By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Armed with a partially legible Christmas wish list, State Trooper Sgt. Scott Gonzales and Zane Williams took off with their shopping cart Saturday morning at Meijer in Bowling Green.
Zane’s cart pushing proved a little reckless, so Gonzales took over.
The trooper did the driving, and the young boy did the talking.
“I was 6 and a half – now I’m 7,” Zane said.
The pair looked over the Christmas list together.
“I’m not done writing. I want more than that,” Zane said.
“I feel rich,” the boy said – with $125 to spend and a whole store in front of him.
The list included the necessary gloves and hat, possibly requests by Zane’s mom, then a list of toys with names unfamiliar to Gonzales, who doesn’t have kids, and so hasn’t been exposed to some newer toys. Top on Zane’s list were Hatchimals and a Demogorgan costume.
Zane, who rarely stopped talking during his hour-long shopping excursion with the quiet trooper, professed his love for the movie “Deadpool.”
“My mom doesn’t let me watch it cause it has bad words. But I love it,” the boy confessed.
The first stop was in the clothing section – with Zane hastily tossing gloves and a hat in the cart.
“Why are these important?” he asked.
The trooper patiently followed Zane as the boy zig-zagged his way through the store – stopping next at snow boots. In his haste to get to the toys, he threw the first pair he grabbed into the cart. They were far too small, so Gonzales put a larger pair on Zane and checked to make sure there was room to grow.
“They’ve got your seal of approval?” the trooper asked.
“Yup, I can wear them while I get my toys,” Zane answered.
Once in the toy aisles, Zane was able to find any item that made noise – from a bike horn to the Maxx Action Galactic Series Photon Space Rifle.
“Well, it does say ‘Try me’” on the packaging, Gonzales noted.
Zane zeroed in on costumes – like for Spiderman and Star Wars characters.
“Mom buys me suits, but I lose them,” he confided to the trooper.
Gonzales tailed Zane with the shopping cart as he weaved through the store – stopping next at a Santa suit – another item on his wish list.
After letting Zane shop unfettered for the much of the shopping excursion, the trooper intervened.
“I don’t think you want that suit,” he said to Zane, who hadn’t noticed what area of the store he had wandered into. “That’s for girls. I’m just trying to save you.”
So they circled around back to toys, and Zane grabbed any items that caught his eye – a basketball hoop and balls for the bathtub, a container of green slime, and a shiny snowman made from disco globe glass.
At this point, neither boy nor trooper was sure where they stood on their $125 shopping spree. But Gonzales knew they had exceeded the limit.
“I’ll cover it,” he said softly so Zane couldn’t hear.
Like many of the law enforcement officers shopping with kids on Saturday, this wasn’t the trooper’s first time helping brighten the holidays while building bonds with kids.
“It just feels good,” Gonzales said. “You don’t know why kids are in this situation. It brings you down to earth, when you start complaining about something.”
The Wood County Fraternal Order of Police hosted the annual Cops and Kids Shopping Event, pairing police with children from the area and providing gift cards to spend on clothing and toys.
The kids who are invited to participate are referred by the local schools as well as from the officers. On a daily basis, police officers are responding to calls in homes where they can see firsthand that particular families could benefit from a helping hand, explained organizer Dan Van Vorhis.
The event has grown, Van Vorhis said, with 30 law enforcement officers showing up Saturday at the Bowling Green Meijer, and 137 the weekend before at the Rossford Meijer.
The majority of the financial support for the program comes from the community, local businesses and local organizations.
