Progress

Arrived at work as the police van pulled away. No need to wonder what that might be about. Entered the office to find everyone including the Senior Frustrated Novelist and the Bolshie Book Worm flaked out and looking like they couldn't wait to clock out. BBW doesn't normally work Tuesdays and was inclined to tell anyone who would listen as well as everybody else that she'll Never Do Another Tuesday.

I never did get to hear about Sunday (or Monday for that matter) because things had already moved on too far. Shortly after 1pm, about an hour before I arrived, a female was detained attempting to leave the store with alcohol that she hadn't been paid for. The Ferret (I used to be the Ferret but after my sprint through Health and Beauty on Saturday I'm now The Greyhound) and RatFace caught her after she'd been spotted by Ratty behaving rather suspiciously (that is to say taking a bottle of alcohol and putting it in her shoulder bag rather than her shopping trolley).

Duly she was frogmarched by the Bolshie Book Worm up to the security suite. And after her identity and age were established proceedings were put on hold until a responsible adult arrived to hold her hand. That responsible adult was her mother and that poor woman had to sit through having her daughter's bag searched. As well as the alcohol a crack pipe was retrieved. The poor woman collapsed.

While waiting for the mother to turn up the child had been accompanied by The Ferret in whom she'd confided that she's already on remand (awaiting trial) though what for wasn't divulged. Things are not looking good for her in the sense that she's going away. If she's very, very lucky she'll end up in the hands of someone who'll (a) be prepared to take the time and (b) have the resources to draw on so that this child of 14 years of age gets the help she needs to sort herself out before she goes too far down a path that will lead to a grossly premature and very ugly death. If she is so very, very lucky then being locked up will be her salvation. Otherwise she won't make 25 which is about the life expectancy of a very early female homo sapiens sapiens.

We continue the struggle to 'progress' as a species. Mother nature has a glorious capacity to put us, and everything else, back in our box. Crack cocaine as mother nature's solution to uppity overly aspirational hairless hominids?

By the way this isn't someone fitting the stereotype 'scummy gutter brat' but the offspring of a pair of professionals. As her daughter was preparing to be led away in handcuffs the mother was heard to say something along the lines of "but we've given you everything" which just might be part of the problem.