Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Location: Santa Rosa, CA

So the past two nights I've been woken up by cops pounding on the door of my van. First I was in Novato, CA and the cop knocked on my door and when I rolled down the window he apologized for waking me up and asked to see my I.D. I obliged and we had a nice talk and he told me he had no problem with me sleeping there. I told him I was glad they could look out for me. All good!

Then last night I drove up to Santa Rosa for my next interview and found myself looking for a place to crash as dusk was settling in. I checked out the closest park but it was 22$ so opted to drive back down the highway a little to the Wal-Mart in a place called Rohnert Park.

Now, it's well known that Wal-Mart is a great place to sleep in your vehicle if you need to. People sleep in Wal-Mart parking lots all across America. You can use the bathroom, buy odds n ends, eat whatever you wish. Above all it's a safe place to sleep where you aren't bothering anyone.

Little did I know.

1 am rolls around and I awake to pounding on my door. Weird I think as I crawl into the front seat. There outside my door is a older police officer pointing his flashlight in my eyes. I roll down the window thinking it must be nothing.

"You can't park here!" he says forcefully. "I thought I could park at any Wal-Mart," I say.. "I don't understand?" And he lays into me, "Well you see that camper over there, they can park here because they have a toilet in their camper, but people like you wake up in the morning, and like every male, you have an erection, and you go outside and piss on the side of your van. And if you have to take a dump you go and shit in the parking lot bushes. (I'm thinking.. does he think I'm an animal?) And Rohnert Park doesn't want your kind here!"

I'm stunned.. this is a police officer talking like a drunken sailor, rude as hell.

"Ok" I say, "I can see that you're not going to change your mind on this, so do you have any idea where I can park that would be ok? It's 1am."

He repeats himself, "Well Rohnert Park doesn't want you kind around here, in fact the whole county doesn't want your kind around here, so drive out past the county line until you get to the cows and sheep. You won't bother anyone out there!"

Really? This is really happening?

I'm not argue the fact that there are no signs posting what he's saying. I'm not going to argue the fact that I have never, nor ever will, shit in a Wal-Mart parking lot bush, nor piss on the side of my van. This guy hasn't asked me what I'm doing here, has made no attempt at all to find out the real story of how I'm a filmmaker here for a legit interview. This is just a rude, ignorant hillbilly, who clearly only ever took the oath to push people around.

So I tell him I'll leave. He moves on to hassle the people in the camper down the line (who have a bathroom) while I stare blankly at my GPS looking for a place to go.. stunned by the manner with which I was treated.

Eventually he leaves, slowly cruising past me with intimidation.

I move .5mile away to a gas station where the guy working the night shift tells me I can park in the stations parking lot, and use the bathroom if needed. He tells me if this police officer comes back to tell him to go F$%K himself.

It's not really my nature.. there's lots of pavement in this world and lots of people who are kind and open towards people on the road.

peace,
d