I miss the night sometimes.
I live more of a civilized life now. The Brits would call it “a retired, country gentleman's life,” huh? I sleep the sleep the the normal hours of most people now, but once in awhile, once in a "blue moon," I am outside at dark-thirty, like when getting in from a driving trip or a flight in the a.m. hours.
In two of my eras as a patrolman on midnight shifts, which span three decades, I would regularly park my squad car in different parts of the city and tell the dispatcher I would be “off radio and on foot patrol for …such and such…minutes worth.” When hoofing about like this, the portable radio traffic would be too loud for the places I was creeping upon. This would leave me out of contact until a simple turn of a switch reconnected me to the safety of the net.
Then, much as would a prowler, I would set out into the alleyways and driveways of retail businesses and factories, not only learning the lay of the hidden land from the street view, but inspecting usually unseen rear windows and doors. While I have driven up on crimes-in-progress, I have never stumbled upon a criminal while doing these late-night prowls, just some drunks and bums.
In the 1970s, both as a garrison-duty, military policeman and a city patrolman, I usually carried a camping, box-lantern rather than a traditional police flashlight. If you know me, you know I am not much on tradition. It was square shaped and would seat in my armpit when both my hands were busy, much better than the round kind would. Plus, I could set it down on almost anything and aim the light, unlike the round lights that would simply roll away. Plus, with its big, heavy, square battery; it made for a great impact weapon. Granted, when I hit someone with it, it would often fly apart in pieces, but what a hit! And, they were cheap. No matter how small and intense your new, 21st Century, Star Trek flashlight is, I would tell any police officer to have a big box lantern/light like this in your trunk for some situations.
Even way back then, call it “back-in-the-day, or “old-school,” our cars had a light attached and mounted by our rear view mirrors, that we could manipulate with a handle inside the vehicle. Even the leftover, 1960's cars we drove in the early 70s had these lights. Yes, I drove 1960s police cars on patrol.
(For you gear-mongers out there - in the photo to the left - how about that sexy, expandable radio antenna? That radio cost a fortune back then. I had a lanyard cord attached to my .45. Look at the old billy club. In my left hand is a rubber ball wrapped in duct tape to squeeze. Trying to get those Popeye forearms!)
As a detective in the 1980s and 90s, I was constantly out at night, either called out to a crime, on some version of a stakeout, or meeting some guy for information, etc. We also had a night shift.
In my second patrol division stint, for some 3 years in the 1990s, I still had a big handy box-shaped, Wal-Mart camping light on the front seat and the new atypical, smaller, more modern super flashlight of today.
Later, as a private investigator I found myself out late on several occasions on cases. Even when I was heavy into the personal protection biz in the late 1990s, a late-night, drop-off of a client or a delivery of jewelry would find me out in these wee hours of the morning.
But only the free, midnight shift, patrol time let me climb and scour over the a.m. landscapes. Off I would go, skulking about the streets or business buildings and their grounds. Then stand quiet for a moment, soaking in the local, pre-dawn feel and sound. Nothing like it. It's all about the hunt, isn't it? I would tell any active-duty cop right now to do this every night...and enjoy it. It doesn't last forever, man. Enjoy.
Once in a while now I look out the window at the night. Or I walk out in the yard, or out on the dark street, swirling an ice cube around inside a glass tumbler of a late, night-cap, whiskey. I still miss the night. Not just any ol' night. I mean a cop's night.
Adios amigos
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