One of the Metro DC Police officers who patrolled DuPont Circle.
He's not the one I cussed out ... he's the one I bribed with this
portrait to keep the others off my back. Hey, flattery with a
camera is a potent tool for persuasion regardless of gender.
There's a movie in the theaters now called "Searching for Bobby Fischer". It's about a child chess wizard in New York City. He improves his game by playing speed chess with a hustler in a park. I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen some trailers with one of those scenes, and heard a radio interview discussing them. The park at DuPont Circle was where I lived that scene many times. My game didn't improve much, but I learned a lot about people.
Men without checking accounts (because they had no steady employment), one step removed from being homeless, would play chess for money instead of just begging. That's where I learned to buy food for the poor instead of just giving them money. Some of those experiences where educational, too.
Sometimes I would drag a pan-handler to a store and offer to buy them a sandwich and a beverage, only to have the manager attempt to eject them. I would intercede and inform them that this indigent person was my guest, and that they could either make two sales or none. Sometimes I would be rewarded with a look of restored dignity, a straightening of the shoulders and a firmer handshake on parting than at meeting. Sometimes they were totally clueless as to what had happened.
This guy's job was to make sure that the strong did not rip off the weak. You could not pay me enough to do it. I look at this picture now, 25 years later, and wonder what ever became of him? Did he retire on a pension? Did he burn out on the pain and suffering of others and find another career? Did he give his life in the line of duty, serving and protecting?
Last update: 1997-05-22 by dennette@wiz-worx.com
<Who is this "Dennette" person?>