A Westerville police officer once left his office in the old police station by city hall to walk up State Street and tell me to get out of the road. It was too dangerous, and I was foolish. I tried to explain that I was only in the street to photograph a nearby woman, also standing in the street carrying an evangelical sign proclaiming the Easter season.
Again, this time more forcefully, he told me to exit the roadway or else.
He then gently motioned to the enthusiastic, banner-wielding, prayerful, gospel-singing, wide-smiling, faith-filled woman, signaling she needed to get out of the street. He then followed me to the sidewalk, where I again was admonished for acting so careless by standing in the street. She continued her acts of praise as she shuffled off the road and onto the sidewalk.
The officer then returned to his second-floor office, where he could continue observing me if I ignored his orders.
He’s now retired, and I can return to the streets.
The photo above was made by a Columbus Dispatch photographer of me in the early 1980s, standing on the roof of my car to make a photo along the interstate. The exact location and date are unknown.
At least I’m not standing in the street.
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