Terror Threat Level High: Eureka is Being Invaded by The Man!

There's an old joke about cops.  You can never find one when you need one, but dodge a red light and hit a pedesterian and they are all up in your grill.  Finding a cop will be a hell of a lot easier tomorrow if you are in Eureka, CA.  We're getting about 1,000 of them into town (and ex-hippie governor Jerry Brown) to honor Thomas Adams, 24, a California Highway Patrol Officer (remember Chips?) who was killed in a collision right around Piercy.

Today I drove by the church the memorial is set to be held at.  There was a gathering outside, including some uniformed people who may have been officers.  Orange traffic cones lined the side of the street the church was on for several blocks.  I was in the lane closest to the church and was about to pass it when one of those uniformed guys stepped out into the street for some random reason and indicated I should move over into the center lane, which me and the three people behind me did, cutting off all those cars in that lane and almost causing an accident.  Brilliant.  The memorial service was a little less than 24 hours away.  Were they practicing?  No matter.  I did as directed and got on with my day.

Adams was a local boy.  He apparently grew up in Fortuna.  He didn't have a wife or kid (at least not from what I read), but tomorrow there will be close to a thousand of his peers honoring him.

I'm fairly sure that myself and most people reading this will never have a thousand people at our memorials.  It's kind of rare when that sort of thing happens, and I can't help have some respect for that.  Hell, if I died in the course of duty at work (a likely possibility these days), if more than ten people show up at the service my ghost will be impressed.  Adams, as mentioned before, is even getting an appearance from the governor.  My guess is that if the governor is involved with me in any way it will be some sort of trial situation. 

Those expecting something sarcastic are slowly finding themselves disappointed, I'm sure.  The guy died doing his job.  The idea of police is against most of my political beliefs, but it's not like the officer was part of the elite ruling class.  He was an average working joe, and to die on the job kind of sucks no matter how you look at it. 

I can't help but wonder, though, how all of Eureka's many, many tweakers are going to react to this influx of authority.  They're already a paranoid bunch.  Seeing them witness a parade of thousand in uniform could prove highly entertaining.