Good news on the home front:
PORTLAND, ORE. – A man and his 12-year-old daughter spent the last four years living in a remote hillside in Portland’s Forest Park, police said.
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The man and girl told police they had lived in the park for four years. The pair appeared clean, well-fed and healthy, [Police Officer] Barkley said, and the girl was well-spoken beyond her years.
Why good news? Because the above cop acted like in a very un-coplike manner:
Police persuaded them to leave the camp, promising help them find food and shelter. The pair spent two nights at a homeless shelter. Barkley found the man a job and a place for the two to live on a friend’s horse farm in Yamhill County.
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“The amazing part of this was the fact that Sergeant Barkley really evaluated what was best for these people,” North Precinct Cmdr. Scott Anderson said. “Sometimes police would be a little quicker to hand things off to state workers. But instead … he saw this through to the end.”
You’ll note that the police brass called this “amazing”.
More:
In fact, the girl received a very good education from her father while living among the trees. Officials said the girl, who would be normally in 7th grade, is at a 12th grade equivalency.
“When we interviewed this little girl, she was very impressive. She really was very responsible, and she really looked as though she was way advanced in her years,” said Portland Police Cmdr. Scott Anderson said.
That is, a twelve year old girl who was homeschooled from thrift-store books in a survivialist’s shanty in the forest by a single parent is the equivalent of a public high school graduate.
What does it add up to? The Endarkenment’s engulfing us like a tide of rotten honey, but there are still decent folks out there in the world. I’m very glad that just this once, things went right. Good for Frank and Ruthie, and good for Officer Barkley.