got in my room but they passed quickly. I could finally take a minute to breathe and relax. I was too old for this. I decided I should sleep while I had the chance and I would wake up early and keep going. Maybe I would try to cross the border to Canada through New York. I just knew that whatever I did, I could not turn back.

I woke up when the sun rose and checked out of the hotel and ran to my bike across the street and left. I found a gas station nearby and filled up my motorcycle and headed north for Canada. I was more relaxed but still had to keep an eye out for cops because if any cop saw me at this point I would be screwed. I started planning out how I could get the money over the border without them noticing I was carrying such a large quantity of money shortly after a bank robbery. I decided I would buy a few small bags and split up the money and hide the big bag. I would have to take multiple trips back and forth this way but it would be less obvious. I also decided on buying a bag and some extra clothes so it looked like I was going there for a reason. The border between New York and Canada is large and there are multiple places to cross. I hid the money about 3 miles away from each place I would cross the border then went to the store and bought clothes.