X-TRA

Today, I was hired to work 5 hours of day shift so someone could take off. I have to say, going to work at noon, and still go home at 5 is not bad.

I was surprised that when I arrived, there were not very many calls holding. So off to have my have my overtime slip signed. Once that was complete, I was ready for calls.

Dispatch was really wondering what was up with me working today. They wanted to know if I was working traffic or patrol. After that question was raised, I learned why. Dispatch was wondering if I would respond to a traffic collision. A head on crash near the airport.

A gentleman had lost a younger family member to a sudden heart attack. This guy flew down to a Texas city from the Big Apple. While he was in Texas, he realized that a friend here in Tulsa has been diagnosed with a serious disease. All this guy could say is, "Oh what a month."

Now, he was leaving the Tulsa Airport, got on the wrong road and poof, a car crash. He was nervous that the people in the other car were going to hurt him.

I thought that he would take the metaphor and get back on the bike. But this guy was just interested in taking a ride and go to the hotel. So we loaded his stuff in my police cruiser and off we went to the hotel.

He said that this experience was horrible, but the Tulsa Police Officers that he experienced and the firemen that were involved in the incident were just wonderful. He said we were all professional. I think that is wonderful coming from someone who is from New York.

To those others involved, I hope that they are okay. They were whisked away in the back of an ambulance. Not too serious, but they were more concerned with making sure that they were okay. A surprising note, they were younger than the driver from New York.