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So was the subsequent call from the Secret Service.
But with a black bag on the back of my motorcycle Tuesday night in downtown La Crosse, I suppose I looked threatening.
The officer politely asked me what I was doing. I'm with the Tribune, I told him, and I thought I'd watch Vice President Dick Cheney's motorcade go past.
I had been in the Government Employees Credit Union parking lot at Second and La Crosse streets just minutes earlier, taking notes and waiting for the Cheney entourage to pass by.
About 8:15 p.m., a red security helicopter flew down Copeland Avenue, veered right at Second and hovered over the Radisson Hotel. Police cars with flashing lights were posted along the route, which was lined with no-parking signs.
A police officer drove up to the credit union lot and said I had to move. I tucked my notepad into my jacket and drove off, only to hear the thud of my briefcase on the street. It had fallen off.
"Oh no,'' I thought. "This doesn't look good.''
I circled around, grabbed the briefcase and strapped it onto the back of the bike, drawing another nudge from another officer. By then northbound Copeland was blocked. I didn't want to give up on the idea of seeing Cheney. This is still is the land of the free, isn't it?
I rode around for a minute or two, then got pulled over on Third Street in front of the Tribune.
After identifying myself, I asked the officer the best way to get out of downtown. It would be another 25 minutes before Copeland would reopen, he said. Lang Drive was the way to go.
As I left, that big red helicopter, spotlight trained on the street, came chopping downtown again. It went to the Radisson again, then back toward the airport.
All this security seems overblown, even oppressive sometimes. Besides killing thousands, destroying the World Trade Center and landing a direct hit on the Pentagon, terrorists succeeded in turning the United States into a nation of enormously suspicious people.
Who would have thought just a few years ago that trying to catch a glimpse of the vice president would make a federal suspect out of a guy?
Wouldn't we be so much the braver to go about our lives like we did before, making it perfectly clear that anyone who takes a shot at us will be found and punished severely?
At home I went into my boys' bedroom to kiss them goodnight. Marcus, 3, was holding a little flag in his hand. I asked whether he had it because the vice president was in town, but he doesn't know what a vice president is.
Just then the phone rang. It was the Secret Service, wondering what I had been doing. I answered several questions. The agent was polite. He said I should keep the details between us.
Yes, hold your flag tightly, Marcus. You should have seen it in its glory days, when Dad wouldn't be thought potentially dangerous or foolish for trying to see the vice president while possessing a briefcase.
Let's hope that by the time you grow up, we'll be more free again.
Joe Buttweiler is the Tribune's city editor. He can be reached at (608) 791-8218 or jbuttweiler@lacrossetribune.com.
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