Meeting Drew

I had been doing a feature for our six p.m. broadcast on local civil servants of note, you know, teachers, postal workers, school nurses, crossing guards, EMTs, fire fighters, policemen and women. It was an easy assignment. I’d interview people, they liked the stroke and were easy on camera. I’d follow them around for half a day with a cameraman, ask a few standard questions, and have a nice three minute segment for my Thursday “civil servant” spot. That’s how I’d met Drew. Meet your police chief kind of deal. We hit it off right away. He was smart and good looking and urbane in a way. He’d seen it all, or a lot of it, and had a real nice attitude. He liked supervising his troops, felt the responsibility for community safety, and liked being the intermediary between his department and the City Council, which was ultimately responsible for his budget. He had also been an officer in Desert Storm and liked that too. Just an all around good guy is how he first seemed to me. I’m so naïve. I try to be sophisticated and suave, but you just can’t take the girl and her small town mindset out of me.

He called me after the piece had aired and said he was flattered by my praise, although he though I’d made it seem like his job was all administration and no adventure.

“I go out on crime scenes when necessary,” he said. “I review case investigations with my chief of detectives. I still carry a gun.”

“Yes, but do you ever use it,” I teased.

“I don’t have to take it out for it to be a force to reckon with,” he said, and we both laughed nervously not fully sure what he’d meant or how it was meant to be heard.

“In any event,” he said, “I have to go to a meeting down at City Hall this Thursday late in the afternoon and I don’t know what your schedule is after the six o’clock news broadcast, but I thought maybe we could get together as a follow up to your civil servant segment on me and maybe I’d even give you a lead on another interesting story.

There was something obviously personal in his invitation. And there was no need for a camera crew when I could just bring my notepad. And I always follow up promising leads, personal and professional, so I said yes.

When he said, “We could have a snack if you’re free and interested,” I wasn’t surprised.