THE COOKIE LADY

  Police radio parlance can vary, with agencies, from arcane numbers and codes to a simple conversational style. Some like the Tens and Signals, others think they just get in the way and confuse what  they were supposed to clarify. The CCSO and NPD have used several different systems over the years. 

  In the 70's, however, you would hear one phrase on the NPD's radio that was unique to their police comm system: "Good morning Cookie Lady."

  This was usually spoken by the officer assigned to a specific zone. And it was common to hear, "Good night Cookie Lady" when the cop assigned to that zone went off duty for the night.

 Was this some super-secret code phrase used to baffle radio eavesdroppers? Something concocted to set in motion or cease some covert operation?  Nope, it was just a salutation to a nice lady who was a regular listener.

  The Cookie Lady was an elderly woman who befriended cops by dropping off plates of the wonderful yummies she baked for the officers who worked in her residential zone. She was a regular contributor and an avid listener. She knew all the officer's badge numbers and shifts and if she didn't hear one of them on the radio when they should be, she'd be on the phone to the PD asking if they were ill or injured. She worried about them and their safety. The officers all knew it and loved her for it.

  Yep, everyone loved the Cookie Lady's cookies, but I think they liked her mothering more.
  Now, if she had been The Donut Lady. . .