First, congratulations for your fast and timely posting to the
birthday greetings to PROBONOPUBLICO.
Second:  As "a police officer with 20+ years experience" please tell
me the nicest/happiest/funniest thing you experienced on the beat.

Looking forward, Myo

Dear myoarin-ga:

It seems we intentionally avoid becoming person in order to preserve
the anonymity we've become comfortable with. However, at your request,
for you and only you will I bend the rules just this once and share
something personal.

The most special thing that ever happened to me was a serendipitous
brush with greatness that later proved to be especially enlightening
and meaningful to me, though neither of us realized it at the time
(and one of us probably NEVER realized it). Here goes:

Years ago, back when I was a young police officer working in a city
heavily dependent upon the entertainment industry, I occasionally
worked off duty jobs to make ends meet providing personal protection
for celebrities, politicians or whoever thought they needed those
kinds of services. There were two types of services, bodyguard work
and security work. The security work was always the easiest because it
didn?t involve any contact with the celebrity. It was mostly guarding
doors, buses, back stage areas, etc. The bodyguard work, on the other
hand, always required me to work closely with the person and they were
almost ALWAYS so full of themselves that the working conditions were
often unbearably ungrateful and quite miserable. I was never very
start-struck and didn?t consider rubbing elbows with famous people
much of a bonus, but the money was good and I needed it so I usually
did just took whatever misery they dished out for the pay they
offered.

On one instance I accepted a job protecting a young man named Troyal,
a little known singer from who-knows-where Okalahoma with a
not-yet-spectacular musical career. Since I had some experience with
these kinds of people I wasn?t particularly looking forward to this
assignment. My job was to stay with him for the 12 hours or so that he
would be here. I?d eat every meal with him, be on his bus with him, in
his dressing room and even on stage with him ? just out of view behind
a narrow curtain. To be required to spend this much time with a
?celebrity? was unprecedented and it hadn?t even started yet before I
began dreading every minute of it.

When he showed up in his bus around noon that day he didn?t arrive
like most celebrities did. His unmarked bus stopped right in front of
the concert venue. The door to the bus opened up and out he came ? he
was wearing sweat pants, a baseball cap and was in his sock feet. He
sat down on the bottom step and laced up his dirty tennis shoes. His
music wasn?t my cup of tea so I only vaguely recognized him but he
went to the trouble to introduce himself to me anyway. He shook my
hand and smiled and I remember thinking that HE is probably the only
one here who has no idea who HE is.

Throughout the afternoon and into the evening I had a lot of time to
talk to this young man. He told me a few things about himself but
mostly we talked about what he wanted to talk about ? me. He asked me
question after question about my life, my job, my family and he looked
right into my face when I answered and spoke. He genuinely wanted to
know more and he absorbed every single word.

About himself? Well, he said that he attended Oklahoma State
University and all he ever wanted to do was play sports - to throw the
javelin or play major league baseball. In fact, until this music thing
came along his sports had been the only time he had ever performed
publicly in his life. He said he had to take some kind of college
courses in order to be able to continue playing sports so he majored
in Marketing. He never intended to make commercials or work in the
advertising world but he thought it would be nice to have something to
fall back on since (unless you plan to become a Zulu warrior or
something) there?s really not much call for professional javelin
throwers in this world. He said he worked his way through college and
paid his tuition by singing at night wherever people would pay him to
do it and that, of course, is how he was discovered. He gave up his
dream of becoming a famous sports figure ? something that he had
always hoped and prayed for - and it ultimately led to something even
bigger than he originally dreamed.
 
I noticed something else about this young man with the funny name too.
He REALLY DID pray. He prayed humbly and quietly at each of our meals
saying only ?Amen? out loud. Several times he mentioned that he used
to pray for ?things?, and each time he said that he winked. I didn?t
understand what that meant until just before the show. On stage, just
before the curtain opened, he joined hands with all his band members
and roadies and they prayed out loud. He didn?t ask for God to let him
put on a good show, or to make him a famous baseball player and he
didn?t ask God to help him have a successful performance. Instead, he
gave thanks for what God had ALREADY blessed him with and he promised
God he?s repay him somehow if he could.
 
He did put on a fantastic show that night and after the end of the
show we sat on his bus and chatted for long time, and we talked even
more out on the parking lot while he signed autographs for everyone
who asked until the wee hours of the morning. I caught myself feeling
silly for standing there alone in the fog under a street light at 4
o?clock in the morning waving at the back of this guy?s bus as drove
out of my life the same unimposing way it drove in.

Some years later this same guy made quite a name for himself and one
of his songs in particular stuck with me because, when it first came
out, I already knew (and had for years) the story behind it. In the
song he sings: ?Some of God?s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers?.
Even at this young age, the guy with the funny name, Troyal - Garth  -
Brooks, understood something most of us never figure out?the value of
an unanswered prayer. Way back then he had already learned that what
we DON?T have can sometimes play an even greater role in what kind of
people we become than what we DO have -- and to be careful what you
ask for because you MIGHT just get it.

I don?t think either one of us really knew who ?Garth Brooks? was
before that night and I?ve no doubt that he forgot me before the week
was out. Years have passed and I?ve never forgotten him though; not
Garth Brooks the famous music star, but a happy, bright-eyed,
enthusiastic kid in sock feet who stumbled down out of that bus in the
middle of Nowhere, USA to impart his wisdom to a guy who was certain
he already knew everything.

I needed a good dose of that sort of wisdom at that point in my life.
I never got to tell him how much I appreciated him for setting me
straight ? whether he ever knew he did it or not. The fact that he was
a celebrity had nothing to do with it (because in his mind he wasn?t).
A beggar on the street with the same wisdom could have achieved the
same effect. For me, it was literally A STRANGER IN THE NIGHT who
ended up being one of the finest people I ever had the good fortune to
meet. And I?m so grateful that I did.

Suffice it to say that as ?nice? things go this was, without question,
one of the most memorable things that ever happened to ?me?. But then
again, there are lots of wise strangers in this world ? so there?s no
telling who else we just might meet out there next.



Probably not what you had expected (no saved babies or burning
buildings) but I hope my story was sufficient to satisfy your
curiosity.  ;)

best regards;
tutuzdad-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 23 Oct 2006 19:32 PDT

You are far too kind. Thank you!!!

Dad

That was wonderful and touching.  Thank you!  
It was far beyond the call of duty, almost embarassingly so.
And thank you for introducing me to Garth Brooks.
I hope you had at least some enjoyment in recalling the incident and
in relating it so well.  You certainly gave me a great deal of
pleasure.
Thanks again and kind regards, Myoarin

Myo.....

I can't find a question re: Bryan's birthday????

Where oh where is it???

Steph53

Never mind...

I found it :)

Steph53

I wonder if Pops is going to recount the occasion when he stopped
Steph53 for a traffic violation?

The story he told me was:

Every day the cops in Arizona had noted this yellow Ferrari screaming
down the highway, ignoring all speed restrictions, traffic lights,
etc. and all requests to stop. Worse, it wouldn't even slow down.

However, they did manage to collect a great collection of piccies and
they discovered that the yellow Ferrari was always driven by a
gorgeous blonde and that it had no licence plates.

Naturally, every cop in the district wanted to catch this gorgeous
blonde but, of course, it was none other than our own Pops who grabbed
the honour.

Here's what he did:

He posted a question on GA asking for help and Steph53 promptly
confessed everything in a comment.

It was then merely a matter of Pops going to Mountain View, putting on
his body armour, flashing his badge, drawing his gun, calling for back
up and ...

The Mountain Viewers then willingly cooperated and Pops had the rare
distinction of meeting 'The Editors': two very attractive young women
who, after sipping vodka by the pool, had fallen asleep with loud
zzzzzzzzzzz's pouring from their mouths.

Much to Pops' surprise, he recognised both women: one was Steph53 and
the other was a well-known resident of Tulsa.

Pops was almost speechless.

He later told me that 'as a police officer with 20+ years experience,
I have never been more amazed in my life'.

He kissed them both tenderly and, when they awoke, he demanded to see
Steph's driving licence.

Steph responded by asking, 'What's that????'

Pops explained and Steph replied 'Where oh where is it???'

Pops then advised her that she must formally post a Request for Answer
Clarification.

Whereupon, Steph said 'Never mind... I found it :)'

Pops then answered the question himself, gave himself 5 stars and a
$100 tip and ensured that the case was duly stamped 'UNSOLVED'.

It pays to have friends in high places.

"He kissed them both tenderly and, when they awoke, ..."   !?

I am sure that is not a way to get the attention of suspects under the
influence that is mentioned in my basic English handbook for
mono-syllabic cops  (not that Tutuzdad is one of them).
They could have nailed him for sexual harassment or worse, maybe even
claimed child molesting  - they both are so petit and look so young.

This must have happened way, way, way back in his career, before the
handbook was written, before he had gray hair and a trained resistance
to kissing atractive young female suspects; maybe so far back that he
still believed in fairy tales and thought he was Prince Charming in
his uniform with the duty of kissing any sleeping girl he found on the
outside chance that she was the Sleeping Beauty.

Ah, I just found the right page in the handbook:  He should have asked:  
"You OK?"  
The handbook says:  "Try to speak in a calm voice that will not upset
the person or show your worry about their immediate condition."

Not I. On Day One a wise old policeman passed on a warning to me that
I've never forgotten and I've passed it on to many who came after me:

"Badges get lots of kisses but kisses also get lots of badges".

Just the facts ma'am.

Hi Tutz,

That's interesting, but not "nicest/happiest/funniest" to merit a
request to post it as an answer.  I'm still waiting.  (Looks like
you're going to win on both fronts, but that is fine.)

On another question, you mentioned all the training policemen get today.  
Almost 40 years ago, I talked to a once member of NYC's finest (good
Irish name), who told me that his training before going on the beat
lasted one week.  But I guess back then - maybe another 30-40 years
earlier, the law and general feeling of what was right or wrong were
much simpler and in accord  - and maybe there more wise old policemen
about to watch over the rookies.

Cheers, Myo

Oh, if you only knew. I'm a second generation. My father was on the
job from the 50's to the 70's in what was once considered one of the
wildest cities in America. He went on patrol alone on his first night
with no formal civilian law enforcement training AT ALL. They gave him
a badge and he borrowed a gun from a friend and reported for work.
Being a freshly discharged Army veteran he asked them how much
training he would recieve and how long the training period would be.
He was asked, "You know right from wrong don't you?".

"Yes", he replied.

"So what's the problem?", they asked, "Go out there and arrest
everybody you see doing wrong and leave everyone who is doing right
alone. You get paid on the first of the month. Get to work."

Believe me, the old guys I knew had ample experience at right and
wrong (and corruption, which was seen as a combination of both
depending on who defined it). That which was considered "wrong" in
those days was obvious to everyone; that which was considered "right"
in those day was any act that would not be "discovered" as wrong.

That mentality from 40-50 years ago is LONG gone and the times have
defintely changed - for the better.

HI, again.
That is most interesting.  Maybe I should have included
"interestingest" as a classification.  I was kind of hoping you might
have delivered a baby or rescued a Welsh speaker from being for being
run in as a blithering runaway from a mental home because he couldn't
speak English.

Please post your comment or a reference to it - or better -  as an answer.

Cheers, Myo

Bryan.....

That is quite the comment.....

Have you ever entertained the idea of becoming an author?????

You have a very vivid imagination ;)

Steph53

I have done many of the things you suspect someone in my position
might have done during his career. Some of them memorable, other
dreadfully forgetful. I'm just not much for recounting my own notable
acts so don't expect an heoric summary of any one of these as an
answer. I do apologize my friend. I sense your anxiety over my pending
answer and I will comply. I am not intentionally holding you in
suspense. Look for something this evening as I am elbow deep in other
rats at the moment. I think you will appreciate what I will eventually
share with you.

Bravo, Dad! One of the greatest answers ever!!!

And I'm not just sayin' so because Garth was born in Tulsa.

;)

Fascinating Pops!

It reminds me that some years ago I met a woman whose ex-husband had
been a cop until he took up bodyguard stuff full-time.

He even landed the job of looking after Whitney Houston.

I asked her if her ex looked like Kevin Costner.

She said that he thought it did.

Anyway, it went to his head and they divorced.

Me? I met the Prime Minister's bodyguard on one occasion and, of
course, I had to ask 'Would you really take a bullet to protect that
so-and-so?'

I am sure that you can guess the answer.

Dad...absolutely fabulous!  Your answer alone made me very glad I
stopped back by to take a look at GA.  Thanks for the wonderful story.

Tutz,
Re your clarification:  I am glad you feel so.  That prose doesn't
just get written as fast one can type, and only the asker can reward
an answer that gives pleasure to other readers, as yours certainly has
 - and will.

There must be a journal that needs a column:  "From a Wise Old Cop".

I expect you don't like the three letter word  - maybe both of them - 
but the column would be directed at mono-syllabic laymen, like me,

My-oar-in