Today, we stopped at a red light next to an SUV full of a family. I locked eyes with the driver; the mother. She smiled. I smiled. Then she laughed. I laughed. She waved. I waved. She kept laughing, turning to her passenger.
I rolled down my window. She rolled down her window.
"What are you laughing at?" I asked.
"You guys!" She replied. "I was just saying how we have a nice escort with us now."
"Well, very good then. You guys have a very nice day! Merry Christmas!"
"Are you working Christmas?" She asked.
"No! We're off this year! We work New Year's Eve. On Evenings. It should be interesting."
"Well, Merry Christmas!"
"You too!"
A short time later, a message came across our terminal. It said that a gentleman had called the comm centre on the non-emergency line just to say "Thank-you" to the police for doing what we do, "especially in light of what happened in New York".
I am always very, very encouraged to have an uncharacteristically positive interaction with a citizen. It's a bright spot on a day typically filled with people's misery, complaints and dissatisfaction.
A very merry Christmas to the majority of the citizens in my city who I do not typically encounter on one of their good days.
