All,

Back when I ran a small nature center at a state park in Connecticut
difficult people were especially easy to handle. I was readily
identifiable as a state employee by my regulation tan shirt with the
state seal on it but that usually left most troublemakers unimpressed.
 What did impress them was when I would ask if they had noticed the
Conservation Officers (specially trained state troopers) on the
premises. They would typically respond, "No." To amplify I'd say,
"Well, they're state troopers, actually...you know...the ones with
sidearms? And if you're not prepared to follow my instructions
perhaps you'd rather speak to one of them?"  I would smile and smile
while I said this, trying to look as innocent as possible. And it
always ended the argument...I never once had to call a trooper to
intervene...the mere threat was sufficient.

Rhea Tannenbaum
Exhibits Coordinator
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Boca Raton, FL
[log in to unmask]

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RheaT