September 16, 2002
9/16
My parents are coming home from vacation today. So Jay went to go get their truck washed. My dad has a dreamcatcher on his rear-view mirror. A cop pulls Jay over right as he is getting to the car wash. It's illegal to have anything hanging from the mirror. She takes his driver's liscense, and he yells out the window as she's going back to her cruiser that it's his father-in-law's car, since he won't be on the registration. She says okay. She comes back and asks if it is a valid liscense. He says yes. She asks if he's ever been arrested for anything. He first says no, but then remembers the Marine's and tells her about that, 'cause he's not sure (since it wasn't hashed out in civilian courts) that she means stuff like that. She asks him if he's ever lived in Delano. He says no - he doesn't even know where it is. She tells him there's another James W, with almost his birthday (a day off). He's a wanted fugitive. She can't hold him on anything, since everything seems valid and let's him go. This is our life. Right after the 9/11 attacks, Jay locked the keys in the car at work. He works nights. He was trying to break into our car at like 3am in the parking lot at work. The cops see him, cuff him, and he has to prove who he is. They don't believe that he works there, since no one will come to the door (they're in the back and can't hear - plus, Jay's the one with the keys anyway, since he's the crew chief). They don't believe it's his car, since it's in my name. Plus, he has what they consider a weapon - his work utility knife (he knife's into boxes all night), and to top it all off, it's in a holster on his belt (so he doesn't lose it, and has extra blades as necessary). He almost forgot it, when they frisked him, 'cause to him, it's not a weapon. But, to them it was, since the attacks had just happened, and their weapons were utility knives. Finally, everything seemed to check out, and they let him go. But how embarrassing, to be handcuffed and frisked at your workplace?Ridiculous.
My in-laws came this weekend and spent some time with the kids. Good for them (the kids I mean). Between our work schedules, and the kids and everything it was a juggling act. But the grandparents got to see Joseph's first day at tot-baseball. They were pretty excited about that. And Joseph had an absolute blast. He also did pretty darn well for a two year old.
