stupid cops
So I get off work at 5:30 today, and as I'm walking out to my car after a long 2 days (I worked 7-11:30 pm last night and then 9-5:30 today) ready to just get home, my mom calls to inform me that we have no power at home. She wanted to meet somewhere for dinner, but she had to call my dad. She told me to hang tight and she'd call my dad to see what he wanted to do. She called me back a minute later to inform me that my dad was following a firetruck up the hill going to a tree down past our house on Black (causing the power outage) so I decided since I was only 10 minutes from home (provided good traffic and no slow pokes on Black) I would come home.
So I get stuck behind some slow poke going up the road at 20 mph, and not pulling over, so I'm already a little cranky. Then I get to gist and discover a cop blocking the road. No biggie, usually when a cop blocks a mountain road, it's more to let you know you can't get through rather than to keep you from trying. If you say you live up the road they're like "ok, go ahead" figuring that if you come across the tree, you know the road well enough to know how to get home. I mean, seriously, we're the ones that DISCOVER the problems. We know what to do when we cross a tree. I think every one of us have come around a corner to a tree blocking the road. I did at 4:30 in the morning in the middle of a huge storm (I had to be at work at 5...stupid Mervyns). I had to get my parents to come shine their lights on the road so I could see well enough to back up and NOT hit any rocks in the road that will pop my tires. Yeah, it's just part of life for us. It's kinda like we're exempt from normal traffic laws when up there or something...
So anyways, I pull up to the cop, and he doesn't even look at me to try to explain anything to me. He's just sitting there doing his paperwork. I have to physically get out of my car and practically yell at the guy to get him to pay any attention to me. Then very politely I was like "Excuse me, but I live right up the road below the tree that's down, can I go past?" He was like "no, go up gist, across skyline and down the other way" Now, this makes absolutely no sense. My parents had told me that the tree was PAST our house. Meaning if I went up Gist and took that route, I'd be on the wrong side of the tree and couldn't get home anyways. I very politely tried to explain it to the guy, but he obviously wouldn't listen to me and wasn't going to let me pass. Now what am I supposed to do if I can't get home? I mean, they can't REALLY block me from my house. Heck, when some drunk guy hit a power pole and it was hanging in the middle of the road, the guy blocking it let us go by and just told us to take it slow and carefully... we drove right past the thing and went on our merry way. And now they won't let me pass for a measley little tree? PLEASE... OBVIOUSLY I know what I'm talking about if I knew there was a tree down without him telling me. Needless to say, I was quite cranky, but I couldn't argue anymore because the guy obviously wouldn't listen to me, and I was creating a traffic jam. So I drive up gist to the first pull off and call my mom. My mom told me that was completely ridiculous because my dad had made it home fine 5 minutes earlier. So I decide I'm just gonna go argue with the cop again. So I drive back down gist, and he's talking to some old guy in a pick-up truck and lets the old guy pass. Now I'm REALLY peeved. What, just because I'm young you think I don't know what I'm talking about? So I pull over to him and with a little bit of attitude (obviously being repectful wasn't working) I very plainly told him that my dad just made it home 5 minutes before me and I would like to pass. The cop was NOT happy with me, but let me go. And yes, I made it home with no problems.
Why can't they place cops there who understand that this isn't just some random mountain road that no one ever drives except for excursions to the woods? This is our HOMES, you can't block us from our homes unless it's dangerous or something. I mean, seriously, we chose to live up here... We understand what happens, and we're prepared for it. Just let us do our own thing and leave us in peace.
When I told my family about it when I got home, they were ticked too. My mom was like "I'm sure he just thought you didn't know what you were talking about because you were young. People discriminate against people because they're young." Well, I obviously know a heck of a lot more than he does.
Oh yeah, and sure enough, when we went back down the hill a few minutes later, there were a couple cars coming down gist wanting to get past the road block. I recognized one as the car that was directly behind me when the stupid cop told them to go around the other way. He didn't have anyone at home to tell him where the tree was evidently, and trusted the stupid cop who didn't know what he was talking about. Because, oh btw, we're the second to last driveway off of Black and we made it through. So unless the tree was between my driveway and the next, no one would need to pass through the upper side to get home.
Ugh, train your cops... stupid LGPD... I'm cranky now...
So I get stuck behind some slow poke going up the road at 20 mph, and not pulling over, so I'm already a little cranky. Then I get to gist and discover a cop blocking the road. No biggie, usually when a cop blocks a mountain road, it's more to let you know you can't get through rather than to keep you from trying. If you say you live up the road they're like "ok, go ahead" figuring that if you come across the tree, you know the road well enough to know how to get home. I mean, seriously, we're the ones that DISCOVER the problems. We know what to do when we cross a tree. I think every one of us have come around a corner to a tree blocking the road. I did at 4:30 in the morning in the middle of a huge storm (I had to be at work at 5...stupid Mervyns). I had to get my parents to come shine their lights on the road so I could see well enough to back up and NOT hit any rocks in the road that will pop my tires. Yeah, it's just part of life for us. It's kinda like we're exempt from normal traffic laws when up there or something...
So anyways, I pull up to the cop, and he doesn't even look at me to try to explain anything to me. He's just sitting there doing his paperwork. I have to physically get out of my car and practically yell at the guy to get him to pay any attention to me. Then very politely I was like "Excuse me, but I live right up the road below the tree that's down, can I go past?" He was like "no, go up gist, across skyline and down the other way" Now, this makes absolutely no sense. My parents had told me that the tree was PAST our house. Meaning if I went up Gist and took that route, I'd be on the wrong side of the tree and couldn't get home anyways. I very politely tried to explain it to the guy, but he obviously wouldn't listen to me and wasn't going to let me pass. Now what am I supposed to do if I can't get home? I mean, they can't REALLY block me from my house. Heck, when some drunk guy hit a power pole and it was hanging in the middle of the road, the guy blocking it let us go by and just told us to take it slow and carefully... we drove right past the thing and went on our merry way. And now they won't let me pass for a measley little tree? PLEASE... OBVIOUSLY I know what I'm talking about if I knew there was a tree down without him telling me. Needless to say, I was quite cranky, but I couldn't argue anymore because the guy obviously wouldn't listen to me, and I was creating a traffic jam. So I drive up gist to the first pull off and call my mom. My mom told me that was completely ridiculous because my dad had made it home fine 5 minutes earlier. So I decide I'm just gonna go argue with the cop again. So I drive back down gist, and he's talking to some old guy in a pick-up truck and lets the old guy pass. Now I'm REALLY peeved. What, just because I'm young you think I don't know what I'm talking about? So I pull over to him and with a little bit of attitude (obviously being repectful wasn't working) I very plainly told him that my dad just made it home 5 minutes before me and I would like to pass. The cop was NOT happy with me, but let me go. And yes, I made it home with no problems.
Why can't they place cops there who understand that this isn't just some random mountain road that no one ever drives except for excursions to the woods? This is our HOMES, you can't block us from our homes unless it's dangerous or something. I mean, seriously, we chose to live up here... We understand what happens, and we're prepared for it. Just let us do our own thing and leave us in peace.
When I told my family about it when I got home, they were ticked too. My mom was like "I'm sure he just thought you didn't know what you were talking about because you were young. People discriminate against people because they're young." Well, I obviously know a heck of a lot more than he does.
Oh yeah, and sure enough, when we went back down the hill a few minutes later, there were a couple cars coming down gist wanting to get past the road block. I recognized one as the car that was directly behind me when the stupid cop told them to go around the other way. He didn't have anyone at home to tell him where the tree was evidently, and trusted the stupid cop who didn't know what he was talking about. Because, oh btw, we're the second to last driveway off of Black and we made it through. So unless the tree was between my driveway and the next, no one would need to pass through the upper side to get home.
Ugh, train your cops... stupid LGPD... I'm cranky now...