> From: "Chuck Chriss" <cchriss@ix.netcom.com>
Hi Chuck -
Gotta agree with your view here; BTST (Been There, Seen That):
> I was not dressed in anything military but he seemed to think I was
>"official". He left without bothering me further.
>
> Maybe the mentality is that if you are in a military vehicle you are automatically one of
> the "good guys"???
Maybe it's a combination of the above; ie: 1) Invisible, 2) Benign,
and, 3) Official. I regularly make trips to our main campus in Waco
(140 miles), back to Ft. Worth (also ~ 140 miles), and up to
Texarkana (Red River Army Depot). Most law enforcement types usually
don't even look up. Those that do actually notice my passing by grin,
laugh, wave, or some combination. In the past year, never been
stopped, never been hassled.
When we first picked up the truck in Fort Worth (Federal Surplus
Property program), we made the decision to drive it back to our campus.
Maurice, the welding instructor would follow me in one of our 'company
cars' (white Chevy pickup, yellow lights, state plates). The deuce had no
plates, no inspection sticker, no muffler, and all identifiers had been
painted over in flat black paint. We rumbled out of the yard and headed
east. At the first major intersection, I hit a 'stale yellow' light. Badly
overestimating the deuce's ability to accelerate (I've slept since the last
time I drove one of these), I went thru on red. Maurice, right behind me,
also went thru on red. The lead car to our right (now green) was a Texas
State Trooper. He made a left turn, and headed in the opposite direction.
8-D (I heard later that Maurice went thru 2 packs of cigarettes before we
ever got out of FW!) On the way home, our unregistered, uninspected
vehicle passed troopers, sheriff's, constables, and local police. Not one
single response. What a hoot!! Ya know, with the growing number of
'tactical vehicles' being used by law enforcement agencies, maybe
these guys figure we're SWAT teams or something! (heeheeheehee)
Dave Barbieri
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