Last night was a big night for my family, My little Man just graduated to High school, Although in Batavia they don't do an 8th grade graduation, My Daughter Cheyenne had a great week and sang the anthem at the Cubs game and my youngest Cassie well she's just full of life and at 10 years old is the smartest of the Gina and Ray clan.
So we go out and have an awesome night together at a dinner just the family for a change, My kids are a lot of fun. We sat across from a family from Geneva family who made us laugh, They had little kids that were out of control and the mom and dad just handled it with ease.
It was nice not to be the "Loud family for a change" Really a fun night out, than we were headed home to watch the Blackhawks game....
So this is where there's always 'the story", Now granted at times I can be a handful, But I'm not the guy that the "Radio asks me to be" When I'm not on the air, I don't drive a fast car, I don't hang out at fancy places, and on most weekends I forgo the spotlight of concerts and have a power tool or a fishing rod in my hand.
A peak at the man behind the radio curtain is this, I have been told every show need a "Deer, a D--k and a dork, That means there a sweet heart on the show, and there's a guy who needs to shake it up, and be the d--k. My job here is to shake it up, throw sand in the gears, be the one who says what most are thinking but don't have the "Fortitude" to say it, and when your working on a family friendly station that can be a tricky job. But I do it and I love it!
Now with that said, I'm not the trouble maker outside of radio, and no one respects law enforcement more than I do, Its a tough job to be a police officer and one that I just cant imagine doing,
(although I do have a brief history in a very small way in law enforcement).
Here's the story,
Last night I was stopped by a Batavia Police officer who said I "Pulled in front of him, Which I did as I had the arrow, I was ticketed for "Failure to yield" The officer was rude from the beginning of the stop, I asked that he be respectful as my wife and kids were in the car, Newsflash 10 year old girls cry when dad gets stopped by the police.
Well from there it just got worse, It escalated to the Officer and I yelling at each other, Never a good thing. I'm glad Gina was there, She's always my ace in the hole, She has this look that just says "I'm honest" And later when I called to have the on duty Sargent come I used her as a witness.
I told my kids while we were stopped that its their right to call another officer to the scene, Which I did, Failure to yield is a ticket that questionable at best, and who in their right mind would cut off or pull in front of a marked police car? So I ask him to take it easy, and lets wait for another car to get there, This is where he gets madder (guess this is where he thinks I question his authority) And to be honest by this time I'm not being nice, and neither is he. He comes back to the car tosses me my ticket and says "You can wait for the Sargent, I don't have time" and pouf drives away.....
Well, I did wait for the Sargent to show up, and you can tell he has had a busy day, I tell him "Look I know your busy, Tell him my side, he then gets a call and says I will call you later. I go home and watch the Hawks, really no big deal.
So, a half hour later the Sarge shows up at the house, I wont go into great detail but he couldn't have been nicer. Told me the officer said he "Didn't feel I was very nice", again Gina my character witness was there, Good thing. In the end the ticket gets dismissed, (Something I'm sure that wouldn't have happened if it was something other than a "Failure to yield") I really don't care about the ticket or the cost. I just want my kids to understand that most Policemen are cool, and I want them to be able to trust them.
Remember I have a national radio show that boasts the duty of first responders, I was the first radio guy in Chicago to host the "Cop on top" For the law enforcement torch run. These guys have a tough job to do, But if you get stopped and you don't like the way your being treated, call the station and tell someone its your right.
And to the commanding officer that was very busy last night, But still had time to do some "Customer service" Thank you for what you do.
RR
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