highline56 Vignettes

Flash back time to the night the "cops" came to Lou's drive in. First they were not police officers. They had no training and looking back they were a bunch of middle aged men, bored with their lives, so they decided they would bully a bunch of high school students just hanging out. These guys talked like Sgt. Friday from Dragnet and dressed like FBI agents in the untouchables (or later Columbo).

I was ordered out of my car (mom's 50 Chevy.) and then the 4 or 5 girls with me were ordered out and told to stand over by the north wall of the drive in. The "cop" who spoke to me said I had to open my trunk. I told him I didn't have a key. (the lock was tricky and you had to know how to work it) He grabbed the key and tried to open it and it wouldn't"t budge so he threw the key on the ground and walked over to my passengers and told them to put their hands on the wall so they could "shake them down" I stepped up and said "no - you can't do that, you have to call in a female officer (we all know how many of those there were then). At that point 4 - 24" flashlights were shined on me, they conversed with each other, then told the girls they could go back to the car and we should all go home because we were breaking curfew. There was no curfew law at that time and it was only about 11 o'clock after a school dance. Then one of the "officers" came up to the car Marilyn (Booth) was in and asked what her dad would think if he got a call from "the cops". Marilyn offered him a nickel and suggested he call and find out.

This was the beginning of the King County Sheriffs Department. (and probably why I am still leery of all of them)