There’s been a lot of negativity in the local press about the Portland Police, but I believe most cops are decent people who are doing their best in a difficult job. Case in point, Sunday afternoon while I was browsing the pattern books at Fabric Depot, I got a call from Lyse. She’d had a tire blow out while on her way to the airport for drill weekend duty, and had been forced to pull over in a no-parking zone. Just a minute or two later, a cop had pulled in behind her. She’d worried she was going to be ticketed for where she was parked, but the first words out of the officer’s mouth were, “Do you have help on the way?”

She’d just been on the phone to her cell company (yes, my employer, Death Star Int’l…getting more bad press), who had apparently neglected to transfer over her roadside assistance when she moved from Silverdale, WA to Portland last summer. As a result, no roadside assistance was forthcoming. The police officer radioed in to dispatch for some help for her, and even requested the dispatcher to get a price check on a tire change when Lyse asked! After confirming the tow truck was on the way to change her tire, the officer then mentioned to Lyse that her tags were 3 days’ expired and she’d want to get that taken care of before a traffic cop ticketed her for it. (Lyse hadn’t known that her Washington tags weren’t good until the end of the month in which they expired, like in most states - including Oregon.)

I got there shortly before the spare was securely on her car, and was quite relieved that she was safe & sound. I followed her to Midas, only to discover they’re closed on Sundays. Then, of course, we went out to lunch at Shari’s.

But what could have been a truly rotten experience was made a lot easier by a caring cop.