4- Sunday, April 7, 1985 - North Shore News

strictly personal

by Bob Hunter

Boozing it up

ry his is a tale of booze and power and corrup-

tion, I guess.

It comes to mind simply

because my oldest daughter is about to turn
19 and we plan to go to a pub and have a drink

together.

When I was 19, you
couldn’t drink legally. Had to
wait until you were 21.

Naturally, everybody found
ways to cheat.

But I found one of the
most unique ways to cheat you
could imagine. I got the chief
of police in Winnipeg to buy
me a drink. Not that the chief
knew for sure I was under age,
but I strongly suspect that he
strongly suspected it.

Winnipeg had an unusual
police chief in the form of Bob
Taft, an amiable, completely
bald fellow who was fond of
quoting Shakespeare. He
looked like Yul Brynner but
talked like Richard Burton.

Police chiefs are supposed

to be hard-boiled characters
whose deepest literary thought
might have been borrowed
from a Mickey Spillane
thriller. And. don't get me
wrong, Chief Taft was as
hard-boiled as they come. He
even looked like an egg! His
head, that is.
- But he really did know his
Shakespeare. He was also per-
fectly willing to yak about
philosophy, any philosophy,
which is something else that
petice chiefs aren't supposed
to bether much about.

You couldn't help liking
him, unless of course you had
something to hide. He once
told me that if he ever decid-
ed he wanted to bust me, there
was no way I could get fron.
my apartment to the police
station without one of his boys

finding a legal excuse to throw”

me in the slammer.

Okay So, one day as 2 was
zipping about at the cop shop
— I was the police reporter,
you see — I found out from
one of my sources about a
secret meeting that was to be

NORTH VANCOUVER Ci-
ty fire department officials
have now confirmed that the
fire which claimed the life of
a 20-year-old North Van-
couver woman March 30
started in the kitchen of the
gutted basement suite.

Insp. Gavin - Soanes said
Thursday that indicators still
“point to cigarettes as being
the. main cause of the fire
which caused. extensive

damage to the bottom floor

Fire started in
kitchen

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held by the police commission
that night.

Competition between my
paper, The Trib, and the
opposition Free Press was
fierce. And I was up against a
young Hungarian refugee who
was a whiz of a reporter,
scooping me day after day.

Finally, I had my hands on
ascoop of my own! I'd show
that jerk, wouldn’t J?

The secret police commis-
sion meeting was to be held in
the private offices of a board
member who also happened to
own a night club in town, a
real glitz place. All I had to do
was camp outside the office
door and jump Bob Taft and
the commissioners as they
trooped out after the meeting.
Just the fact that I’d be able
to say they denied this or that
was plenty of story, since the
meat of it was the fact they
were getting together secretly
in the first place.

} arrived at the night club
early, wearing a fedora, and
managed to bluff my way past
the door guard by flashing a
press pass and explaining |
had been invited to the (wink)
secret meeting. But, of course,
lcouldn’t get into the private
offices of the night ciub’s
boss. All 1 could do was take
a seat at the end of the bar,
close to the office door.

’ The barman spotted me for
a 19-year-old right away.
Despite my most passionate
denials that I was under age,
he was in the process of giv-

ing me the boot when, lo and

behold, Chief Taft showed up.

‘Understanding right away
that my mere presence meant
the police commission’s secret
meeting wasn’t secret any
more, the chief pulled a fast
‘one that I’m quite sure

of the home at 708 East 5th.
He said the kitchen appeared
to be the most badly burned
room in the house with the
upper floor being subjected
to severe smoke damage.

Jacqueline Carol Murphy
of 407 East 2nd died in the
blaze and:was reported to
‘have, been visiting friends at
‘the time of the fire.
However, she was the lone
occupant .in the apartment
when fire crews answered the
alam. st

Shakespeare would have fov-
ed. He orders] the barman to
serve me whatever | wanted.

“The drinks are on me,"
the chief said.

Well, that was more like it!
How could the barman argue
with the police chief? So {
clambered back onto my stool
and ordered a double whiskey
on the rocks. For his part, the
chief faked a look of defeat
and promised me a statement

We'll return your old furniture looking like new!

when the meeting was over.
You've guessed the ending?

I never did get the statement.”

By the time the meeting was
over, several hours later, | was
three sheets to the wind and
couldn't have cared Iess what
the secret meeting was about,
even if { could remember that
there had been a meeting at
all, or, for that matter, what
my name. was.

I was only 19, you see, and
not used to holding my drink,
as the phrase goes. I guess 1
was propped up on the bar on
my elbows with my fedora
down over my nose by the
time the chief and pclice com-
missioners tip-toed out of the
night club owner's office and
faded into the night.

Welcome to drinking age,
daughter! It looks easy. It
ain't.

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