Two people at a basement bar: former dining services worker, former police officer.

The other week after working and talking with art school colleagues about unionization downtown, I met my one modern Czech literature professor friend for a drink in this basement bar, where she was with this one (white) (Irish-American) (townie) guy who's a high school teacher and who I know from the student bar.

After a bit, joining us was this one (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman with spottily hairy arms, and who had worked for our university in dining services through the outsourced dining services firm.

She said that the management always cut corners with food quality like this one time when they used these bags of onions that smelled funny even though she said that they shouldn't, b/c the management got bonuses if they came in under budget.

They'd also always underorder food, so that there'd always be shortages of advertised entrees.

"Spin the wheel today and find out what's not here," she'd tell students to keep them entertained and herself occupied, when she worked the food bar.

Later, the townie guy hit on her, and he was very drunk and said that he'd been a cop, but retired three years ago after killing someone.

He had a call to come and quiet down a party, and this 19 year-old came outside and drew a gun, and though the other officers told him to shoot, he didn't want to, and then the kid pulled a trigger and shot him through the right lung.

In return, he fired three times and killed him.

After that, he retired, and now teaches high school at a charter school.

He seems very broken up over what happened, and I wonder if he has post-traumatic stress disorder.

After he told his story, the (thin) (mid-20s) (black) woman just shook her head, and we all bemoaned how easily available guns were on the streets.

He also told about the time that this 11-year old cursed him out and told him about how he had all the newest gaming platforms (= from drug money from his brothers), and so that he didn't have to listen to a thing he said.

"They get those values at home," the woman was like, shaking her head some more.