-> All the other kids thought I had a pretty neat cap gun for playing
 -> cowboys and indians.
 ->
 -> The police chief, however, thought it would be a better idea if I
 -> were to take that thing home and put it up. 
 JP> So that was one vote against and a bunch of votes for? 
 JP> Congratulations on your first experience with democracy! 
   Yeah.
 Interesting to compare then with now: today a ten-year-old walking main
 street suburbia usa carrying a double 12 is gonna have SWAT on
 stand-by, OV-10's in orbit, multiple units to set a perimeter and the
 whole neighborhood evacuated...
 The above is the short version.  The conversation was more like him
 asking what I had, examining it, then asking did my parents know what I
 was using for a cap gun?  And since the answer was "no," then the
 suggestion that I take it home probably showed restraint on his part.
 And, I think, appropriate.  He knew I wasn't out to rob convenience
 stores or create mayhem...but did question if it was appropriate
 behavior.  And believed that if anything needed attending to my parents
 would be the ones to do so.
 And about 14 years later, he foned the chief of the town I was living
 in to send a patrol guy out to tell me to go see him to get arrested.
 Things were less formal in those days .
--- FMail 1.02
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