(London, Kentucky) Constable Richard VanHoose gets 21 cookies at a McDonald’s counter in Grayson, Kentucky.
“Are you the one giving the whole post?”
– No, it’s for my stepson. He’s 21, he’s severely disabled, and he loves cookies. He is a good boy. I got married in September. Third marriage at 76. My wife is 49 years old. Same age as my son. He says I am an old fool. I answer him: “Didn’t I tell you whom to marry? How many children should you have? So I see who I want, marry who I want, p… [il se censure] Who do I want.”
– What does a “constable” do? »
He explains to me the various levels of police, state, county, sheriff, municipal police… Five minutes later, I understand that he is a type of bailiff with a handgun and arrest powers. You still have to be chosen. His term ends in three years.
“We get paid for every order we deliver. I probably made $10,000 last year. Not even a car. It’s mine. » Army and Post Office pensioner shows me will put It is as compact as a constable and is very large.
“Sometimes people don’t want to open. One guy, I told him: “Open, otherwise I’ll send anti-narcotics!” It didn’t take long. Neighbors say it smells bad. Jar Suffocation there. It’s not legal here. When I was a sergeant in Vietnam — because I was a veteran, we say — the guys in my unit often froze. I said to them: “What are we going to do if Charlie attacks?” [c’était le surnom du Viet Cong].
– Okay, Dick [on est devenus familiers], you are a representative of the law, say something. Trump has now been convicted in court. Does this change anything?
– I hope not!
– Yes, but he is a criminal in the eyes of the law, and you represent the law …
– He hasn’t been convicted yet.
– No problem, he was found guilty.
– It will be overturned on appeal. Look, he’s no more guilty than any other president. Like all rich men he paid this woman. Does it bother me? It is between him and his wife and God Almighty. My home, my family and my country are important to me. Trump is the best defender of the country. Only thing is, Putin is dangerous. We are committed to Europe. My father drove a tank under General Patton during WWII. If Trump wants to stop helping Ukraine, we have to stop him, and that’s why Congress exists. »
I wish the constable back to my car. My neighbor rolls down his window in the parking lot.
“Is he a policeman? Can they provide tickets? »
I explain to him what I understand of the powers of a constable in Boyd County, Kentucky. I do a quick visual inspection of the interior of his tired car. There’s an old stereo in the backseat, a dog under the windshield, and lots of miles on the odometer.
I joke to him: “You can go out, he’s gone…” He doesn’t laugh.
“What’s going on Grayson?”
– Nothing really. There is a ham factory. I am a daily wage laborer in construction work. I work here and there. I want to leave this town, I can’t take it anymore.
– Why are you staying?
– I do not have money. And with the child … we had two, but the first child died a child, the doctors could not explain. Then my daughter came and she was precocious. I told my wife, “If she survives, it’s a miracle.” For that she is called Miracle. She is 4 years old, but I am 56 years old, you see …
– What do you think about the election?
– I have voted only once in my life. My cousin contested for the assembly. For the rest, why should I vote? What will it change? It doesn’t change anything, see…”
He shows me the interior of his old Malibu, a testament to the emptiness of politics and the immobility of life.
“But that’s just my opinion. Hey, have a nice trip!”
Matt Orr leaves a Mexican restaurant in London with his girlfriend Martha, her cousin and her parents.
“What do I do? I own a mini-warehouse, I’m going through a divorce, that’s what I’m going through. I’d say specifically a divorce. It’s been going on for two years… My wife and I were building our dream house, but she left with the contractor.
He bursts into laughter.
Photo by YVES BOISVERT, The Press
Matt Orr, his parents Taylor and Caroline and a cousin
“This girl introduced me. She lost her husband, he died of covid at the age of 46… she was my girlfriend.
– He’s doing very well now, his father Taylor admits.
– Trump’s confidence will help him, that’s for sure, Matt said. This will excite his supporters. I consider myself an independent and I’ve voted on both sides, but frankly, look at Biden. He is not everything now, everyone is looking at him. Trump says ridiculous things all the time, but at least he’s not impotent. So, if you’re a Democrat, the punishment won’t change anything, and you won’t vote anymore. I think a lot of Democrats are not motivated. If you’re a Republican, you already know it’s going to end this way, and that cheers you up. Me, I don’t follow it too closely, it’s pretty biased all over the place, but hey, it seemed like it ended pretty well before me, and this story…nothing against the people of New York, but it didn’t bother me, surprise…”
If this ruling is going to change anything, very red eastern Kentucky is not the place to measure it.
