Spring In The City And A Police Encounter

We are just one week away from the official start of spring, but it seems that Edmonton (and the southern part of Alberta) has taken an advance on spring temperatures. Snow and ice has been transformed into a wet slush. The sun is sending its warming rays and make us feel well again. Even the North Saskatchewan River got rid of its ice cover. On the southern river valley slopes green grass is sprouting like it’s been waiting there for way too long already. We see people walking and sitting in the parks and yesterday I saw the first open convertible passing along. A group of small kids were walking by today, the girls with short-sleeved white blouses. What a pleasant sight. But today is Friday the 13th.! I was heading west on one of Edmonton’s freeways when I saw police cruisers parked on the left lane. They had stopped a vehicle. Maybe a case of speeding, what did I know? I slowed down for passing the site, then accelerated again down the road. Suddenly I saw red and blue right behind me. What the heck? I stopped on the right shoulder, wondering what was wrong.  The appearing officer asked for the usual papers which I handed him through the window. Then he disappeared in his cruiser. He stayed there for the longest time until I saw him get out, open the cruiser’s trunk and returning with a book or manual.   Huh…??? Another long time later (was he reading the book?) he finally got out and walked over to my van. First he asked me whether my ambulance emergency lights were still working.  No they are not. All disconnected. He then proceeded to tell me that de-commissioned emergency vehicles need to have the lights removed. Now THAT I did not know which I told him. Next thing he was asking for my email address offering to send the particular section of the law, so I could get myself informed. No ticket was issued and he left “as a friend”. So, while he was in his cruiser, was he trying to find the paragraph about lights on former emergency vehicles?  We’ll never know but if he did, he sure didn’t find it in his book. Later we tried to find it on the internet, but were unsuccessful. Maybe there is no law against it? I haven’t received his email either. Not yet anyway. I have been driving this van for almost a year criss cross through the city. And I have seen numerous police cruisers going by. Never ever had anybody any remark on my van.  So what got into this officer, who was actually stationed at the scene of a checkstop, warning off the following traffic about the irregular stop on the left side of the freeway, that he left his spot chasing my vehicle? Maybe it was because of Friday the 13th.