Fear, a word that many people have in their minds; whether it's something as little as spiders or heights or something very complex and different. Fear can overcome us. It can cover us like a blanket and suffocate us. No way to speak or even begin to bring breath into our lungs at times, maybe even bringing tears to our eyes. Jorge Crompton knows fear. He has faced it. He has fought it. Fear is practically his middle name. Every day is a new example for him. No one knows fear better than Mr. Crompton.

Entry #67 June 21, 1954

Every day is a journey for me. I face new challenges. Learn new things. Fear is a common factor in these 24 hour days. Living in Brooklyn, New York I see gangs left and right. I get stuck in situations that I would much rather not be in. All of the challenges I have faced in this past year have made me smarter… and stronger. I happen to have what you would call a” side kick” that has helped me through most of it. His name is Jeffrey Grounds. Jeffery is someone that tends to see things, bad things, but doesn’t have much to say about it. More laid-back than me. Scratch that, much more laid-back than me. I'm honestly the one that gets us into hard situations. He's pretty brave I can say that. It's actually quite funny the things I do. The hell that I can cause. And throughout all of that he's not turned or left me once. I appreciate him so much for that. I can remember the first time I met Jeff. I was in sort of a situation.




It was at the downtown bar (in which I am no longer welcome due to this situation), called The Chop Shop. It's in a pretty rough neighborhood. Cops are there 24/7 cracking down on drug scandals, gangs, and break ins. All that jazz. Anyways, I was sitting at the bar, drinking a scotch when I saw this stunning young woman in the corner of my eye. She was one of those women who you know to stay away from, but there's this magnetic force that pulls you towards her. Soft, slightly frizzy blonde hair swept down her to her mid back. She had striking blue eyes and vibrant red lipstick to top her flawless face off. I confidently walked over to her with the glass in my hand and sat in the chair across from her. I could tell she was used to random strange men hitting on her and trying to get her home with them, but that wasn’t my intentions at all.




"What you doin' all alone at a bar in this part of town?" I asked. She looked up to the bar with a partial grin on her face and mumbled as she looked away, "I'm on business, waiting for my boss." Her boss? I thought to myself. What kind of boss would she be meeting in this bar, in this neighborhood? "This is a very… dangerous neighborhood you know that right?" I asked very jokingly. This time her eyes darted to mine. Looking very deeply at me she stated, "Well Mr...um...whoever you are, I am a very dangerous woman." I was puzzled by what she meant, but before I could question her, a hand grabbed the back of my neck squeezing it very tightly and a deep, raspy voice said, "Get up.” I turned and looked at a very tall, scruffy man. By mistakenly looking into his eyes, I could see the darkness in them. This was no man to mess with. But me being me, I got snappy. “Um, no I was already sitting here,” I snapped back. He quickly grabbed the back of my chair and lifted it forward, shoving me into the table. For a moment I had lost my breath, my eyes squeezed shut, and I was unable to catch any air whatsoever. I can just remember looking up and staring across the table to the women sitting in front of me, and looking into her eyes and seeing the concern, but uneasiness in her eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a giant decrease in pressure. I turned and saw an arm around the neck of the man that was harassing me. And connected to that arm, was a tall, lanky man with stringy black hair that stopped just above his eyebrows. He looked at me nodding his head for me to get up. I glanced back to the woman who I was conversing with just a few moments before, but she was gone. I turned back, climbed out of my chair, and without thinking took a swing to the man’s face. Blood was soon streaming down his mouth. His eyes automatically grew dark. He whipped up his elbow and nailed into the man’s nose causing his arm to immediately release from around his neck. I ran, waving for the lanky man to follow. I heard a scream and the sound of a gunshot. I swiftly turned and saw the bartender fall, while holding his stomach. Time slowed down. It took what seemed like years for me to turn a see if he had followed me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow run past me, while grabbing my arm. We busted through the front door of the bar and just ran. Down the block. Turning corners. Not paying attention to anything but ahead. As soon as we got a few blocks down we stopped and I bent over, grabbed my knee, and I turned my head to look at the man who had pretty much saved my life. “That was a close call. Thanks man. What’s your name?” I struggled to get out. “Jeffrey, Jeffrey Grounds,” he replied.