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I ran a couple of errands on my way to work this afternoon. My route took me into some suburban neighborhoods I wasn't wholly familiar with. Well, I got lost but had a general idea which way I needed to head in order to pick up a main artery to the interstate. Anyway, I kept encountering numerous "dead ends" in this one particular neighborhood. At one point, I approached a four-way stop and after completing the stop turned left and found a community center down about 100 yards. The street ran into its parking lot. Realizing I was facing another dead end, I approached the parking lot to make a U-turn to go back to the four-way stop and continue looking for the main artery.
Anyway, there was this all-white car parked at the entrance to the community center parking lot. As I approach the lot to make my U-turn, a man got out of the car and flags me down. He is dressed in casual clothes, so I assume he's going to ask me a question. I thought "I hope it's not about the street layout or where something is, because I have no clue." I slow to a stop and he walks over to my car and says, "Did you see the stop sign back there?" At first I thought he was an employee of the community center and that he was referring to a stop sign somewhere since my turn, like at the entrance to the parking lot. So I said "No." He says "you didn't see the stop sign?" I said I didn't remember seeing any stop sign. He looks at me in a condescending manner and says, "You'd better be more careful." By now I wondering "Who is this guy?" so I say "O.K., thanks for the tip!" and give the index finger to the thumb with other fingers curled gesture. He looked at me in a kind of stare that said, "You'd better watch you ass!" and steps back. I complete my U-turn and notice his car as some kind of city/state/federal license plate. I realize he may have been a city cop in plainclothes driving an unmarked car. And as I approached the four-way stop, I look into my rear-view mirror and see him in his car watching me. I realize that he was perhaps referring to that stop sign. The fact that he never identified himself also made me angry, so I stopped and waited 15-20 seconds to make sure he saw that I saw the stop sign. It was intended to be an "up yours" gesture...}(
I don't know who he was, but I do drive an old, rusty car. Maybe he was a cop and was hoping to roust someone, but backed off when he encountered me...:)
Anyway, I should've asked who he was and if he did say a police officer, I could have asked if the city is now using plainclothes officers in unmarked cars for stop-sign duty...;)
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