From: Terri Lynn Jones <terri@iinc.com>

Subject: Terri Lynn and the Law

Hi Girls,

I've had at least six brushes with law enforcement officers while dressed.

Gee, I sound like some kind of outlaw! Some of you have seen this before,

but for those who haven't, the first time was in Michigan several years ago

on one of my first "outings". I was so excited to be going out "en femme"

that I didn't realize that I was speeding as I made my way onto I-75. I was

pulled over even before I had a chance to check my speed. The two officers

did not bat an eye as I explained to them that I was a little nervous and

that I had a rental car that was more powerful than my jalopy back home.

They told me to "be careful" and let me go!

The second time was a few month later. I was in a TG friendly bar in

Detroit when one of the bouncers came over and told me that someone had hit my car in the parking lot. I panicked (again it was a rental car and my

immediate thought was how am I going to explain this to the National Car

agents). When I got out to the parking lot, there were a half dozen cops

there. I thought it was strange that there were so many. It turns out it

was a ruse to get me out there, as apparently I fit the description of an

escaped convict who was known at times to disguise himself as a woman. It

didn't help that my real name sounds like an alias (think "Bill Smith") but

after grilling me for about 15 minutes they finally conceded that I was not

who they were looking for. They even showed me a photo of the guy and I had to admit the resemblance. They apologized for the inconvenience and told me to "have a nice day."

One New Year's Eve my wife and I were coming home from a party around 2:00 a.m. I was driving and had not drank a drop of alcohol (I don't like to

take any chances when driving, especially when I'm dressed). Likewise I do

not press my luck by speeding (I set my cruise control at 10% over the

posted limit) so I knew I wasn't doing anything to justify a ticket (I was

going 60 in a 55) when I saw the flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I

pulled over immediately and rolled my window down as the Sheriff's Deputy

approached. He asked me if I knew why I was being stopped, and I answered

"no". He said he clocked me going 72 mph, which both my wife and I knew was impossible. She started arguing with him in my defense, when I instructed her to listen to what he had to say. He asked where we'd been and where we were going. After I answered that we were on our way home from a party, he said simply "OK, you can go". I believe that he had initially assumed that I had been drinking (after all it was 2:00 a.m. on New Year's Eve) even though I wasn't weaving or showing any indication. In New York State, they are required to have a reason to stop you, and I think he made up the speeding bit for this purpose. Once he recognized that I hadn't been

drinking (no smell of alcohol and I was entirely composed) he sent us on

our way.

Another time I was coming home (around 3:00 a.m.) from a TG friend's

birthday party. I hit a deer that ran out in from of me and totalled my

car. The Sheriff's Deputy who responded made no reference to the fact that

I was dressed.

Not long ago, I pulled out of a parking lot near one of the TG friendly

bars when I blew through a stop sign. Due to the arrangement of the

driveway and the angle of the street, the sign was not visible to me. No

sooner had I turned the corner when I saw the flashing lights. Apparently

the car coming down the street that I pulled out in front of (it was late

at night and very dark) was a cop car. He asked me if I knew what I had

done and I said "no." He explained that there was "a stop sign back there"

and I said "I'm sorry, I didn't see it." He offered to take me back and

show it to me, and I replied "That won't be necessary, I'm sure it's

there." He ran my paperwork, and came back, handed it to me and said "be

more careful next time."

A similar situation occurred when I was looking for a new TG friendly bar

I'd heard about. I was so glad when I found it that I didn't realize the

street it was on is "one way". The parking lot was across this street and I

turned down it the wrong way to get to the parking lot entrance. I

recognized my mistake when I was halfway to the entrance. I paused briefly

with the thought of backing up, but there was snow on the roads so they

were very slippery and visibility was poor. I imagined myself backing into

the intersection just as someone else was coming along and not expecting a

car to be where I was, so I figured the best bet was to "damn the torpedos"

and go full speed ahead into the parking lot (which was just as close as

the corner anyway). No sooner had I pulled into a parking space when a

police cruiser pulled in behind me, lights a blazing. Once again, I was

asked if I knew what I had done wrong. This time I did, and told him just

what happened. He said, "OK, be more careful next time" and that was it!

Finally, and I hope this is the last time(but I doubt it), I was on my way

to meet a TG friend at a club in another city. I was running a little late

(of course, I was on "drag time") but I had only a few more blocks to go.

As I approached an intersection the light turned "yellow". Where I come

from I would have had plenty of time to make it through, but this city must

have a shorter "yellow interval" than I am used to and it turned red just

as a began to pass under it. Well, you guessed it, there was a police

cruiser lurking around the corner and I soon saw their flashing lights in

my mirror (I hate that sight!). This time they did write me a ticket, but

they apologized saying that there was a statewide crackdown on red light

runners in effect, otherwise they would have let me go with a warning.

Now, as I was reading of the experiences related here by some of our

sisters recently, and recalling my own experiences where the police were

always polite and did not make any references to the way I was dressed

(once the officer said "is this you?" after I handed him my license), I was

thinking that we really must give the police credit for being decent about

it. I have a very good (TG) friend in Detroit who was arrested for DWI a

couple of years ago. She was legally intoxicated and was taken "downtown"

and held over night. But she was treated with respect by everyone of

authority and they placed her in a cell by herself, well away from any

others where she might be subjected to any rude behavior. It reaffirms my

faith in humanity and reminds me that cops are people too.

Then I read Jacqueline's and Marilynn's comments that perhaps some of these police may have been "one of us." While this had not occurred to me, it is entirely possible that some of them were. In fact, now that I think about

it, one of my best TG friends is a retired Detective Lt. and there are at

least two former police officers in our local TG support group. So again,

this just goes to show that cops are people and TGs are people and

sometimes they're one in the same!

Hugs,

Terri Lynn