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He’d worked hard, finished school, and graduated with honors.
Where he went after high school wasn’t even a question. He set his sights on law enforcement with no intention of taking them off... every ‘you’re a natural’ and ‘you were born for this’ comment from his instructors a reaffirming sign that he was on the right path.
And now here he was, his first official day on the job, walking into an unknown and potentially dangerous situation... a situation eerily similar to what he’d been told his dad died doing... thoughts and questions taking over his mind.
What if they have a gun pulled out, loaded and waiting for me? Take no chances, get your gun out too. No, you can’t do THAT (regulations and all)... besides, if they’re harmless and you stick a gun in their face they’ll probably file a police brutality complaint or something. That’s just what you need on your first day.
You’re blowing this out of proportion because your father died doing this. Relax and walk up there – c’mon, what are the odds you and your dad are going to meet your demise the EXACT same way? Yeah. Exactly. Suck it up, sport.
Jon approaches the stopped vehicle with a renewed sense of confidence, trusting his dad to watch over him, keep him safe... and finds the sweetest elderly woman in the driver’s seat, barely tall enough to see over the wheel.
Jon lets out a sigh of relief as the beads of sweat on his forehead realize they made an appearance for no reason whatsoever, that they’ve wasted their time. “Clocked you doin’ 69 in a 55, ma’am,” he says... “License, registration and proof of insurance, please.”
“Ooooh, was I going that fast?” She asks, surprised and confused. “Good golly, eighty-three years on God’s green earth and still, I get a lead foot from time to time. I’m not under arrest, am I? I’ve never been in trouble with the law before, I don’t really know how this works.”
“Technically no, you’re not under arrest... speeding isn’t a serious enough offense for me to haul you away to jail, unless you’ve got a pile of tickets and violations you don’t want to tell me about... but you were goin’ quite a bit over the posted limit. Where are you headed this mornin’ ma’am?” Jon asked.
“Church, I never miss church,” the woman says... “Normally my daughter takes me but I felt like giving her the day off today. I wanted to let her sleep in a little bit and enjoy the rest of her weekend without the burden of getting me to my Sunday mass. Am I in a lot of trouble? Gosh, I sure hope not. My husband’s probably turning over in his grave, seeing me pulled over like this. Years ago, MANY years ago, he was a handsome young officer of the law just like yourself. But he never told me anything, that’s why I’m clueless as to how any of this works... and, honestly, a little scared.”
“Oh is that right?” Jon replies... “Well I’ll tell you this: I don’t think you’ve got anything to be scared of. I’m going to take your information back to my car, just to confirm that you’re telling me the truth and you’re not some wanted fugitive or something,” Jon says, smiling. “Don’t you go runnin’ off on me, or I’ll definitely have a reason to keep you here.”
The elderly churchgoer responds with a blank stare. She doesn’t get the joke.
“I’m kidding!” Jon reassures her. “I’ll be right back.”
Jon returns to his police cruiser, slides into the driver’s seat and punches the woman’s information into his computer. Everything checks out; she’s telling the truth.
His faith in humanity renewed just a little, Jon walks back to the elderly lady’s Buick, hands her documents back to her, thanks her for her patience and wishes her an enjoyable morning at church.
If only you’d walked up on THIS traffic stop that day, dad... Jon says to himself, silently... then you’d still be with me, and I probably wouldn’t be doing this – OR what I’m about to do.