.....The boy confessed.....

Last installment of my stories about Jack:

I worked directly and indirectly with Jack for 14 years.  To be sure, we would be on different shifts after I made Sergeant, but we were in close touch.  Jack was probably the most consistent police officer I worked with, he was always stable, discrete and mindful of the other person.  I know of only one time that Jack used a curse word.  I was there, I heard it or I am not sure I would have believed it. 

We had arrested some men out of a stolen car.  A wrecker was called to tow the car to the city sheds where it was to be stored until it could be processed by our investigator the next day.  Another officer had hauled the men off to jail. 

Jack and I stayed at the scene and inventoried the contents of the car, wearing gloves being careful not to touch anything that might have a print on it.  We just wanted to make sure there was nothing else in the car that would be a danger to anyone or evidence that might be an embarrassment. 

Everyone had learned the hard way.  One of the departments from the general area had recently arrested a man out of a van.  They had the van towed to the towing company’s lot.  The next day an employee of the towing company was looking through the van; there was a pile of clothes and junk in the back.  Under all that garbage, he found a dead body. 

That is not something you want to have happen to you if you are the arresting officer or the officer’s department.  While it was our general policy to be careful on these searches, for several months after that incident we always made doubly sure there wasn’t anything there. 

In preparation for the tow, Jack had made sure the emergency brake was off and the car was in neutral.  The tow truck driver arrived.  We are a small community.  We know all the tow truck drivers and companies.  This driver was the son of the owner of the towing company; he was a hot head sometimes, but not a bad or stupid guy. 

Jack told him that all he had to do was hitch up the car and tow it to the sheds.  He was very specific, as he told him, “it is in neutral and the brake is off, do NOT touch anything, this is a stolen car.”   Jack and I had stepped away from the car, doing something. 

All of a sudden, Jack yelled, “Damn it!!  I told you NOT to touch the car!”  The driver had opened the door to check and make sure it was in neutral.  He froze.  I froze.

Jack walked quickly up to him red faced and very angry.  “I TOLD you NOT to open the door!  WHY did you deliberately disobey me?!!!”  The driver started to say something about he had to make sure…….  Jack cut him off and told if him, “If you EVER disobey me again I will throw you in jail!!” 

Never happened again, neither the disobeying by the driver nor the curse.  Jack does not swear, but the one time he did, as minor as it was, it sure stopped that driver and put a real fear into him.   Word got out to the department, I am sure by the tow truck driver – after all, it is an unusual incident and one that stories are made of – no one at the department believed it, but Jack did confirm it.  The look of astonishment and amusement in the eyes of the department members as they heard about it, was interesting to watch. 

Jack was human after all, but not for one instance did it lower their opinion of this man.  Throughout Jack’s career he remained a beacon to the goodness of God’s Grace and to my knowledge never again cursed.

Mark 9:2-6 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

³ And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

⁴ And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵ And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

⁶ For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

Poor Peter, while the rest remained quiet he felt he had to comment.  Reminds me of me.

You would think with age comes wisdom – and to a degree it does, and I have been the beneficiary of it in some things.  AND, I am getting better at not having to comment on everything.

However, I still need to hold my tongue at times.  Part of that is me, part of that is being a police officer that needed to get to the facts of the case, or needing for them to make a decision.

While that might have been okay under some circumstances, it is much less so now – yet, I still struggle with it.

Proverbs 17:27-28 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.

²⁸ Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

I need to remember this.

I am still praying about it, and hopefully I will eventually learn.

Later,

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again