It was an eerie night. The sky was clear, the moon glaring and the stars twinkling. The cool wintry breeze delicately stung the open skin of my face. The snow had melted away and the roads were relatively clear. The truth is that I should not have been driving at all. I was tired, very tired from a long days work. I fought to keep my labored eyes open. My find was focused upon my body being under my warm quilt on my bed. But there was one problem, I just could not shake this craving for ice cream. It sounds silly I know, but all day all I wanted was ice cream, vanilla ice cream, Breyer’s vanilla ice cream. As I drove closer and closer to home that craving intensified, I could picture the ice cream sitting on the top shelf of my refrigerator freezer calling out to me. I pictured myself grabbing it and eating not some of it, but all of it. As I pulled into my driveway my heart rate increased, my respiration became shallow and fast, my palms became clammy and I began to sweat. My body demanded that ice cream. But to my surprise when I opened my freezer door I noticed all the ice cream, my ice cream, was gone. And that is how I came to be in my car at 10:30 at night on my way to the store to satisfy my craving.
Why is this car so close behind me I thought just moments before the lights of this car began to flash. It’s a police car. Was I speeding? Are my lights on? Maybe he doesn’t see the temporary tag in the window. All of this ran through my mind as to why I have been pulled over, me, at 10:30 at night on a mission to get my ice cream, now pulled over.
Good evening I’m Officer Mahner of Fountain P.D. The reason I have pulled you over tonight is because you were driving 40 mph in a posted 30 mph zone.” Spoke this officer as if he had said this thousands of times before. “I need to see your drivers license, proof of insurance and registration please.” As I searched for those things I had to think of something to say in the hope of not getting a ticket “I can’t believe I’m being pulled over for coming out to buy some ice cream.” I began “My wife is pregnant and is having one of her cravings so I had to come out for her, now this.” Ok, I wasn’t telling the truth, she’s not pregnant but I didn’t want a ticket, plus I could see that touched something within Officer Mahner. “Here you go officer,” I said as I handed him what he had requested. “Tell you what Mr. Costley let me talk with my dispatcher. If everything comes back ok, I’ll let you go with just a warning. That’ll save you about a hundred bucks.” “Thanks Officer I appreciated it.”, I responded.
The wait seemed like forever. Then a second police cruiser pulled up, “This isn’t good.” I thought. “Mr. Costley our night is just getting worse.” he said “What, are you going to tell me, that the store is out of my Breyers vanilla ice cream?” Ok, I didn’t say that to him, but I was thinking it. “There seems to be a warrant out for your arrest, something about you failing to appear in reference to a dog control complaint.” I was stunned, a dog control complaint? This hardly sounds like the type of warrant you would like to have. If I must have a warrant make it something glamorous, something that will impress my fellow inmates, something like jumping off a 200-story building with no permit, preferably with a parachute. But no, I have to get arrested and brag to the inmates that my dog was a bad doggie. “Are you serious?” I responded as if a police officer would joke about something like that. “We have two options” he continued “We can park your vehicle at the side of the road or we can have it towed.” It was so nice for the officer to continue to speak in the plural by saying “us” and “we” as if we were partners. “Well if I have a say in this matter “partner”, I say lets just get my ice cream and call it a night.” Ok, I didn’t say that either, but I was thinking it.
“Sir I need for you to step out of your vehicle.” he said “Oh, so now I’m a sir.” No, I didn’t say that either, but guess what? Yep you got it, I was thinking it. The officer led me to the back of his cruiser “Spread your legs and put your hands behind your head.” Man, he is taking this seriously I thought. “Guess no ice cream for me tonight huh?” I said trying to be my usual funny self. His only reply came from the sound of his handcuffs closing tightly around my wrists.
“Nice cruiser” I said trying to make a little conversation while on the way to the hoots Gail. “I bet that you have never had a criminal like me before huh?” “No, I can’t say that I have.” Responded Officer Mahner while laughing. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at my joke or laughing at me going to jail. “It shouldn’t take very long to get out tonight. Maybe a couple of hours.” he said.
As we walked into the jail I was disappointed. This didn’t look anything like the jails on Law & Order, or N.Y.P.D Blues or even Barney Miller on T.V., plus all of the Sheriff’s Deputies were nice! Even the fellow inmates were nice, but not too nice. The T.V. was playing, the VCR actually worked, and the inmates were watching “A Bugs Life.” I was buggin’, trippin’; you know, astonished! As I was lead into the waiting room to “be processed” I puffed up my chest, put a little dip in my stride and acted like was somebody. I could even here Jessie Jackson echoing in my mind “I am Somebody. I am Somebody.” Then suddenly a different vision entered into my head. All I could picture was Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in the movie “Stir Crazy” as they were walking past the inmates in prison while stating loudly “We Bad, We Bad”. I laughed at loud. The transsexual, cross dressing, crack addicted, gang member, accountant seated to my right looked up at me thinking I was laughing at him. I wasn’t then, but I am sure am now. Everyone kept looking at me, staring. This is not the best time to “look cute”. Then I realized why they were staring… My zipper was down!! Not really, but I wanted to keep your attention to this story. The real reason that they were staring was because I was wearing my Calvary Family Hybrid Hapkido T-shirt.
The jailer told me to have a seat. I couldn’t believe how many people were in the jail waiting to be processed. It looked like a Jerry Springer special. I sat in seat after seat, continuously moving. “Nope this seat isn’t good.” I would say to myself. One guy smells like alcohol. Another other guy smells like weed. Another guy just smells. A different guy is scratching… All Over. Another guy is talking to himself, actually to his imaginary friend, but you get the idea. And another guy wanted me sit beside him just a little too much. Finally I decided to go into one of the cells. A real cell with concrete floors and walls. Even the bench was made of concrete. No one was in this cell; so I decided to do what every red blooded American would do if he were in jail… sing “Roxanne” just like Eddie Murphy did in the movie “48 hours”. No one seemed amused except for me, especially because I didn’t know the words to that song. I leaned back, actually I laid down on the concrete bench, shut my eyes and began to fall asleep. Yep in jail I closed my eyes and began to fall asleep. I felt at peace with no fear. Then suddenly without warning I was wakened from my slumber. The sound of my snoring echoed off the walls and scared me back into consciousness. Other inmates had come into the cell as I was sleeping and they all laughed at me as I jumped up from out of my sleep.
Hours went by. All I could do was walk around while watching the T.V. People continued to stare at my T-Shirt. Finally someone asked me about it. “What is Hybrid Hapkido?” he asked. At first instinctively I began to him about our self-protection and defense system. Then suddenly I realized there were other things that I could talk with this person about. I began to tell him about our logo. Why we use a triangle, why God is at the top of the triangle, why there is a warrior and why he is kneeling with is hand upon his sword. I explained his shield, his feet, his breastplate, his sword, his belt, and his helmet. I explained to him what “Putting on the Full Armor” meant in terms of our class and more importantly in terms of our lives. I wish I could say that he dropped to his knee’s and accepted the Lord that night, but he didn’t. He simply nodded and turned back to the movie.
An old student of mine arrived at the jail. No he wasn’t arrested like me. He is a Deputy and had brought someone in for processing. Of course he asked me why I was there and I told him about my dog warrant. He did as everyone else had done that night, he laughed at me. Soon after he had me released. Just 6 hours after my chance meeting with Officer Mahner it was over.
I could look at the course of events of this night and wonder “Why me?”. I could be bitter over losing 6 hours of my life, spending them in jail over a dog complaint. But instead I take ownership of this event. Because of my lack of action and follow through a warrant was issued for my arrest. The blame lies with me. Furthermore, I believe there was a purpose to me being arrest far beyond the embarrassment. People in the jail saw my shirt. They saw “God, Family, Country”. They saw “Putting on the Full Armor”. Many of them did not speak to me or I to them, but they saw. Maybe my purpose was to be a witness. To reach them where they were. A seed was planted not just in the man who spoke with me about my shirt, but also within those who saw my shirt. Just as Paul and Silas were a witness to other prisoners while they were in prison (Acts 16), I too was given the opportunity to be a witness.
We need to remember that often times we go through things so that we can help others or so that we are better equipped to help others in the future. Often times those in need will not or cannot come to us, so in Gods wisdom, He sends us to them.
Remember, He who brought us to the situation is also strong enough to bring us through the situation.
Isaac Costley