. . . a little like “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”.
I have always felt that one should give back to one’s community in some way or another. Through most of my adult life, I have “belonged” to some organization or other that fostered a sense of community; PTA. Sunday School. Newcomers Club – which our Katy couldn’t pronounce and called the Cucumber Club. I’ve been a Voter’s Registrar and I’ve helped those in need through community agencies. I’ve even run for elected office. Good citizenship begins near home.
I’m still involved in activities in the community we used to live in, and gladly do so, but, the time finally came when I felt that I really needed to do something, no matter how small, in the community we live in now.
Right about the time this little pang came about, in the winter of 2012, I noticed a blurb in our community newsletter looking for citizens to serve on the city’s beautification committee. Right up my green thumb, it was, squirming in like a worm just when I needed the prod. Gardening. Trees. Beauty. Maybe a few hours a month.
I filled out the form, drove to city hall, handed it to the clerk and and felt good about volunteering.
I waited, and waited, and finally forgot I was waiting when a phone call came; a pleasant sounding man from the city who said they were very interested in having me on the beautification committee. Next step? A background check. I just needed to call the deputy police chief to arrange to be fingerprinted.
Fingerprinted?
I set up the appointment for an April afternoon and went in to the police station, where I was eyed with caution. I said I was there to be printed and was instructed to take a seat.
After a time, Mr. Officer Friendly came up to me, rather sternly, with his bright badge and all. He asked me what I had done. Sigh. I explained the committee I was asked to serve on and he looked at me, oddly.
Soon, a female officer came out, lead me to a little room, wiped my fingertips with some sort of “stuff”, and started taking my prints. We talked a bit as she registered all ten digits. A felon came in and out. I’m sure he was felonious as he handcuffs on. The nice officer took more prints and fretted some, saying it was hard getting good images of my fingers on the scanner, then, off I went.
A month passed. Another. Then few weeks, when I got a call from Mr. Officer Friendly, apologizing. It seems my prints were rejected. Rejected? My prints were rejected! Could I come in again? Soon? Well, it happened I was heading that way, so, in I went, a printless citizen.
They were waiting for me, I’m sure of it, for I was briskly escorted into “the room” and the process started all over again, only this time a male officer took my paw, er fingerprints, asking me why I needed to do this. I said I was a tree hugger and it appeared that tree huggers need to be printed to beautify their city. We chuckled a bit. I asked if the elected officials had their prints taken. Of course not.
My prints were vague, without the typical grooves and ridges. Bald fingertips, it seems. It was concluded that I just had planted the prints right off of my fingers. Just in case I was a hardened criminal and not the tree hugger I claimed to be, they took a mug shot as well. Turn left. Turn right. Look straight ahead, Ma’am. Actually, the mug shot was much nicer than the one on my driver’s license.
Do you want to know what happened next?
I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Goodness what a palaver! Very entertaining story though. I’m all agog wondering what happened next…
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Palaver! What a great word! Can you imagine all this?
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Well, I never! I am curious about the outcome of this situation. It does make for an interesting story but sort of makes me sad.
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I almost called it quits, Marilyn, but, I’m rather stubborn, so says my family. It is sad, isn’t it? What concerns me is that if everyday folk who just want to volunteer end up going through these sort of things, will they just stop volunteering?
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When I retired from teaching, I needed a full background check and fingerprints to do substitute teaching in the same school where I had just spent the last 20 years of my life. It took three tries to get my prints and they never got a full set. The officer says that he has seen it often with teachers. He said that criminals usually have good fingerprints because they don’t work.LOL Ours are worn off. I had a similar experience with a prisoner. I was in mid fingerprinting in a small room where I had been led by an officer through locked steel doors that we could only enter with buzzers and intercom and keys. Suddenly a loud alarm sounded, lights flashed and the officer said firmly. “Back up, sand against the wall!” He put his hand on his gun so I did exactly what he told me to do. A prisoner in chains that was either soaking wet or very greasy was led by me sobbing loudly. The prisoner and escort went through the door and we calmly finished trying to get my prints. I don’t know if the prisoner was male or female. I couldn’t tell.
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I can understand background checks if one is around children or patients or chemicals and stuff, but a volunteer committee made me wonder. That’s unbelievable though, Janet. 20 years of teaching and THEN they decide to check you out. Teachers and gardeners – printless. We are a rare breed.
The alarm and lights flashed for me and my felon too. I’d forgotten that part. It didn’t take long, but, was very unsettling, as I’m sure was for you.
Everyone I tell this to ends up looking at their own fingers. tee hee
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Please tell me this isn’t true, Penny……….I know it is, but still……….I hope they will make you the chairwoman of the beautification committee for this. Well, they should regardless. Especially since they have your mug shot, too.
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Sad, but true, Andra. Everyone else needed to be printed as well, so I wasn’t being singled out, but, as you say, still . . .
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Penny, this is the funniest, most unexpected story! I can’t even imagine how absurd it must have been for you, but perhaps also for the officers. I have this feeling that perhaps you almost made them uncomfortable. They were probably more comfortable with the felon! LOL! And I can’t wait to hear the next episode and see how it turned out. I’m still giggling at the idea you needed a mugshot to volunteer! I suppose, though, someone thought you’d been filing your fingertips! This is a great story! You were a very good sport to continue through the process, especially now that you really need to behave yourself. If you get into trouble, they already have you identified! 🙂
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Ha! You may be right about who was really uncomfortable, Debra. I hadn’t thought of it that way. As annoyed as I was about the two fingerprinting sessions AND the mug shot, I was even more annoyed that the police were having to use their valuable time, not to mention tax payer money, on doing this for simple volunteer work. I can understand if one is working with children or sensitive material, but, trees? Haha Felon vs Granny! Love the thought. Let me know if I show up on America’s Most Wanted.
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How extraordinary! I’m glad your finger tips were able to show some passive resistance! Maybe hard work had worn them down – all that kneading of bread perhaps, or gardening, or sand-papering? Now I’m waiting for the next instalment!
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Very clever, Juliet; my passive resistive fingers. I think you will approve of the end result of all this “printing” that went on.
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All these years being an upright and honest citizen – what a criminal wouldn’t do to have no fingerprints!….And how very, very odd and bizarre, Penny. Something seems slightly awry, don’t you think? Can’t wait to hear the finale! Axxx
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I think that perhaps the city was sitting with a new machine they needed to use to justify the expense. As I mentioned to Debra (Three Well Beings) above, it seems to be a bit of a waste of taxpayer money to be fingerprinting volunteers. It is bizarre. Let me know if my mug shot turns up on YouTube.
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Dear Penny, every day, it seems, I read newspaper articles about bus drivers and teachers and others who weren’t checked and ended up abusing children. So I can see why all this fingerprinting and mug shooting is necessary. But for a committee that’s beautifying the community????? This doesn’t make sense to me but I so look forward to your next installment. Peace.
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I certainly understand those working with children needing background checks, including fingerprints, Dee, and am very sensitive to this. I could not agree with you more.
I saw your copy of Mrs. Queen Takes the Train is in. Yea! If you go back to the post, one of the last set of comments was from the author, William Kuhn. How exciting! He includes a link to his FaceBook page, in case you are interested. He is currently working on a book about Byron for teens.
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Well told! I just want to see this mugshot! Did you ask them if they offer a wallet prints and one 8×10 package?
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Now you’ve gone and ruined your Christmas present, Katy. One of those big canvas wall hangings. ha! Thank you, Kate.
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What a pallaver, Penny! All to volunteer, too! Maybe you have worn those prints away with all those years of tending to your garden….I do love the Cucumber Club.
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Pallaver is such a good word, Kate. Isn’t Cucumber Club cute? It’s from my very own Kate, who commented right above you.
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Well, since you wrote this, you obviously didn’t get put in jail! I’ll be looking forward to finding out what did happen.
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I just hope I don’t show up on America’s Most Wanted, Joyce. Stay tuned.
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[…] « Fingerprints, mug shots, and good citizenship . . . […]
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Fingerprints and a mugshot just to volunteer to make your town more beautiful? I’m guessing that it’s basically for the same reason that volunteers in the UK who will be working with children and the vulnerable have to have a criminal records check. You have to be an upstanding citizen to be allowed to plant a tree, Penny. 😉
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Pretty exasperating, isn’t it? I can understand if it involves children and those vulnerable, but, well . . . enough said, I suppose.
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I don’t think I would have done it. I’m stunned you were asked to do this.
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The sign of the times, Nan. We talked about how we need to and those in charge didn’t.
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[…] how to attach my photos without getting the words all out of kilter. Must be these fingers of mine, sans fingerprints, which really, it seems, don’t matter all that much since my every word is being tracked by […]
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