The Importance of Sending A Strong Message

I worked for Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) my senior year in high school - 1976-1977.

Basically FCPA paid me to spend most of my time in the gym to break up fights and determining who had next game on the full court.  Everyone who worked at the park hated this but me.  I loved it since I played basketball and knew a bunch of the guys playing.  A lot of great players came from DC to play at the park back then. 

The cool thing about working in the gym is I was watching some great basketball and I was both judge and jury in the gym.  Only once during that year did I need to bring down the FCPA Police.    The one time was when this guy was let in the back entrance.  Normally I would just say, "hey slim, go upstairs and pay and I will not have you kicked out."   This one time when I told this go to go up front and pay, he cursed me out.   I told him that if he does not go up and pay, I was going to have him arrested.  He cursed me out again saying he was a Fairfax County resident and did not have to pay.   He also told me what I could do with myself.   I went up and talked to my buddy Officer Taylor.   Officer Taylor said, "what do you want me to do Dave?"   I said I want to send a message to everyone in the gym that you do not screw with Dave or you will pay.  He said, "ok, let's do it."   Officer Taylor was a great guy and a real friend.  We he goes down to the gym ahead of me.  Officer Taylor asks the guy, "sir, did you pay?"   The guy says sheepishly, "uh no, I did not Officer, but ...."  Officer Taylor interrupts him and says to, "please turn around".  Officer Taylor puts hand cuffs on him and says, "you are being charged with defrauding an Inn Keeper."    After the cuffs are on the guy, I go up to him, I drive my fingers in his chest and say, "F*&k me?  F*&k you a$$hole!"    

That story spread like wild fire and the number of times I had to ask someone to go pay went down by orders of magnitude :-)