For Mercy's Sake
On a night in 1962, while working a sting operation, the Los Angeles police pulled over a taxi. When the cab came to a stop, two male passengers in the back seat jumped out like it was on fire, leaving behind drugs, possession of which was a felony.
One of the two fugitives was Lenny Bruce, a notorious standup comedian who specialized in obscene attacks on public figures, including cops. He denied that the dope in the backseat was his. The other passenger was a tall, fair-haired young man with a British accent. He too vehemently denied any knowledge of how the drugs got in the backseat of that cab. They were informed that since neither claimed ownership, both would be booked for felony possession.
As the police officers were about to send the cab on its way, the tall fair-haired young man said, “Wait!” He explained that he had labored long in British theater with limited success, but he was in Los Angeles to promote a soon-to-be-released movie that was “a role of a lifetime.” It would make him known world-wide. In an obvious sympathy ploy, he held up his hand and said, “This hand isn’t working perfectly yet. I was bitten by a camel while we were filming.” One of the police officer sneered, “Role of a lifetime my tush. Even the damn camel didn’t like it.”
Turning to Lenny, one cop said, “Hey, Lenny, let’s hear some of your pig jokes. Make us laugh.” Addressing the sergeant on duty, Bruce said, “Sergeant, my career is in your hands. You have the power to damage me irreparably. Haven’t you ever had a human weakness over which you sometimes had little control?”
The sergeant said to the police officers, “Throw the bag down the sewer and put them back in the cab.” They had asked for mercy and they got it! The police officers weren’t happy with that order, but they reluctantly did as ordered. The taxi drove away with the two passengers.
One of the backup officers who was there that night took careful notes. Better than 50 years later he wrote an article explaining what happened to those two men (“The Thespian and the Vice Cops,” Joseph Wambaugh, Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2013, A30). Wambaugh wrote, “I’ve always believed that Bruce tempered his performances, at least as far as cops were concerned, from then until the day he OD’d in 1966.” As for that tall fair-haired young man, Wambaugh wrote, we are all “better off for having him in bars (on the movie screen) rather than behind them.” His name? Peter O’Toole, who had the title role in the film Lawrence of Arabia. He died December 14, 2013.
Two men asked for and received mercy. One squandered the opportunity. The other did not. Those who have trusted Jesus Christ have received mercy. Some squander the opportunity and others make the most of it. For mercy’s sake, present your body a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
© G. Michael Cocoris, 12/28/2013
One of the two fugitives was Lenny Bruce, a notorious standup comedian who specialized in obscene attacks on public figures, including cops. He denied that the dope in the backseat was his. The other passenger was a tall, fair-haired young man with a British accent. He too vehemently denied any knowledge of how the drugs got in the backseat of that cab. They were informed that since neither claimed ownership, both would be booked for felony possession.
As the police officers were about to send the cab on its way, the tall fair-haired young man said, “Wait!” He explained that he had labored long in British theater with limited success, but he was in Los Angeles to promote a soon-to-be-released movie that was “a role of a lifetime.” It would make him known world-wide. In an obvious sympathy ploy, he held up his hand and said, “This hand isn’t working perfectly yet. I was bitten by a camel while we were filming.” One of the police officer sneered, “Role of a lifetime my tush. Even the damn camel didn’t like it.”
Turning to Lenny, one cop said, “Hey, Lenny, let’s hear some of your pig jokes. Make us laugh.” Addressing the sergeant on duty, Bruce said, “Sergeant, my career is in your hands. You have the power to damage me irreparably. Haven’t you ever had a human weakness over which you sometimes had little control?”
The sergeant said to the police officers, “Throw the bag down the sewer and put them back in the cab.” They had asked for mercy and they got it! The police officers weren’t happy with that order, but they reluctantly did as ordered. The taxi drove away with the two passengers.
One of the backup officers who was there that night took careful notes. Better than 50 years later he wrote an article explaining what happened to those two men (“The Thespian and the Vice Cops,” Joseph Wambaugh, Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2013, A30). Wambaugh wrote, “I’ve always believed that Bruce tempered his performances, at least as far as cops were concerned, from then until the day he OD’d in 1966.” As for that tall fair-haired young man, Wambaugh wrote, we are all “better off for having him in bars (on the movie screen) rather than behind them.” His name? Peter O’Toole, who had the title role in the film Lawrence of Arabia. He died December 14, 2013.
Two men asked for and received mercy. One squandered the opportunity. The other did not. Those who have trusted Jesus Christ have received mercy. Some squander the opportunity and others make the most of it. For mercy’s sake, present your body a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
© G. Michael Cocoris, 12/28/2013