Yesterday evening, four of us from South Haven Cycling were riding north on Grant as we headed to the zoo. At about Grant and Central, we passed what had all the appearances of a drug deal going down on the sidewalk. I kind of shuddered at the thought, and we kept riding. I only mention this to give you an idea of the kind of neighborhood that is.
At the intersection of Grant and Commercial, just a few blocks further north, one of our riders got stopped by the light, so I crossed under the railroad overpass and started to pull into a drive to wait for him. As I did, I noticed that I was about to be passed by a car, and following that car was a police cruiser with his lights flashing. The car turned right on the street about 30 feet north of me and slowed to a stop, followed by the cruiser.
As the cruiser passed me, however, I noticed something odd. There was a guy in the passenger seat with a big ole’ honkin’ camera recording the incident. As soon as the cruiser pulled to a stop, a guy jumped out of the back seat with a big boom mike, the cameraman jumped out of the passenger door, and the officer slowly got out and started to walk toward the other vehicle.
Sure enough, I was witnessing a traffic stop being recorded for the TV show COPS! I had seen a news blurb indicating they had been filming in town, but I thought it was done. Not so!
It was tempting to stand there and gawk, but then I realized that probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do, so I mounted back up and continued to the zoo.
The group last night was: Jim (white shirt), Mike (the fashionista), and new Mike.
We had a really nice ride, and on the way back, I got to chat with Jim a little bit.
He’s a fascinating gentleman. If you can’t tell it, he’s a runner. He ran Boston at age 75 and is planning to do so again at 80. He didn’t have any trouble keeping up with us, even on the hybrid bike he rides. He’s a retired math professor from MSU, and we know several people in common. I had a good time getting to know a little more about him.
God bless…
TW
