When I saw two utility trucks, 86 feet apart, each with its own nice policeman in orange vest standing nearby, curiosity won. We stopped. I asked the officer why so many nice policemen stand next to utility trucks because I had never seen such a thing in Fresno, Calif. He laughed, and told me: "Unlike out west, Quincy doesn't pay its policemen a living wage, so the city fathers passed a law that utility companies have to hire an off-duty policeman at time-and-a-half, 'for safety's sake,' to babysit every truck doing work on a city street." I asked him if he thought it was a stupid system, and he said, "Heck no. I've got five kids and I need the money." I went back to the car, muttering to Kim that when we have Separation of Road and State.... )

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