WAYNE’S WORDS
Volume 5 Number 08
Ranger Smith
Hello, again. Remember me?
Not much has been going on really: ups and downs, certainty and uncertainty, lost and found, black and white, yin and yang, salt and pepper. The usual: for me, anyway.
Today, I was with our Search and Rescue squad taking care of security for Las Cruces’ First Annual “Strut your Mutt” at Young Park. S. Y. M. was a paid, organized dog walk to raise money and awareness for Best Friends Charities, the Dona Ana County Humane Society and Spay/Neuter Action Program.
Our job was to make sure the perimeter was secure, help out with set up and what-not here and there: pretty much a walk in the park.
I drew the straw to get to drive out SAR Team Polaris Ranger 6-Wheeler so, I didn’t actually have to walk in the park. I generally do get to drive it and, for that, I am very thankful. As a side note: I must say, I REALLY like driving the Ranger. It is a good thing it is not actually mine, because you people might never hear from me again. I would be out in the wilderness ALL the time! Camping? Psha! I would just be out there driving the Ranger on any trail that was open to me.
Anyway, since I was the one on the mule, I did a lot of hauling of folks and their stuff for their different booths. No worries. Glad to help out. I also took out my garage P.A. system to be used for – you guessed it – Public Announcements.
At about 6:50 in the morning, we set up a perimeter as best we could with flagging tape, got everyone started with their booth set up and began our patrol. Just so you don’t think we are Nazis, the park was permitted for this purpose, there was a paid entry and if anyone was hurt it was on our watch. For all intents and purposes it was not a public park from 7 am until 1 pm.
Early on, we had a few people wander in and, when we told them about the function, they were gracious and went on their merry – outside of our perimeter. As they morning progressed, however, the story began to change.
I still cannot believe the way people act. These days there seems to be no respect for authority. Scratch that. There seems to be no respect, period. (Did I need to end that sentence with an actual period after saying the word period or was the word period…?) Anyway, here are some highlights:
- I told one woman and her 4 children my nice spiel about the animal charity fundraiser and she looked at me and said, very nastily and rudely, “I know! We’ve heard it ten times!” In front of her small children she acted like this. I told her (not quite as nicely and a bit more loudly than I had been talking to her), “If you’ve heard it ten times, you should be gone then. Since you are not, his is time number 11 and now you have to leave.”
- There were the two men who were about my dad’s age who were told, as they entered the park, that there was a gate up front. When they got there and found out that they had to pay, they decided that, if they walked the course backwards, it was free. I saw all of this unfold and drove the Ranger around to where they were. My nice spiel was given and they got crappy. Snottily stating their disbelief that the park was our and that they were just passing through. (Where we were was not a “just passing through” point.) I told them a bit more firmly, that indeed the park was permitted to us and that they need to leave. He continued to hatefully state his disbelief. I told him again that it was true and (quite sarcastically) that he could be in the part of the park that was not roped off. “See all those brightly colored boundaries that make it look like people are to stay out? Well, you can be anywhere on the OTHER side of that.”
- There was the lady and, I suppose, her very young granddaughter. Nice spiel with the added, “If your little girl was to get hurt…my responsibility…blah, blah, blah.” Actually, I was VERY nice to this lady and she responded. “Well, if you’re going to be like that… I will just leave.” I told her I wasn’t being like anything and, as I repeated my spiel with the injury addendum, her little girl nearly fell in the lake! Two times! The “lady,” giving me the stink eye, continued, “I was just up at the booths and I donated money!!” I told her I understood, but, without an orange wristband, she had to leave or go acquire one. At this point, the little girl nearly fell in the lake again! Ignoring her little girl, the “lady” continued, “I know
and we feed the feral cats at my trailer and this is ridiculous!” I told her that I had no way of knowing whom she knows or what she does at her trailer. I told her I was not clairvoyant, but I did know that she had to leave.
Those are just a few instances. There was some incident with perceived “gang-bangers,” but I believe I was eating a Caliche’s hot dog at that time and was not involved. Maybe someone can share that experience in the comments section.
Let’s face it, I am just Wayne. I don’t really command much respect or authority. I’m not muscle-bound; I’m far from tough looking. In fact, unless I am making someone laugh with bawdy, self-deprecating humor: I am generally invisible. Today, however, I was dressed appropriately & driving an official vehicle inside a cordoned off area. I even wore my binoculars to look a bit more official (LOL). My fellow SAR Team members joked that I looked like “Ranger Rick” (though I prefer Ranger Smith from Jellystone National Park). I would have thought that we would have no issues. Especially since it was an animal charity – who doesn’t love and respect animal charities? I was wrong – again.
Many people just don’t care.
Many people just don’t respect.
And there seems to be more uncaring and disrespectful people than there used to be. The troubling thing was that most of the problems came from people who were 30 years old or better.
I don’t know about people any more.
I guess I really never did.
Until Next Time,
Wayne
PS I would like to mention the nice, neck tattooed, young man and his wife (I’m always hoping for the best) who came to snag a table for their son’s birthday party later in the day. Spiel was given. They were gracious. They even had a pit-bull with them and hated the fact that people blame the breed for bad things. They also decided to participate, but discovered that they only had five bucks left until payday. They gladly went and grabbed a table outside the boundary. As we were closing up, he offered to help take down the flagging tape. He wanted some of it to hang party decorations. Then he gave us the aforementioned five dollars and asked that we give it to the cause. Beautiful.
Maybe there is hope.
