Page 32 - NIXBOOK

I worked a lot of shifts with weird hours; like starting a day at 3 am, or finishing at 4 am. My normal work days were 8 or 10
hours long, but sometimes I had to work a shift that turned out to be 12, 14, 16, or 18 hours. Sometimes I knew in advance they
would be long shifts, many times it was a surprise. Mandatory overtime was required on and off for most of my career. The older
I got, the less I liked it. Toward the end, I hated it.

I gave directions to a lot of lost people. Some were from foreign countries. My favorites were the couple from France quite
confuzzled with the worst, smallest, least-detailed map of Washington state possible, and then there was the merchant marine
who had a destination in Florida but was actually heading north toward Canada.

I dealt with homeless transients living in encampments in the woods; some camps were temporary and some were permanent.
I encountered vagrants passing through town, and there was a rotating cast of permanent and temporary resident local village
idiots - some charming and harmless, and some quite obnoxious. I renamed most of them with monikers to match their
personalities and characteristics. Sometimes I drove cooperative vagabonds and hobos out of town to get rid of them. Sometimes
officers from the neighboring police agencies would drive them back later to repay the favor.

I met several different homeless cat ladies who carried around cats in small cages. I always felt bad for the cats.