Al wasn't his name, though most folks called him that, I believe. He was a retired military man--though he never told many stories. He was likable, pleasant, and liked all the police in the area which was a good thing as he always carried a gun. More than once he'd stop and watch an encounter until it was over, making sure that the officer--of whatever agency--wasn't having any trouble, then he'd move on without anyone ever really knowing he'd been there. Many of the younger police officers didn't even knew he was around, but some of did and appreciated his presence.
We had a an occasional cup of coffee together and he'd share a few stories. The one I recall the best was of a time early in the days of snow mobiles when he was out on snowshoes in deep snow. He saw two people on snowmobiles running in circles, chasing a small deer until the deer dropped from exhaustion. The operators got off their machines and went over to the now exhausted deer. When they did, Al raised his rifle and fired two rounds. The snowmobile had to be towed out of the woods! Of course, Al being on snowshoes, he was long out of the woods before the operators of the machines got out and called the police.
By the time he told me this story, the statute of limitations had long since expired, so I was free to laugh with him, and he's gone now, so it's a moot point anyway. It's certainly not an activity I could condone or authorize, but once in a while it's fun to hear a story like that.
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