© 2023 Gilles Bertrand
© 2023 Urantia Association of Quebec
Gilles Bertrand (retired police officer)
Quebec
During an exceptionally hot summer, in this decade of 1990, I had a lot of difficulty falling asleep. It is true that on this mid-August afternoon, the children of the neighborhood were having fun cooling off noisily in the swimming pool next door. In my bedroom, despite the curtain being tightly closed, the 3 p.m. sun managed to penetrate inside even without having given it my express invitation. Despite everything, a certain rest was granted to me. Of course, you surely know that multiple schedules are the usual frequency of a cop, whose night shift, this infernal week, happens to him periodically and the latter must manage this recurring problem himself and this was precisely my case.
When evening arrived, the temperature had barely dropped below 30 degrees. In addition, it was a long weekend off and for many the annual vacation, these holidays to get away from it all, were beginning their cycle. My bad feelings as a police officer were quick to manifest themselves. There is usually excitement and tension when there is a mixture of heat, drink and freedom and all this is generally felt especially when leaving bars in the early hours of the morning. So, you my dear friend Gilles Brien, renowned biometeorologist, you would surely validate these experiences of human emotional reactions in the face of a marked rise in temperature. Because when reading your book on this subject “The Human Barometers”, we arrive at the same conclusion of social disorder, word of a peacekeeper.
Designated as the team leader on guard that night, I patrolled these targeted sectors. Indeed, around 3 a.m., in addition to a few calls of agitation and minor disturbances, a phone call from elderly people was received. At that very moment, there was an intruder who had entered the basement of their residence and these elderly people wanted to be secured by our presence.
Within close range of the location and in the company of my fellow passenger, we went to the address in question and arrested a young man who was visibly intoxicated by alcohol and drugs. Incarcerated in the cells of the police station, during the usual procedures, the latter “lost his temper” as they say and let me list some of the pranks he pulled, this will help you understand the reason for my story.
While screaming at the top of his lungs, the individual undressed completely and spun around in his dungeon. For a good hour he projected his excrement, his diarrhea, his vomit on the walls of his cell and on himself. The bars and the floor dripped with these putrid liquids. When the individual regained his senses, he graciously accepted the change of incarceration room because the old one had been too soiled and was obviously no longer suitable.
In a small town of 10,000 souls, community services are present but not necessarily at all hours of the night. I had to wake up the priest of the parish of Saint-Raymond at 5 a.m. so that he could help me out, by unlocking the premises adjacent to the presbytery, the SOS Accueil, this organization providing food and essentials to the needy of the parish. So, with the priest still half asleep, I was able to recover a shirt, jacket, pants, underwear and shoes roughly the size of the young man, socks and especially clean towels and a large bar of soap. These essentials, at that time, were crucial because my man had to meet Mr. Judge in the morning to answer charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.
At the police station, I covered the floor with a police blanket (a yellow paper blanket that is disposable after use) since the shower in the dungeons is located at the end of the corridor leading to the prisoners’ cells. Our friend, who was soaked up to his ears with his own shit, was able to walk up to this place without contaminating anything in his path, to clean himself properly. At that point, I politely suggested to him that he should finish the entire soap before putting on the clean cloth that I had brought him, which he did without hesitation. After a few moments, we were ready to leave for the Quebec Courthouse.
On the way to our destination, calm and silence prevailed. Completely sobered, the young man seemed to become more and more aware of what he had done. He still seemed distressed as we approached the doors of the courthouse.
The usual procedure for us, to introduce a prisoner, is to signal our arrival by telephone communication (including police radio) and it is this approach that I used that morning to gain access to the interior of the protected walls. My conversation with the guard of the building went something like this: …young friend, somewhat disorderly conduct etc…
The young recluse, who seemed a little asleep in the back seat of our police car, suddenly raised his head and promptly addressed us in these terms, or at least here is the spirit of what he wanted to say: I want to thank you for the way I was treated. I certainly did not deserve all your special attention. I vomited and spat everywhere, I cursed… I acted like an animal and you treated me like a human. You respected me while I defecated everywhere. You were patient, you dressed me, but above all while I dozed while you called the courthouse guard, you used terms of human dignity for my own person, even though you thought I was asleep. Thank you for the great lessons I learned thanks to your commendable and meritorious behavior. I had notable prejudices, I admit. I certainly did not deserve this preferential treatment, but I sincerely appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
When I leaf through The Urantia Book and we are told about wisdom, about resolving our difficulties from the religious angle of sons of God, about building museums of beauty, of goodness to follow up on our actions and experiences in the flesh, then these treasures truly radiate into our spiritual life and according to Rodan of Alexandria a better quality of worship also follows…
So here is a very down-to-earth sharing, not to inflate my ego in search of vanity and boasting, but to show the joy of a relationship always possible between our human brothers. These same people who are subject to all kinds of influence and who can be affected by often external considerations and uncontrollable and harmful factors.
In this story, the characters are not fictional and the story is true. I hope that you will take a few moments to also tell in this new formula of Reflectivity, your own personal experiences and emulate us in order to build and share museums of beauty, goodness and artistic greatness.
At that moment, I remember thinking, “ I need some rest before my next shift starts in a few hours. I hope it rains tonight, that will surely bring the temperature down.”