 Gresham Is... A Great Place to Live |
A Shining Example
While walking to downtown Gresham we experienced an incident that really exemplifies what "Gresham is". |
Celebrating a 'mile'stone
As my wife and I walked along the busy street chatting to each other she told me she had traveled nearly 500 miles on her twice daily neighborhood walks over the past 2- 1/2 months. In addition, she proudly stated the weight loss from all that walking has made it easier for her to run and jump. As I congratulated her we came upon a low retaining wall with a wide ledge. I grabbed her arm and held it upward and encouraged her to jump up and walk along the top to demonstrate her new agility. She declined. Again, I encouraged her to jump atop the small wall as I held her arm upward to assist her.
We've got company
At that very moment a Gresham Police car was passing by. The patrol car suddenly braked, made a u-turn, and with lights flashing intercepted us at the street corner. (Oh, this is not good.)
The officer approached us and stated the reason he stopped us was to investigate a possible case of abuse. (BTW, I am tall and my wife is very small as you can see in the photo -- so me raising her arm upward twice probably did look a bit concerning.)
We assured the officer everything was fine, explained the situation, and said there was nothing to worry about.
Not convinced, the officer asked by wife if she was being abused. She replied "No". He then asked her if she knew me. (I could tell my wife was getting irritated with his doubt). She paused, looked him in the eyes an firmly stated "I've probably known him longer than you've been alive". Not amused, the officer said "And, how long is that?" My wife quickly replied "Thirty-two years", immediately followed by "And, how old are you?" After a pause that seemed to last forever the officer replied -- loosing the exchange.
Taking identification from each of us the officer returned to his patrol car.
Excellence Observed
Returning a few minutes later, the officer handed us our identification and politely apologize for the inconvience.
We were glad he stopped to check-out the situation and thanked him for doing so.
This officers sharp eye, quick response and concern for public safety makes him a shining example of the City of Gresham's excellent police force. And, another reason why Gresham is a great place to live.
(I never did catch his name -- but I did snap this nice photo before we parted ways.)
Thanks Officer for doing a superb job for our city! Stay safe.
