View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > June > 05
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Oh, the calls I get
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One week out of town and the first day back is all “return” stuff. E-mail, cell phone and office phone voice mail.
My phone messages:
[beep] Hello Lieutenant Rose, I was told to call you if the dogs next door start barking. They’re barking but you’re gone. I don’t know what to do. The barking is driving me nuts.
[beep] Hello Sergeant Rose, I read your article and I wanted to ask you a question: Can I have a gun in the car if I’m afraid? I never shot one but my grandfather left one. It’s green. I don’t think it’s been cleaned in a while.
[beep] Hello Chief Rose, I think my neighbors are smoking marijuana. They stay up late and wear tie-dye t-shirts.
[beep] Detective Rose, I just wanted to call you and tell you that I hate cops. I read your blog and I hate cops.
[beep] Hello Lieutenant Rose, Those dogs are still barking and I can’t sleep. I’m calling the fire department.
[beep] Lieutenant Rose, You came to our neighborhood watch program and said that we should call the police when we see suspicious activity. My neighbor Bernice is acting crazy. I called you but I got this stupid message. What’s the number for the police?
[beep] Sergeant Rose, the green stuff on the gun is mold. I tried shooting it but it just hissed and caught on fire. Can you guys come get this thing?
[beep] Hi, I’m Chad Drako and I’m calling about a natural male enhancement that costs only pennies a day. For a free sample just return the call at….
The detective takes a vacation: Chicago, the Cubs and the CTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I took off last week, grabbed Detective Sandy and the youngest of our litter, Cody, and hit the road to Cincinnati and then Chicago. Normally in the summer we head south to the beach, which is required in my marriage contract.
We travel north, a couple of times each year to visit Detective Sandy’s folks in Cincinnati and have my picture made in front of the “Pete Rose Avenue” street sign.
We visited a day or so and then headed north, through Indiana, to Chicago. Indiana means “Land of Indians.” More recently it means “Long Stretches on Flat Land with Few Bathroom Stops.” It makes you appreciate how hard farmers work.
We like to head north to Chicago for Cubs baseball, Chicago hot dogs and Chicago pizza. If you like baseball, go to Wrigley Field and watch a Cubs game. It doesn’t matter where you sit. Go early and visit the Cubbie Bear restaurant and bar, which is across the street from the entrance to Wrigley. The only problem is that on game day, they don’t allow anyone under drinking age in the main area. Murphy’s and the other pubs on the block have the same rule. Cody is only 14 so even with the fake beard and stilts he still looked too young to get in. (We’ll miss him.)
Still, if you get to the park a couple of hours ahead of the game, you can hit the restaurants and Cub’s merchandise stores, and vendor areas. Wrigley is one of the few, possibly the only, parks where the visiting team’s bus drops players outside — Gate D I think. Remember this after the game too because some of the players will stop and sign autographs.
Cody bought a baseball, overpriced at $20, but it proved worth it when, after the game, Chipper Jones stopped and signed it for him. Jeff Francoeur actually came outside and signed several autographs. Most of the other players went directly to the bus, not stopping to autograph anything.
By the way, Chipper Jones signed about a dozen autographs even though some Cubs goober was yelling, well within earshot, cheap shots about his thumb, which had put him on the disabled list that day. It would have been just as easy to get on the bus and not have to hear it but he ignored it and kept signing. Good for him. Francoeur, in the meantime, looked like the greeter at Wal-Mart, meeting people, signing autographs and grinning. It made my son’s day.
Cubs Fans The Braves have a lot of fans out of town. Cody had a Braves jersey, Braves t-shirt underneath, and a Braves hat. I was worried that he might get harassed but along with the fact that there were a lot of folks in Braves shirt and hats, the Cubs fans are a pretty good bunch. They engage in good-natured ribbing but nothing tacky. Fortunately, the Braves won. I’m told that “good-natured” is not a phrase that is used on the south side of Chicago where the White Sox play. They told me that Sox fans are not that good natured about the other team’s fans.
Getting Around
Chicago is a big city but getting around is not difficult. The train system is pretty easy. We stayed north of the city, up near Skokie mostly because I thought that was a cool name. We took the yellow line (Skokie) to the red line (Howard) to Addison Street, which is a block from Wrigley. It’s that simple. We spent a day sightseeing, going to the Navy Pier and museums. The bus schedules are more difficult but if you stay on the red line to Grand, then grab the free trolley, you’re at the Pier in no time. The museums were a bit more difficult. They’re spread out so do some planning. Chicago has a ton of locations along the lake front. They’re big on greening the city so there are a lot of parks. If you get lost, the Chicago Transit Authority employees were very friendly and very patient every time they kicked me off the train.
I left my cell phone on auto answer-go away-I’m not calling back-mode. I recommend it. The drive was long but it was a good trip and not once did I have to undergo the exam by TSA employees and that evil wand. Now I’m totally worthless, relaxed, and completely unprepared to return to work. Bear with me.
