Elvin Harris Loyd Jr., my grandfather, was one of the most special people that I have ever had the privilege to be around. He was truly made to serve others. He was in the navy; he was a firefighter, a bouncer at a club, handy man and a security guard. However, none of these jobs suited him most like being a cop. My grandfather was both a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy for roughly twenty-five years. He was a good cop who was not afraid to use force if need be. However, he was one of the few cops, or deputies for that matter, that the inmates liked. His philosophy was that if they respected him, he would respect them. He treated them like human beings first, then criminals. However, I don’t think that any inmate has ever gone through what I did.
In third grade my grandparents moved in with me and my family while they sorted out some personal problems. Of course I was thrilled; I already practically lived with them. For me this was like a dream come true.
At the time, papa worked at the Pickens County Jail as a deputy and loved it. He also loved to tell us stories. My little brother and I loved to listen to his stories and loved to play cops and robbers. As a matter of fact we had our very own set of handcuffs. Oh yeah, we were some hot stuff, they looked exactly like the real thing, and I do mean the real thing.
One cold, gray Saturday in December my little brother and I decided to play cops and robbers. I told Cody to go and find the cuffs so we could play. When he finally found them, we played for a good while, he was the cop and I was the robber. After a few minutes he finally caught me robbing the bank. We had already established before the game where the jail was and if I could be chained to any furniture. The first idea was to cuff me to the rocking chair, but we decided that wasn’t a good idea. It was too easy for me to hit the safety latch and get away. No, we decided on something truly original. We decided to cuff my right arm to my left leg. We played this way for awhile, but then I had to use the bathroom. I told Cody to release the safety latch so I could go. There was no safety latch.
My mother, father, and grandmother all looked for this latch. It simply wasn’t there. Finally my grandmother asked Cody exactly where he got the handcuffs. He thought about it for a minute and then said, “On papa’s desk.” I’ll give you ten guesses where papa kept his real handcuffs. That’s right on the desk. Guess where the keys to the cuffs were. If you guessed on his belt at work then you would be right. By the way did I mention that I was in my gown, with nothing else on but underwear?
The next thing I know I am attempting to get out of the floor. I soon figured out that it wasn’t working. I could roll all over the place, but I soon realized that standing up was nothing but a pipe dream. Finally my dad picked me up and carried me out the door to the car. I think that the only reason that he did this was because he felt sorry for me. Of course I will admit that I did look like a turtle stuck on his back. Imagine this if you will, a young girl going outside, in the middle of winter, in a gown and underwear and nothing else. Not a pretty picture is it? Yeah I about froze my butt off. My parents couldn’t help but laugh at me in the backseat with my leg and arm up in the air. I swear that was the longest trip to Jasper that I have ever taken in my life. Even inmates get to sit down with both legs in the floor.
When we got to the jail, my grandfather walked out with key in hand thank goodness. As soon as he got to me he let out a laugh that rung through the parking lot. I was not amused myself. He finally took off the cuffs and the only thing he could say through the laugh was, “It could’ve been worse. Think what would’ve happened if you had gone with the rocking chair idea.”
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