And Yet Again

Humiliation was the theme of the weekend for me.





On Saturday morning I had to pass through the suburban town of San Carlos. I am driving a van that is brightly painted with our stores logo and rainbows and bagels, so you can't confuse this vehicle as a Bagel delivery van. Unless your a moron.





I'm driving along El Camino Real (The road of Kings) when I hear the siren and see flashing lights from behind me. I pull over, and give the female officer a smile and say whats up? She said she pulled me over for registration issue. it hasnt been renewed according to the tag on my plate.


She also said the brakelight was broken. I gave her my license, old registration and insurance.





As I am sitting there, another police car pulls up and i see the new cop on the scene who is also a female get out of her car and gets in sort of a swat tactic team stance and is looking at me from the passenger side of my van. A minute later the 1st officer reaches my window and tells me to step out of the vehicle. I ask, is something wrong? She says, you didn't tell me you were on parole. I told her that whenever I am pulled over that is usually the officers job to ask and I tell them that I am. She takes me onto the sidewalk by my arm, with a certain amount of aggressive pressure and tells me to turn around and put my hands on my head.





Oh no, I thought. That usually means I am going to be cuffed. But then she asked if I had anything sharp on me. I said no. She had these rubber gloves on me and her one hand got stuck between my hair and interlocked fingers and her rubber glove. She's pulling my hair as she tries to free her hand from my head and finally just yanks and pulls out strands of hair. Hey lady, I really am getting old and each hair up there is very important to me, i wanted to scream.





she went about searching me. When my legs weren't far enough apart she kicked my ankles to spread them more. She was having a good time roughing me up while passengers drove by on the busiest street in San Mateo county craned their necks to see what's goin on.





she finds nothing, she asks me what's in the van. I say bagels. She said, "Bagels aren't illegal." I wanted to tell her well you are sure treating me like they are. Now, she tells me to sit on the curb and while i am sitting the other cop decides to trade banter with me in her trying-as-hard-as-she-possible-can tough gal controlling cop routine. she asks me what i am on parole for, I told her shoplifting. I saw the energy level drop down a few notches. It seemed she wanted someone who was a bank robber or child killer.





Meanwhile the three remaining orders I have in the van are purposely dumped all over the back floor and I can see her acting like she lost a contact lens while late to a shooting range. She's throwing things all over. That's when I dropped my head into my hands and an overwhelming sadness just washed over me.





Usually when I am pulled over, the officer sees that I am working, and am not a threat to the community. I am doing the right thing and they tell me to keep up the good work without hassling me. I'm one in a bunch that is actually doing my parole very well.





After she is done, she makes me sign two tickets and as I am told I can go now she shouts out in a sinister way, "Have a nice day." I don't even give her the satisfaction of looking back. I get in my van and drive.





I enter the freeway and within 2 minutes, I see sirenlights and hear a cop barking orders to me in the way he wants me to pull over. He comes up to my window, and I tell him, while holding up my ticket, license registration, and insurance card , "I just got this from the San Carlos Police not 5 minutes ago with the whole search and seizure thing. I am on parole and if you would like we can do this all over again."





He just took my license and came back within minutes and told me he can't predict what just happened to me and to go home and get that stuff taken care of. He was alright.





I called my boss and told him what happened and he felt bad about me having to go through all of that so he said he would rent a van until we get the other van straightened out. I tell him he doesn't have to do that and the registration is 6 months overdue and the chances of being pulled over were slim, he insisted on me not going through that crap again. So I had a rental the next Sat night/Sun morning. I have two great bosses.





All of this must have drained me plus the 5 to 6 hours of sleep I was getting all week. I slept from 4pm Sun. to 6 am Monday. That's 14 hours. I did wake up a few times after about 8 and my body told me to lay back down. I needed that I guess. I feel like a zilllion bucks today.











Today is my stepdad"s birthday. Happy Birthday Jimmy, I love you.

Please read my favorite blogger's new post. it's right here. When you're finished you will know why she is my virtual sponsor. Her name is Babz. And she's always on my sidebar, too.

Until next time

Art-the Terracotta Army

Police and Thieves-Junior Marvin