Gus - on patrol at Flynn Park

The following is posted by Gus.

This morning I was just thinking about my days at Flynn Park Grade School, in University City, Mo. In particular, about 5th Grade (the best three years of my life! (No, just kidding)). This would have been 1950-51.

I was one of the "patrols". You know the kind - crosswalks and all that. One of the better posts was at noontime at the drug store at Pershing and Hanley. I think that was the corner. Anyone remember the name of the drug store? There was an ice cream counter and they sold hot dogs at noon. Maybe at other times, too.

Anyway, my "post" at noon time was at the drug store - to keep kids from having lunch there and buying hot dogs. No offense to anyone who likes hot dogs.

I must have figured that the best way to man my post was right at the counter, and I was munching down a hot dog when the principal walked in. Ooops! That ended my days on patrol. In disgrace!

But it didn't deter my interest in law enforcement. Later, when I was about 20, I was a reserve cop with the University City P.D.; then a part-time cop in a small Iowa town while I was a college senior; then as a reserve deputy sheriff in Colorado.

Never made into law enforcement full-time, which is probably a pretty good thing. The first day I would have been telling them everything wrong with the police department, and then I would have been washing squad cars, not driving them!

And what did I do at age 71? Ran for County Sheriff in Illinois. As I told someone at the last debate when he asked how I thought I'd do in the election, I was guaranteed to come in "no worse than third." (There were only three in the race.) And that's exactly where I wound up - with 4,644 votes (5% of the vote).