A Double Shift

Sometime ago my daughter, Dawn, was traveling home with our three-year-old granddaughter, Taryn. When Taryn told Dawn that she had to go to the bathroom, Dawn asked her if she could hold it. Taryn responded yes, but asked if she could drive faster. Dawn said no, because she might get picked up by the police for speeding. To take Taryn's mind off the situation, she asked her if she knew any policemen. Taryn said no, she didn't think so. Dawn replied, "Yes you do, Grandpa is a policeman." To this Taryn said, "No he's not, he's just a grandpa."

Dawn called me on the cell phone to tell me about this. I was on duty and as I continued my patrol, I thought that she must be getting close and started to look for her. When I found her vehicle, I pulled it over, using the red lights. As I got to the window of the vehicle, Taryn woke up and asked what I was doing there. I told her that I was looking for that little girl who thinks that I'm just a grandpa. So after looking at the red lights on the patrol car and all the other things that excite little three-year-olds, Dawn continued on her way and I followed her home.

When we arrived, Taryn went running into the house, yelling, "Grandma, Grandma, guess what? We got stopped by the police and Grandpa was there too!" We all got quite a chuckle out of this and though I may be a policeman to a lot of others, I'll have to be satisfied with just being Taryn's Grandpa.

Larry Platz
Deputy Sheriff
Cavalier County Sheriff's Dept.
Langdon, ND