One day is not enough; this year they're getting a weekend, and maybe more!

Yesterday was Thank a Police Officer Day, but I think police don't get enough credit for what they do, so we at The Rochester Voice are officially extending this day of kudos to include today.

And it's poignant that we include this extra day today, a Sunday, because the pomp of a Police Honor Guard like the one Rochester has may never ever again be a fabric of a New England Patriots home game ceremony or any other pro sports pregame.

But this column is not about such unsavory, un-American circumstance.

It's about police and the incredible number of good interactions I've had with them during my time on this rock.

There was the time in Virginia back in the 1980s on Interstate 81 when the family was moving to Orange, Va., for a new job as an English teacher. I was driving a U-Haul truck followed by my wife and children in the family car.

I remember I checked my rearview mirror as I did often and was aghast they were nowhere to be seen, so I pulled over and waited for them to catch up. I must have waited five minutes before I began to panic. Were they in a wreck? Had they had an emergency? Remember there were no cellphones at this time.

About that time a Virginia State Police cruiser pulled over to find out if I was OK. I told them the story, and in less than a minute the officer told me my wife and kids were fine, that the car had broken down and that a tow truck was coming to take it to a garage and another cruiser was bringing my family to reunite with me. They then directed us to a garage in the local town that was situated a block from a good motel where we stayed a couple of days while the car was fixed.

Then there was that time in the mid-1990s when I was living in Lebanon and my car broke down on the Route 16 bypass that leads onto Route 202 toward East Rochester. It was in January, with temps below zero.

Again it was a breakdown, but as often happens in this type of situation I was poorly prepared with no gloves or heavy coat. Again, at this time cellphones were not prevalent.

Within three minutes of the breakdown, a Rochester officer pulled up behind me to see if I was OK. She let me stay warm in her cruiser and waited with me till a tow truck showed up take me home and my car to the shop.

Then there was that time in 2004 when my motorcycle was being worked on at Rochester Motorsports and I was living in Lebanon.

It was a beautiful June day and they said my bike was ready. I didn't want to wait till my friend was gonna give me a ride that afternoon, so I went down to White Mountain Highway in Milton and began thumbing, something I hadn't done in about 30 years.

It felt weird turning and putting my thumb out like a 1960s hippie, but it felt weirder when the first car that came by was a police cruiser.

I turned my back and tried to act like I was just walking, but Lt. Evan Favorite of the Milton Police was not fooled.

You know you can't thumb, he said. Where are you going?

After I told him, he said he'd drive me.

Of course, first he had to pat me down, just for safety sake. I looked at him incredulously. He wasn't kidding, so what the heck, I consented.

I asked him if could ride in front instead of behind the cage.

"Fraid not," he quipped.

Then he drove me to Rochester Motorsports, letting me off at the former Pink Cadillac restaurant so as not to make a spectacle of me arriving at the dealership in a cop car.

Three times, I was the recipient of professional, compassionate and respectful service from our men and women in blue who risk their lives every day to protect and serve.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Now any lawmen who have read this to the end, thank you again. And as an appreciation, the first 10 police officers from Rochester, Dover, Somersworth, Strafford, Milton, Barrington, Farmington or the Strafford County Sheriff's Office or New Hampshire or Maine State Police who email me at therochestervoice@aol.com will get a free year's subscription to The Rochester Voice.

You can read it while enjoying a coffee and doughnut, maybe!