Wobbling

A drunken, grey-haired man wearing a red jacket wobbled through the parking lot outside of the CVS pharmacy at 1652 Garnet Street in Pacific Beach Thursday evening. A police car with two officers arrived

on the scene at approximately 8:30 pm. One officer exited the vehicle to speak with the two security guards standing on the sidewalk, outside of the pharmacy, who had phoned in the incident earlier.

“Did you see this man in the lot?” said the officer to the security guards, Joseph and Peter. The guards explained that they had seen the man in the parking lot, that he was intoxicated, and that they had asked him to leave.

A bystander said that she had seen the man while she was driving in the lot toward Kinko’s and that, for as odd as it may sound, it appeared to her that the man was actually trying to get hit by a car. “He was

wobbling and then as he saw my car coming, moved toward it instead of away from it,” she said.

I described the man to the officers. “He was an elderly man in a red, nearly knee-length jacket, and he went that way,” I said pointing toward Mi Casa’s restaurant across the street from the pharmacy.

“Yeah, well, we saw two elderly men in red jackets that fit the description, right over there…very strange,” said the officer pointing to the parking lot of the restaurant.

Peter told the four of us a lengthy story about one of the red-jacketed men, “He’s a homeless guy… a veteran…sleeps down there on the sidewalk right by the road, right there at the edge of the road,” said Peter pointing down Kendall Street.

An announcement erupted from the officer’s radio and brought Peter’s story to an abrupt halt. It was something about someone with a bat on Chalcedony…and the officers were off in a flash.

I phoned CVS at 9:50 pm while writing this story and asked to speak with the manager.

I was transferred to a woman named Brandy. I introduced myself as a freelance reporter, summarized the incident in the parking lot and asked if she would like to comment.

“It’s CVS’s policy not to talk to reporters,” said Brandy.

“So, CVS doesn’t speak with reporters,at all?” I asked.

“Well, you have to talk to human resources,” said Brandy.

“May I please have that number?” I said.

“I don’t have it in front of me,” said Brandy, “thank you.” Click.

“Hello? Hello?" I said, but Brandy had hung up on me.