Shane Adams
Saturday we encountered a road block north of Dumas, and had dealings with local sherriffs. We pulled over to the shoulder and drove along the line of stopped traffic, alongside the Sherriff's truck, and asked permission to get through...which was not-so-pleasantly denied. This guy was obviously freaked out and wired, because Chad spoke softly and used the word "Sir" for every reference....but the guy still snapped. Eventually that Sherriff moved on, and another drove up beside us. There was a second tornadic storm moving up towards us from the south, which was going to eventually overtake the roadblock. We kept explaining this to the guy and he finally said, almost in depseration: "What should I do?" We told him he should let the drivers go so they could turn around and go to their homes/in town for shelter. He said he couldn't do it because his job would be on the line...he had orders....we understood, but he did allow us to pass through so we could hit the next crossover and go back south. He laughed as we pulled away and said "It's my ass for letting you guys go if I'm found out.." we thanked him, drove ahead to the next crossover, and did what we said we would...turned around and went back to Dumas.
Just a few miles south of town, we observed a tornado.
This guy was overly-polite and actually talked with us about his situation, and what he was having to deal with. We would offer suggestions for him to help try to make the situation easier, and he would either listen or tell us it wasn't possible.....but either way, chasers and law enforcement had a detailed interaction, working together, being patient and understanding of each other's situations...and it worked. He even went so far as to say, more than once, "Guys, I don't mean to be an asshole, I understand you're wetaher chasers and you know what you're doing, but I have to do my job." I didn't think the conversation would go well when he first approached us, so I turned my vidcam on and recorded the entire thing....which ended up being a great example of how law enforcement and chasers can interact in a positive way, even under stressful situations.
Oh, and on a lighter note, later that night we stopped at the Flying J in Sayre to eat. Mickey went to the bathroom, and while he was gone, just to be an ass, I had the lady at the front desk page him on the intercom system: "Mickey Ptak, Mickey Ptak....your party is ready to leave.....Mickey Ptak, Mickey Ptak, your party is ready to leave."
Of course I was laughing hysterically, and so was Mickey when he came walking out of the bathroom not two seconds later. Chad had gone out to the car, but as we walked up to it, he was laughing so hard he was crying....he'd heard it outside in the parking lot as well.
Just a few miles south of town, we observed a tornado.
This guy was overly-polite and actually talked with us about his situation, and what he was having to deal with. We would offer suggestions for him to help try to make the situation easier, and he would either listen or tell us it wasn't possible.....but either way, chasers and law enforcement had a detailed interaction, working together, being patient and understanding of each other's situations...and it worked. He even went so far as to say, more than once, "Guys, I don't mean to be an asshole, I understand you're wetaher chasers and you know what you're doing, but I have to do my job." I didn't think the conversation would go well when he first approached us, so I turned my vidcam on and recorded the entire thing....which ended up being a great example of how law enforcement and chasers can interact in a positive way, even under stressful situations.
Oh, and on a lighter note, later that night we stopped at the Flying J in Sayre to eat. Mickey went to the bathroom, and while he was gone, just to be an ass, I had the lady at the front desk page him on the intercom system: "Mickey Ptak, Mickey Ptak....your party is ready to leave.....Mickey Ptak, Mickey Ptak, your party is ready to leave."
Of course I was laughing hysterically, and so was Mickey when he came walking out of the bathroom not two seconds later. Chad had gone out to the car, but as we walked up to it, he was laughing so hard he was crying....he'd heard it outside in the parking lot as well.
