Life Imitating...Life?

I like to watch those 'caught on camera'-type shows.  Some of the shows I've watched have shown dash-cam footage caught by police cameras as they're in high-speed chases, etc.

In one of the programs, the announcer noted that during a traffic stop, as the patrol officer approached the stopped car, he put his hand on the left rear corner of the car.  The announcer said this was an identification technique.  If, for some reason, the person being stopped decided not to deal with the police officer but drove off instead,  there is always a possibility that at some point, the suspect could lose the pursuing officer.  That police might later find the vehicle with no one in it.  It's possible that the vehicle might be similar in appearance to the one the police had been chasing, but not the exact same one.

This is where the officer's hand print comes in.  If police technicians check the fingerprints on the left rear corner of the car and they match the officer's fingerprints, then they have proof positive that, yes, this was the original car involved in the police pursuit.

I bring this up because I actually saw this happen this morning.  No, not a high speed police chase.  Not even a low speed police chase.

As I was exiting my subdivision today, I passed by a white pickup truck that had been stopped by a local police officer.  (I don't know the reason for the stop.  It could have been for something totally innocuous.)  In any case, as the police officer walked up to the driver's window, the officer paused for a moment and put his hand on the left rear corner of the pickup.  Then he continued walking.

I had to smile slightly as I drove on by.  Police procedure in action, in the flesh.  A small thing, but kinda fun to actually see - as opposed to secondhand on tape.

I hope everyone had the Thanksgiving they were hoping for. 

Papillon

Thanksgiving Visit

I'm spending Thanksgiving with my mom.  She used to come & visit me, but thanks to a number of things including increasing frailty as she gets older, I've been visiting her for the past several years.

The problem is that there is no easy way to get from the Albuquerque area to San Angelo, TX.  You can fly to San Angelo, if you don't mind spending hours & hours in airports during various layovers in Houston or Dallas.  Or you can fly to Midland, rent a car & drive for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, what used to be a late afternoon flight was moved by Southwest to a mid-evening flight - leaving the traveler to drive the couple of hours in the dark (literally and sometimes figuratively).

Thanks to my getting a new(er) car earlier this year to replace my 20 year old truck, I've been driving over the hills and through the prairies - for about 9 to 10 hours.  Which is what I did yesterday.

At first it's fun to see the scenery change.  The evergreen trees in the Sandias changing to the evergreen shrubs changing to the grass punctuated at first by lots of cholla (cactus) to occasional cholla to very little cholla and mostly grass.  However, after about 5 hours, it starts to get VERY old.  This photo was taken in Lincoln County, NM - looking west from the highway.

I was glad I was doing the speed limit when I drove through Vaughn.  By the side of the road sat the police.  In a pickup truck.  And not just ANY pickup truck.  Imagine said pickup with a kick-ass paint scheme of blue and black.  Plus the fact it was a pickup that apparently had been taking steroids for a considerable period of time because it was very big and very intimidating.  The windows were tinted so I couldn't see if the occupant matched the truck for size & intimidation. 

I keep meaning to stop in Vaughn.  As I've driven through I've noticed a diner - one of those old-fashioned kind with lots of chrome on the outside.  It looks very 1950's.  I may stop on the way back to Albuquerque for a snack.  I'll keep you posted if I do.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Papillon