Hard to say when the clouds of suspicion crept into my vision.

It might have started in 1988, when I sat stunned in my room after watching judges rob American boxing phenom Roy Jones Jr. of the Olympic gold medal. With straight faces, they awarded it to his opponent from the host country of South Korea - a schmoe who had been outpunched nearly 3-to-1.

As a teenager, I already had a mental list of sleazeballs not to trust. But that was one of the institutions I thought had remained pure and unblemished. Till then, corruption wasn't a familiar word to me.

The clouds definitely grew darker in college, when a professor openly ridiculed one of my classmates for how he voted in the presidential election. Some, that taught me, are driven by an agenda less noble than a desire to teach.

Then I dove into this profession and learned just how many clouds have entered our skies. Even now, one of them occasionally sends a lightning bolt through our cynical minds to jolt us.

Like the guy who impersonated a cop, pulling over a woman last week near the crossing of highways 45 and 20 and then sexually assaulting her. Not many drivers would've had even a speck of suspicion to wonder if it was a real traffic stop. They would be too busy trying to figure out what they'd done wrong and how they'd afford the ticket.

Next time someone gets pulled over, that kernel of suspicion might linger. Hey, are those flashing lights the right color? Does that badge look a little too shiny?

Thankfully, most of us don't suffer such harsh lessons in skepticism. A year or two back in the Wind Lake and Muskego areas, a handful of businesses complained of visits from bogus sheriff's deputies.

At least one turned out to be a real off-duty deputy. His only offense was creeping out a tanning salon owner.

It's sad what one goonball can do to bruise the trust in an entire institution. Joshua Dyess did that worse than anybody.

This week he got 30 years in prison for sneaking around Red Apple Elementary School and sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy last winter. Hopefully, it doesn't take nearly that long for the poor victim to overcome it.

Suddenly the security rules throughout the district got stricter. Some school offices were realigned so staff weren't blindly buzzing in any old straggler. Visitors, where they didn't already, had to sign in.

All good responses to a bad thing - just not foolproof.

Which means the next generation of parents will have one more thing to warn their children about. If "don't talk to strangers" is rule No. 1, "stay away from anyone without an ID badge" becomes rule No. 1a. I'll tell you why when you're older, son.

One good thing about clouds of suspicion: Unlike the snow clouds permanently parked above the county, they sit in the background.

Look at cancer donations. Just about every week a benefit successfully raises cash for a different local patient. Heather Brehm's fake cancer episode three years ago hasn't scared off generous cheeseheads.

Streetwise, not paranoid. It's almost a certainty the officer who pulls us over will be the real thing. Just like it's almost a certainty schools will keep out the criminals.

If that small tinge of suspicion in the corners of our eyes could be translated, that's what it'd say.

Almost.

Mike Moore can be reached at (262) 631-1724 or

mike.moore@lee.net