My childhood friend, Jamison, is getting married, and a few months ago he asked if I'd be one of his groomsmen. I immediately said I'd be delighted to. He's getting married next weekend in Oregon, so I decided to make it a full-blown vacation instead of a hit-and-run weekend visit. I'm currently on my way to Oregon, where I'll be spending as many minutes with my nieces and nephews (all 7 of them!) as I can and then reluctantly peeling away from them for the wedding.
Seriously, there are a lot of reasons I need to visit Oregon more often, and their names are [Konrad, Shannon, Annika, Benson, Elissa, Carson, Carita], [Randy, Shelley, Jocelyn, Charlotte], and [Shelby]. This is only the beginning, because I have several friends living in Oregon, most notably Jamison. He and I spent many afternoons and school recesses together.
Mom found me a fantastic deal through Southwest for my trip to Oregon. I feel like I need to point out how awesome that flight company is. You get two free checked-in pieces of luggage! Since Mom did all the work finding the ticket, she claimed one of the check-in bags. Sitting in my car is this giant cardboard box stuffed with all sorts of crafty items and toys destined for my two sisters.
My flights start in Omaha, but I haven't quite left Iowa, which is unquestionably the most beautiful of the 50. I'm sitting here at my cousin's house in Logan, IA, which is just 30 minutes from Omaha. Logan is located in the beautiful, rolling Loess Hills of Iowa, which is way cool because Loess hills are found in less than a handful of places in the world. Kyle and Kara graciously hosted me for a day and are going to be babysitting my car while I'm gone, because airport parking fees are ridiculous. (Maybe next time I'll submit my car as the second free check-in?)
I got to Logan around 6pm last evening and I've been having an incredible time since. Kyle was home when I arrived, but was on his way out to patrol in his Interceptor. He told me to hop in with him and I quite possibly left two small trails of rubber acknowledging his request. We stopped by the dispatch office to get a Dangerous Activity Waiver which made me understand (in no unclear terms) that I was putting my life into my own hands and the precinct of Logan was not responsible if I got filled with gunshot holes. I signed the waiver with all the giddiness of a Kindergartener on a field trip.
We started cruising around as Kyle explained the nuances of police life in the town of Logan. It's fairly small, with a population of 2,500, but its proximity to Omaha means there's a fairly busy drug route through the town on Hwy 30. Kyle showed me some of his shiny gear, and I tried my best not to geek out all over it. He educated me on the "Ten-code", which I feel every law-abiding citizen should memorize. Many people are familiar with "10-4", which means "OK", but less familiar with the other 98 codes. You can eyeball those here. The code is not just for police officers and truckers that still say "good buddy". Paramedics, First-Responders, and Firefighters also use the Ten-code.
Kyle picked up a warrant to arrest a resident. I was shocked. I'll get to witness some door-busting, thief-wrangling action!? But Kyle explained that most of the warrants were served for clerical mistakes, like when the offender forgets to pay a fine. We stopped at the offender's home but nobody was there. Kyle hopped back in the cruiser. "He's most likely going to be at the Homecoming game tonight. Man, I don't want to arrest him there."
We next stopped in at the home where a young man lives. Police had gotten a tip that the boy was contemplating suicide, with the additional note that he was a known cutter. "If I get enough courage to do it, I'm gonna kill myself tonight." The boy had texted to his ex-girlfriend, who then wisely passed on this horrendous information to the police. We stopped in to check on the boy. I asked Kyle if I could talk to the boy and pray with him. He considered it for a second but then told me it would be best if I stayed in the car. He explained that if the boy said anything about hurting himself or committing suicide, Kyle would have to take him in for processing and an overnight watch at a nearby hospital. "If I have to haul him in, you can talk to him while we ride." Kyle knocked several times and rang the doorbell, but no one answered the door. Before your minds leap to "OHNO HE ALREADY DIEEEEEEED", many of these suicide notices (and evidently there's a lot) are pleas for attention. I prayed for the boy (and for the community) and we were soon on our way.
I had never been on this side of a traffic stop, and let me tell you, it's WAY more fun sitting in the cop car watching the radar than it is driving over a hill and seeing a cop watching you. Not that you have to actually watch the radar. Your speed makes a literal screeching noise; the faster you go, the higher the screech coming from the radar receiving unit. So we weren't stopped at an fork in the road very long before a car popped over a hill and the radar went EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooooooo as the driver looked, saw the cruiser, and let off the accelerator. I thought maybe the radar was connected to a fancy GPS that kept track of each speed zone, but evidently not. It screeches regardless of speed zone. That way, if the police officer is looking one way as a vehicle heads another way, the high-pitched screech can alert him to a speeder. The radar also displays the offender's speed as well as the officer's speed.
So we were just turning around in a business parking lot when a flashy red little sedan swooped past us without a license plate. Kyle and I whipped up behind the vehicle, searching for one of those "In Transit" stickers or 30-day paper licenses. When we didn't find one, Kyle snapped on the flashers and pulled the vehicle over. There's a fancy transmitting unit that Kyle attaches to his vest when he steps out on a traffic stop. The unit contains a small camera and microphone, for legal purposes. Unfortunately the microphone wasn't working so I didn't get to hear the conversation between Kyle and the driver. Soon enough he came sauntering back and told me the situation. The driver and passenger, both young men, had no licenses with them, no licence plate, and no proof of insurance. The proof of insurance violation alone was going to cost them over $300. "If this kid gets in an accident, the fine for not having Insurance is above $700. I want to save this driver from that nightmare." Kyle mulled it over for a bit. Some precincts allow you to tear up a Proof of Insurance violation if you get your insurance within 7 days. If that was the case in Logan, he was definitely going to write a ticket. But he wasn't quite sure. Kyle's Interceptor didn't have a computer in it, so he called in the driver's name to check on the license. The information came back, the driver had a current, valid license. They had just recently bought the car so Kyle made a judgement call and let them off with a stern warning. "I know what your vehicle looks like, and I'm going to be checking in a few days to see if you've gotten your insurance."
I was impressed, and more than a little grateful that I've had the opportunity to meet kind cops in my long, illustrious history involving the law. Kyle said "There's a fine line between being a Nazi cop and being so lenient that nobody respects you."
After my action-packed ride with Kyle, I went with his wife Kara to the local homecoming game. A huge portion of the town came out to watch the Logan-Magnolia high school powderize the competition. A king and queen were announced, "Oh good! The Queen is the girl I was rooting for." Said Kara. She clued me in that the other two girls were queens as well, but more just the drama type.
The Lo-Ma Panthers defeated the opposition 16-0. Kyle was on duty so we went and delivered him some sandwiches. He had also signed up for patrol at the after-game dance, where he'd be monitoring for underage drinking and general rowdiness.
After chatting with Kara and watching an intense episode of Extreme Weight Loss, I conked out in their spacious guestroom. I didn't hear Kyle when he got back at 3am.
This trip has only begun but it's off to a great start. Photos to be added...eventually.
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