On My Friday Walk

Brothers of Briar

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RSteve

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I had two of my grandchildren for the day on Friday. The weather was glorious, 44 degrees F. I go for an hour+ walk daily. On Friday, with the toddler in a stroller and the 6-year-old in sneakers, we hit the jogging trail on Mississippi River Blvd. We'd walked for about half an hour when I saw an old friend walking toward us. He lives just a couple of blocks away from me, but I hadn't seen him since February. He's African American, about 6' 2" and a former All Big 10 football player who spent a short time in both the NFL and CFL. He graduated from the U. of MN in 1971, so I'd guess he's about 72-years-old. His daughter and my older daughter went to elementary and high school together. Our wives were the Girl Scout cookie mothers.

He used to be an active jogger/runner and used to jog along the path where we were walking. I should add that he's an attorney and a former municipal court judge. As we B.S.ed he reminded me of the time, he asked me to come down to the main St. Paul police station to give him a lift home. He'd been jogging along the path we were on when a police car stopped, an officer got out and asked my friend what he was doing in this neighborhood. He told the cop that he lived about three blocks from where they were standing. The cop ordered him to produce identification showing his address. He was wearing jogging shorts and a tank top, not carrying his wallet. My friend said that he told the cop to accompany him to his nearby house. Instead, he was cuffed, placed in the police car, and taken to the downtown police station.

The cop escorted him inside, where the desk sergeant looked up, saw my friend in cuffs, and said "Judge B******, what's going on? To which my friend responded, "I'll allow this officer to answer that question." Apparently, the cop who'd brought him in almost fainted, then stammered, "I'm sorry, so sorry...Please let me take you home." At that point my friend said he'd call his wife or a friend to take him home.

When I drove him home, I asked what he was going to do about the cop. He said, "Nothing. Steve, you know I'm a municipal judge. I can't effectively do my job if I'm at odds with the local police department. I will check to see that the appropriate report has been made and the officer is dealt with by his supervisor."

Time flies. That episode was over 10 years ago.
 
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