One of the trailer parks in my town is comprised of mostly Hispanics. NONE of the officers in my department speak Spanish fluently, and the only dispatcher that was bilingual transferred to an adjoining agency.
I know enough Spanish to 'get myself into trouble', but I DO make an effort to communicate with the people in this trailer park when I cruise through it.
Saturday afternoon, as I was making my rounds through this trailer park, I noticed a new family had moved in, complete with 4 of the cutest little girls(3-4 years old) you would ever wish to see. The look of surprise in their eyes, AND their mom's(?), when I spoke to them in Spanish was almost priceless. What WAS priceless was the looks on their faces, AND their mom's(?), when this POLICE officer produced a Tootsie Pop for each of them.
So, what did this jesture of mine accomplish? Who knows? But it sure was nice having little kids run TOWARDS my POLICE car, rather than run away from it, as some little kids have been conditioned by their parents to do.
I know enough Spanish to 'get myself into trouble', but I DO make an effort to communicate with the people in this trailer park when I cruise through it.
Saturday afternoon, as I was making my rounds through this trailer park, I noticed a new family had moved in, complete with 4 of the cutest little girls(3-4 years old) you would ever wish to see. The look of surprise in their eyes, AND their mom's(?), when I spoke to them in Spanish was almost priceless. What WAS priceless was the looks on their faces, AND their mom's(?), when this POLICE officer produced a Tootsie Pop for each of them.
So, what did this jesture of mine accomplish? Who knows? But it sure was nice having little kids run TOWARDS my POLICE car, rather than run away from it, as some little kids have been conditioned by their parents to do.
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