Day 34 (Tue., Oct. 4)

I hung out w/ a police officer today. Tomas Hernandez, the Driftwood community police officer. Officer Hernandez was really cool and he had a friend everywhere we went. I followed him to get a feel for what it's like to be a community police officer and to find out what it meant to be one. Pretty much he is "the liaison between the community and the police department" as he put it.

All morning we went from business to business in the are talking to businessmen and customers. That's his usual day. Above he shared Cuban coffee w/ the owner of a Exxon gas station (left) and a customer (center). I had a taste of it, too. Good stuff. Strong stuff. Great stuff, but only when you've had breakfast. It was the first thing I've put into my stomach and my day was pretty much miserable because of it. Oh well.

It's always good to ride on the front seat of a cop car. I wouldn't know what's it like to ride on the back of one. OK!... OK!... That's a lie.

I was 15 years old and I was skipping class at middle school in North Hollywood, California. My two friends and I were picked up by the cop and he drove us to the school. It was 8:30 a.m., so the cop believed it when we said we "missed the bus" and we were trying to get to school in a hurry. We never did get in trouble because as the country song says "that's my story, and I am sticking to it." But I do remember feeling awful for being in the back of a cop car as if I was some sort of criminal. Never again I told myself, and so far that's been true.

Today's tour by the Hollywood Police Department officer was cool. It showed me how great it could be to be a member of the community the way Officer Hernandez is. We shared a lot of things and talked a lot as we spent five hours together.

We need more guys like him out there. He understands.

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