So, a Lawrence, Indiana* motorcycle officer got caught on tape doing a neat, if foolish, motorcycle trick: standing up, holding his arms out. It's not especially safe. I have seen experienced riders do it with ease and elan, especially on well-known streets: it's not all that unsafe either, for someone with a lot of time in the saddle, but you can bet you'd get ticketed for it.
Okay, y'got me, says Officer Tracy Cantrell, and he's willing to take his lumps. Seems like a nice guy, too. ...However, says he with a charming grin, or at least he said in a TV-news interview, "I was stretching; it wasn't a stunt." (Paraphrase). And I was still sort of okay with that; here's a man with a lot miles on two wheels, gets a little carried away on a nice day, willing to face the music, okay. As one rider to another, I won't spoil his fun.
Kept that opinion 'til I heard another newscast, on the radio this time, in which he was quoted pointing out, "Standing up on the pegs like that, it helps me see inside of cars..." And the ol' bulldoodleometer went up into the red.
Look, one thin story plus youthful high spirits, honest remorse and no effort to duck discipline, I was okay with; two thin stories, though? No. You were stunting, sir, and now you're spinning excuses. Knock it off.
One fairy tale at a time, dammit. Your One Free Pass just expired.
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* A stubborn raisin in the big bread pudding of Indianapolis-Marion County UniGov, bless the determined little burg. Used to be Fort Ben's bedroom, before the Army pulled out.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
6 comments:
Anyone remember how Indian Larry died?
Nice guy? Outstanding officer? One law for them one law for us? Small infractions grow into larger infractions. Let one slide cause he's a nice guy another cause he ment well. Oh! He's on the drill team that makes a difference, NOT. An expierienced driver if there a cop can do this safely in traffic?
No,Anon, I'd be inclined to overlook any rider who did that, got caught, and faced the music -- as long as he didn't try to BS his way out of it too obviously. Officer Cantrell almost met the criteria...but only almost. Oopsie!
Hmmm, seems like a chewing out in the Chief's office and letter in the file would resolve this.
Save the public flogging for something more serious.
Shootin' Buddy
Oh, the flogging is for being too clever by half -- and for playing the "winsome" card at the same time. It's like blackjack: you lose if you go over.
Rabbit, It looks to me like this guy was just standing up on his pegs, not really all that impressive (or hard). Indian Larry would stand all the way up on the seat of his motorcycle, and eventually lost his balance (and sadly his life) doing so. But yea, it did remind me of that too.
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