The flasher at Micky Dee's

i was 8

family-sitting

backboothed

McDonalds

he was 40+plus+

flicking his lighter

attention-getting

f

l

a

s

h

f

l

a

s

h

each

butaned-time

i'd (not want to) **(turn)**

my head

f

r

o

z

e

n

wanting my telepathic-bewitched skills to come alive

with my unknowing family

enjoying their

happy-happy-happy meals

until we stepped off the curb

i told my mom about 

the old-man flasher

and with the words came 

management

police

but he was

t

r

u

c

k

never seen again

I've been thinking about this moment lately.

I was sitting with my family eating what I'm sure was a happy enough meal.  We were in the backroom area, where at the time there was a large plaster Ronald McDonald...sitting at the head of the "bar" area--the room before playland I guess.  McDonalds was new to town. We were in a booth area and this old man (old for an 8 year old), kept flicking his butane lighter.  He had it low--near his belt buckle.  I was annoyed at the flicking, but could tell he was doing it as an attention getter.  Eventually my eyes figured out what was going on--his penis was hanging out his zipper area, extremely close to his lighter.

I froze.

The sad part, past the perv, was I knew to tell my family but didn't know how or what to do.  I felt very intimated with him right there...like I had caused it by looking.  I didn't want to look, but felt him staring--the whole thing.  

As soon as we left the building I told my mom what had happened.  My dad went immediately inside and told management.  They called the police.  I had to talk to them.  The man was gone.  

McDonalds knew alittle about the man.  His brother lived in town and he was a trucker with "problems." Hmmm.. They knew he was creepy, but until then didn't have a reason to ban him.