It’s hard to get a laugh out of a lawman.
Harder still when you’re talking to one about something bad, such as treacherous weather that could cause harm to good people.
Ah, but the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, it’s a different cat entirely.
Not content to put out a standard warning to citizens in advance of the anticipated sleet and ice storm Friday night and Saturday morning, Oconee went all funny on Facebook.
And the people loved it.
Probably because it was, in parts, stand-up-quality hilarious.
You can read the whole thing, but here are some outtakes from the post, which starts out with this enthusiastic acceptance of the coming weather: "Well, crap."
After advising that folks stay home, it observes that, “Ice and sleet aren’t much fun when you are locked up in the house with kids, and it is reasonable to expect we will have power outages. That makes being locked in the house even more fun.”
Acknowledging our Southern panic over potential weather-induced privation, it continues, “If you need milk and bread, go buy all the store has on the shelves. Yankees are watching and we have to live up to their expectations.”
Addressing our way of coping with sleety streets, it adds, “If you intend to drive the speed limit on ice covered roads, please go out and run your car into a tree now instead of waiting to do it AFTER it snows and my deputies have to stand in the ice to work your crash.”
Finally, it notes that not even the law can take care of all your needs in such times: “I don’t know if school is closed,” it says, referring to the typical questions that come in these situations, “and if you don’t work for me I don’t know if you have to go to work. I do know if you work for me be prepared to spend the night and stay warm.”
Reader reaction was swift and positive. The “likes” piled up like snowdrifts.
“Hilarious! Love it!,” one poster summarized.
“You guys crack me up,” said another.
And there was this: “I don’t even know where this county is, but I love the posts … lol.”
And finally this: “I wish our sheriff’s fb page (was) this cool.”
Sheriff Scott R. Berry’s office may want to take a bow.
About the Author
