Over the week, I experienced public service in its finest fashion. Here's how the situation played out. I drove into a rest area with only a few hours left on my log. As is often the case, there were no parking spots available in the legal and marked parking area. I pulled off to the side and got out of the way as much as possible, so I could use the restroom and plan my next move. It was at this point, that a police officer that was patrolling the rest area, advised me that I could not park there for long. I explained my situation and he told me to go ahead and use the restroom, and come see him afterward. When I came back out, I walked over to his patrol unit and he asked me to park my truck and trailer in the corner. He told me that he would come to get me when a parking spot opened, as I could not stay parked all night where he sent me for the time being.
You see, his job was to make sure that everyone was parked in allocated parking spots. When the rest area/welcome center employees showed up in the morning, he would be in trouble if he allowed vehicles to be parked in non-designated areas. I did as he said. After I parked my truck and trailer, I cooked my dinner and went to bed. Approximately five hours later, this same officer came to my truck and asked me to drive over to a marked parking spot that had been recently vacated by another truck and trailer. I thanked him, and parked in my now newly found, legal parking spot to stay and take my break.
Afterwards, a car carrier drove into another open spot adjacent to my truck. I was getting ready to pull my curtains closed when he walked over to me and said, “Can you believe that police officer woke me up to ask me to park in a designated spot?”. I said to him, “Yes, he’s doing his job. His job is to make sure everyone is parked safely and legally.”. I then informed the driver, that I felt as though the officer had done a fine job. He could have asked us to just move along, but he instead worked with us to ensure we got the needed rest at the end of our shift. I then shared that the officer himself would have gotten in trouble if we weren’t in a designated parking spot when the welcome center's supervisor showed up to start their day. The driver then said to me, “You know, you’re right! I need to go over and thank him!”. He said he had gotten a little lippy with the officer earlier. I went back to bed and thought to myself, “That's the way officers should conduct themselves.”.
So, I end this article today by saying “Thank You” to all the police officers who are out there doing their job.