Public Servants

      Summer 200?       I was coming from Los Osos back to San Luis Obispo from Los Osos, on Los Osos Valley Road. I was relaxed, not in a particular rush and just enjoying the trip. As I approached the turnoff for Turri Ranch Road I entered the turn lane. Then I saw that I had done this a bit too early. I had really wanted the flare just ahead when the road turned to two lanes. But since there was no particular traffic I said to myself, Sorry, I'll just continue to the second flare. But there they were, the flickering lights indicating that the salivating trooper had hooked another sucker! It shocked me when they charged me over $300 for this dastardly deed.

      I don't remember exactly when we went to Los Angeles. My wife is a "wearable Art" afficionado and wanted to visit some of the metropolitan bead stores. We parked in a 2 hour space on Pico Boulevard and strolled off in her search. We returned with 10 minutes left of the meter to find an overtime parking ticket on the car that had been written 45 minutes earlier.
      As an experienced jouster of windmills, I wrote to the mayor with copies of the ticket and photographs of the meter. I sent it asking for his signature. He refused it twice. So I sent it without the signature requirement and he answered. I don't remember what it said but the feeling I remember was, "Pay it and shut up!" And why can he take soch a cavalier attitude toward visitors to his city? Because the state, the cities' cohort in thievery, won't register your car the next year if the ticket is outstanding. I wonder if they get their cut of the profit! They don't even check to see if there is any question!
      Perhaps I need not mention that I wrote him one more letter deploring his treatment of visitors to his city. I also pointed out that San Francisco is only twenty miles farther away. I asked him to guess how soon I would be back to Los Angeles. "Good Bye, LA, It's not nice to see you!"
      Spring 2002       I was coming from Los Osos back to San Luis Obispo. It is a two lane paved, well traveled country road. Halfway back there is a road to the left, Turri Ranch Road. There is a slight (20-30 degree) gentle turn to the right. There is a center turn lane for Turri Ranch Road. Then the right lane immediately becomes a two lane road with another center turn lane. The visibility at this point is excellent. The road was quite clear, but there was a car some distance ahead of me that I wanted to pass. So I pulled out into this new lane to pass. Lights flicked on behind me and he gave me a ticket for entering that lane too soon. Apparently I shaved the distance between the Turri Ranch Road turn lane and this new second lane too closely for him. Personally I think he was really splitting hairs. There was no danger involved, there was no traffic and I don't feel I did anything wrong. He saw an opportunity to give another ticket (Oh, goodie, another sucker!) I was shocked when they charged me over $300 for this! I feel this was totally unjustified extortion!

      Spring 2002.0531       Well, it's happened again. A police car, lying in wait for a citizen to make a mistake so he can pounce. The power went out last night. It was general, all of the Laguna Lake section of town was black. After a bit of time I got nervous and got into my car to see what was going on. You might call it post-9/11 concern. I was trying to get an idea of what was happening and looking for any suspicious activity. I know the police would probably rather see us at home, hunkering down in our ignorance and trusting the authorities to take proper care of the situation. I'm an old WWII fighter pilot and that just isn't my way. I drove down Madonna Road toward town and found that after crossing the freeway the lights were on. So I turned around to go back home. As I passed the northbound freeway entrance ramp from hiway 101, the traffic light was dark and I missed it and went through. A police car which was waiting on the off ramp, flicked his lights and stopped me and gave me a ticket for not stopping at a non-operational traffic light. It was a simple mistake, not an intentional flouting of the law! Later I saw a number of these mistakes in other people! He probably had a heyday and got kudos from his chief. But I was the one in the trap. Why was a city police car sitting at the off ramp? He had to have come from the freeway where he has no authority. I have no idea if he had been sitting there long but it seemed as though he knew someone would make this mistake and was sitting there, waiting to pounce, which he did. I despise this manner of enforcing the law! This isn't the first time I've observed this behavior.

      2002.0725       We bought a used Winnebago with Oregon plates. While trying to register it in California we ran into a small problem. We couldn't find the second VIN number. My mechanic looked for it. The DMV inspector at the San Luis Obispo office couldn't find it. The Paso Robles dealer told me that the manufacturer had told him that there wasn't a second number but that the DMV in Paso Robles were used to that and could register it. So we drove to the Paso Robles DMV and they didn't have an inspector on duty and hardly even seemed to know what we were talking about. So we drove to the dealer and he was no help.
      Back to San Luis Obispo. Now the DMV told me I would have to take it to the California Highway Patrol. So I called the San Luis Obispo office and was offered an appointment on 3 September. I told him that my temporary license would have run out by then and I couldn't even legally bring it to him! Six weeks??? Indeed!! I told him to forget it!.
      It had been suggested that I try the Templeton Highway Patrol office and so I called. A cheery voice answered and I asked if I could make an appointment to find the second VIN number. I said three people had failed to find it and a dealer told me that the manufacturer told him that there was only one. He said "Well, I have an appointment open tomorrow morning at 10. I can find it!" I said, "I'll be there and thanks."
      I went home, got the Winnebago web page on my computer. It was useless except it gave me a phone number. I called it and the voice told me that there was a tag on the mounting bracket of the radiator and another on the frame rail.
      I arrived at 10:00 AM. Mr. Scott Lee came out with a smile, took a look at the RV and said, "I'll find it!" I told him about the radiator bracket (We couldn't find it.) and the frame rail. He went back in to get his tools. He got down on the ground with his flashlight and adjustable mirror and crawled under. After perhaps ten minutes he crawled out and said that he'd found it on the frame rail. We went inside, he filled out the papers and I was done.
      I can't say enough about his efficiency and his attitude. To me he is the ideal kind of public service employee. He was pleasant, non-condescending, and enjoyable to talk with. I not only did not feel threatened, I felt he was trying to help me. That, in my experience, is not only rare, it is singular! Thank you Scott, I hope your superiors appreciate you as much as I do. You are a rare person. And frankly you are the only highway patrolman that I've encountered that I wouldn't mind having as a neighbor.

      2002.0831       I was driving to Concord the other day (Labor Day weekend!). I was minding my own business and trying to be careful because the highway was littered with black and whites. I was using the cruise control to make sure I wasn't breaking the speed limit by more than 5 mph. Most of the cars were passing me but I felt I had time and was enjoying the ride.
      And then I noticed a highway patrolman behind me but I wasn't worried, I was not doing anything wrong! And then he flicked the lights so I slowly and safely pulled over on the shoulder. I rolled down the passenger window. He leaned in and asked if I was wearing my seatbelt. I showed him and he told me that I had to take it out from under my arm. I explained that as a twice crashed fighter pilot in WWII I was a great fan of seat belts and shoulder straps. I also explained that I wore it that way because it was too close to my neck when I wore it the way he wanted. He said that I was likely to get a couple broken ribs if I wore it that way. I decided not to tell him that I thought a broken trachea would probably be worse. He told me to wear it properly and to be on my way. Which I did.

      2002.0531       After these experiences (except for this last two), perhaps you can understand my extremely negative attitude toward the police. They are not promoting safety, they are harrassing us. How do they expect to get our support for anything when they look like a kind of Gestapo to us?

      2002.0911       Well, and again. I don't know why I even go downtown.
      I was going home from Sierra Vista Hospital. The freeway entrance at Olive Street was blocked off so I went up to Walnut and turned south in front of the Police Department.
      I approached Osos Street in back of another car and stopped. That car crossed the street and I moved up. I had good visibility all the while and nothing was coming off the freeway. So I eased over the line to cross Osos Street. As I did so a SLO Police car exited the freeway. I was not certain that he was going to stop so I tapped the brake briefly. I was sure he had a stop sign but I quickly checked that. He stopped and I went through. He turned and followed and felt the urge to give a ticket.
      He said I didn't stop at the sign. That was not true. He also said I was wearing the seat belt wrong.
      I told him I was short and if I wore it the way he wanted and I got into an accident I would probably wind up with a crushed larynx and that can be fatal. I'm afraid I also told him I knew more about seat belts and shoulder straps than he did because I crashed twice in WWII.
      Not very politic. But I was not in a politic mood. Stupidity always irritates me.
      But there is a coda to this little serenade. He got in his car and drove down to Broad Street, wanting to turn left. I was right behind him. And where did he stop? Yes! about five feet over the line! That was far worse than anything I did.
      The trouble with this sort of nuisance ticket is that it does not distinguish between the trivial and the serious. It does not distinguish between the proverbial "Hollywood stop" where one slows to below 5 mph, looks around and then keeps going, which is probably within the intent of the law and the flagrant total ignoring of the sign and going through it at 40 mph.
      Lumping these together is wrong. When one looks at the DMV page and sees that, one doesn't know which it is.
      My so-called infraction was trivial at worst. But in fact, I still maintain I did stop, just not at the line but at a place where it was possible to determine the safety of the maneuver. He came around the corner as I started to inch forward.
      I showed the same attitude toward the line that he did.

      I realizw these are all written from my point of view. But I promise to give equal time to anypne that can explain any of these legal travesties.

      How come there's never a cop around when you need them?

      They are certainly not our friends. We are their victims!
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