just the other day - Sunday. I was driving back from the family celebration of my mom's 80th birthday. Long drive. I had been on the road for about 9 hours, and it was kinda hot for some of it too. Still have about 70 miles to drive. I stopped in this one little town of 9,300 people. Stopped there so I could take a picture of their sign. I happen to know a kid with the same name as the town (in fact I saw that kid last night on my way to the homeless shelter). So I thought it would be cool to take that picture and make a poster out of it for him. So I pull into this little dead end gravel drive about half a block from the sign, walk over there and take my picture. Took two or three, just to make sure I get a good one.
There happens to be a cop nearby giving somebody a traffic ticket, and another cop drives up for some reason too and they confer for a bit before the other one drives off.
Of course, the cop just HAS to question me. What am I doing? So I am "detained" for half a minute explaining myself to a cop. Presumably I was doing nothing either illegal nor all that suspicious. I mean there I was - walking while white, and I am clearly middle aged too. Who knows though, I had parked in somebody's private drive for four minutes or something - that could be a major violation.
Anyway, that's America. Another time I went to Pawnee City, Nebraska, less than 900 people. One of my cousins had a job there as pastor. So I decided I was gonna drive up there to hear him preach. Got there way before church so I am sitting there with an hour to kill. Sat in my car for a while and then decided to check out the local grocery store. Might buy some pop if the prices were decent, and also get the time. I walk around the store and don't like their prices, and so go back to my car, where I start playing on my laptop. Next thing, a cop - an OFF duty cop, is knocking on my window and asking me questions. What am I doing there? Blah, blah, blah.
It seemed that this cop happened to be shopping and the store owner had complained to him about me. How DARE I walk around his store and not buy anything? Plus, I was clearly NOT of the body.
In another town I had relocated to, one Sunday I was walking down the street singing to my walkman (I know, I know, that SHOULD be illegal - TOBAL (There Oughta Be A Law).) Going to the library - walking. So I am standing there waiting for some 80s power ballad to end before going in to the library, when a cop waves me over. Who am I ? What am I doing? (One of my friends later said he like my smart-a$$ answer. Cop asked "Are you new in town?" I said "No, I have lived here for 3 months." - Actually longer though, because I owned some property 17 miles north of town, and I lived there before I got a job teaching at the local campus and moved to town.) In closing he said "Huh? I didn't know the Library was open on Sundays." So I said "I guess you would know that if you ever bothered to read a book." (Okay I didn't really say that, but isn't it a cooler story if we pretend I did?)
Anyway, that's life in America. The land of the free, and the home of the brave. Not new either. That last incident happened in 1990.
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