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Half Time at the football gameIt wasn't a big town, but its outdoor sports arena held 5,000 comfortably. The place wasoverflowing with people on this bright sunny warm Saturday afternoon. The whole place buzzed. The game was a good one, close and hard fought. When the teams trooped off athalf time, the crowd was noisy and excited.The marching band came onto the field, and the crowd applauded politely. The bandwasn't all that great, but the crowd didn't care. A few minutes later the spectators roaredas a tow truck drove onto the athletics track that ran around the outside of the field. Thetruck did one quick circuit. The driver waved to the crowd. So did the two big youngguys in blue coveralls who sat on the back. The crowd waved back and cheered as it passed.After its lap of honor, the truck drove another half circuit and bumped off the athleticstrack and onto the grassy field, just behind the goal posts at the northern end. When itstopped, the crowd cheered again.The two big guys stood up and unloaded the two items lashed of the bed of the truck ñtwo thick beams of wood, one about twelve feet long, and the other around half thatlength. The beams made a hollow thud when they hit the ground.The driver got out too, an older man in jeans and a faded plaid shirt. The three of themlooked like father and two big healthy sons, because they were ñ the local haulage firm of Svenson and Sons.One of the sons started prodding the ground with his boots, found what he was lookingfor and bent down, opening a metal hatch. He reached down into the hollow underneathand whatever was there met with his approval because he nodded to his brother andfather and stood up.The brothers walked over to the two beams lying on the ground and effortlessly pickedup the longer of the two, which must have weighed 150 pounds. They carried it the fewyards to where the hatch lay open. The Svenson brother in front lowered his end of the beam carefully into the space where the hatch had been, then let it go and moved back tothe other end, near his brother. They pushed the beam upwards, getting closer and closer to vertical. The end resting on the ground suddenly slid downwards, about four feet of itdisappearing under the grassy surface. When it hit the bottom of the hole, there was avery loud, hollow thud that made the crowd cheer again.The beam swayed and shook, but even before it had stopped moving, the same Svenson brother was crouching down at its base, reaching into the space below and tighteningsomething under there with this right hand. The beam stopped swaying and after coupleof minutes it stood upright and still.
 
The brothers went over and got the other beam, while their father leaned into the cabin of the truck and took out two small blocks of wood, each four by four by two. The older man put the wooden blocks on the ground four feet or so in front of the upright beam, andfour feet apart. The two brothers lay the shorter beam on the blocks and stood up, brushing their hands clean.All that was left was to drive the truck around to the back of the vertical beam, and back it up until the arm of the winch hung over the upright like some long-necked bird of prey.Svenson senior did just that, got out of the truck, reached back in to pull out a canvas bag,and walked back to where his sons waited.All three waved in the direction of the gate they had driven in. The crowd cheered, whilethe Svensons opened the canvas bag and began to empty its contents on to a sheet of thick plastic they had spread at their feet.The band played on, marching up and down the grassy field, until at some signal theymarched to the northern end, twenty yards or so from the Svensons, stopped, and downedinstruments.The loudspeakers crackled to life."Ladeez and gentlemen". There was a roar of approval."My friends, we are ready for the mid-game entertainment but first let's hear itfor out great crew from Svenson and Sons!" There was a sustained wave of applause andshouts of approval. As the ruckus died down, another vehicle, a small dark green vanwith grilles over the windows in back, drove onto the running track. The crowd noiseswelled once more.The van had "County Correctional Center" painted on both sides in large white letters. Itmade its way slowly around the track towards the Svensons, the two prison officers in thefront responding to the crowd's cheering by waving. It took them a minute or so to get tothe northern end of the arena. The van stopped on the track and the two officers got out,still waving to the crowd, went to the back of the van and opened the doors.."My friends", boomed the loudspeakers. "My friends. Today as always we will see true justice done, justice as it should be done, justice for the community and by thecommunity. Real justice." There was a loud cheer of approval. This was the cue for the prison officers, who reached into the back of the van and dragged out a young man whowas blindfolded, his wrists handcuffed in front of him and his ankles shackled. They torethe blindfold off, leaving him blinking and squinting in the strong afternoon light. Thecrowd cheered, hooted and whistled.He had an untidy mop of thick hair that was either very light brown or dark blond over anopen, quite good-looking face. He looked like, and probably was, a country boy from upnorth with his solid build, worn blue jeans, work boots and an unbuttoned plaid shirt over a white T. Even with two days of stubble on his face, he did not look older than 19,maybe even 18.
 
Right now the only emotion written on his face was fear, abject fear. As his large hazeleyes adjusted to the light, he turned his head every which way, making little frightenednoises as the crowd booed and catcalled. The prison officers grabbed his arms to pushhim forward towards the Svensons, towards the wooden frame. The officers knew, as didthe Svensons and many others, that offenders like him were taken straight from thecourtroom and held away from other prisoners. He would have known his sentence wasdue when the guards appeared at the door of his cell, dragged him out, and threw him inthe van. Now he finally understood what it meant to face punishment in public; that it was goingto happen in front of 5,000 strangers. This was usually the stage when prisoners' bowelswent weak, though the prison authorities had not fed him solid food for days to avoid`accidents'. So far he hadn't pissed in his pants but he looked like he might any minute."My friends" came the loud voice once more. "My good friends, what we are dealingwith today is a conviction for robbery and assault. A cowardly and violent attack on anelderly lady, all for the sake of $25."The crowd booed and hollered. The young man wasshaking his head. No, he was not guilty of that or anything else. The prison officers took a tighter grip and shoved him forward. "We will know this convicted criminal only asJoshua, and he is about to face the full force of the law". More cheers, more whistles andcatcalls. Definitely a north country boy with a Biblical name like that. Poverty oftendrove them off the farms and into trouble.The kid, stunned, kept shuffling forward in his shackles, assaulted on all sides by thenoise of the hostile crowd. He began to sob and the prison guards were half carrying himnow. They were only twenty yards for the big wooden pole, and he noticed it for the firsttime, digging his heels in and trying to stop. "I don't deserve this", he wailed, turning firstto one, then the other prison guard. "I ain't done nothin' that deserves this".They dragged him, unresisting for the moment, for the last fifteen yards. Tears werestreaming down his face as he looked up at the pole. They turned him around, facingaway from the upright, let him fall to his knees, and let the Svensons take over. Thefather shook hands with both guards, who moved a little way off to watch the next act.The older man walked over, crouched next to the kid, held the young face still with his big right hand. "Son, there's no call for all this wailing and weeping. No call. Your Matold you to take what comes like a man, I'm certain of that." The tears continued to fallfrom the large eyes, but the kid nodded. "Well now, you just do what you're told and thiswill be over sooner than you think. Do you have courage boy?" A pause, then another nod."You be brave, and you act like a man and these folks will respect you for that. Youhear me?". Another nod. "Up on your feet, then son. Like a man. Remember that".Svenson helped the kid to get up. "Now you just do what you're asked. Just do it, elseyou'll get yourself more trouble. We'll take off those cuffs and then my boys here willstrip off your shirt and T-shirt. And then the rest. You stand still and take it straight like,you hear? " The youngster nodded once more. "Buck naked. Oh Jesus wept, buck naked"
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