Time Goes By

Has it really been over three years since I last took off my uniform, gun belt and badge? It seems like just last week I was sitting in my cruiser, in the lot of Richland Bank in Lexington at 0300 hours, amazed that the bank's time/temp sign displayed '-9' degrees.

It seemed much colder.

I don't have to do that anymore. Now, when it gets that cold, I'm snoozing away in our cozy home at Ram Field Ranch, snuggled in with an extra blanket as my redheaded angel slumbers next to me. Well, not right next to me because Roscoe, our lovable pit bull, prefers to sleep between us.

Under the blankets.

Early in the morning, and 'early' usually means around 0430 hours or so, I dress, creep out of the bedroom and begin my day, punching the 'start' button on the coffee maker first thing. Tim Horton's black gold gets things rolliing.

After breakfast is when I do the bulk of my writing, both for this blog and another I have that concerns my other passion: metal detecting. You can find that link here:
https://searchingforhistoryblog.wordpress.com/

I browse news websites, mainly concerning items about law enforcement and crime, formulating a blog entry as I go. This morning was no different...except I couldn't find a topic that jumped off the laptop at me. So I sat, thinking and remembering events that took place just this past week and several decades ago, running endlessly through my mind, events that I will forever remember...or forget tomorrow.

I've written about my pal Troy Weaver, now a Captain at Lexington PD and my partner on night shift for the last six years of my career. I had the opportunity to spend about an hour with him a few days ago at LPD's pistol range; Troy is a firearms instructor and it was time for my yearly qualification with the Smith and Wesson M&P .40 caliber compact I carry. Retired coppers can carry concealed as long as they complete this annual requirement and my year-long permit was approaching invalidation.

We chatted about various topics as I shot the course, recalling certain incidents and humorous anectdotes we'd experienced, generally catching up on life since the last time we'd spoken. He told me about an incident that involved a police officer in another jurisdiction and an unannounced pursuit that ended with the officer crashing his cruiser. No one had any idea he was chasing another vehicle; why he wouldn't call it in on the cruiser radio is inexcusable. Another LPD copper I used to work with, Jon VanHouten, arrived and he also caught me up, telling me his daughter Addyson, now fourteen, was a high school freshman. She'd gone from 7th grade to 9th grade, completely bypassing one grade; that's how intelligent she is. I was still hearing '14', though....unbelievable, since I recall plain as day when Jon told me his wife Amber was pregnant with Addy.

Time stops for no one. I know it's an old adage but it bears truth.

Then there was last week, when I'd gotten a call from Capt.Shari Robertson of Mansfield PD, asking if I could assist the Detective Bureau in locating a buried metal item that was connected to a serious crime. She knows I am a pretty dedicated metal detectorist and former policeman who will help my brothers and sisters out whenever I can.

I can recall clearly the first time I ever met Shari, too, in roll call at MPD; there was a remark made that first day as she sat amongst the otherwise all-male shift, something uncalled-for that was insulting.

She stood up for herself and called the other officer out. Right in the middle of roll call.

That, in my book, made her all right with me. Shari has gone on to become a good cop, one I trust without question. Some say she doesn't deserve her current position, one which she attained by appointment, and to those naysayers I say 'bunk'. I can think of a few others who'd risen in rank quickly who were much less qualified for their rank than Shari. A couple of those people had no business even being police officers, people who are/were great at taking tests but inept and unsafe on the street, people who just punched the clock and put their time in. They just answered calls, did nothing proactively, have/had no major arrests on which to hang their hats.

Yet they are in positions of command.

If the general public only knew of the types of cops these test-takers were/are they'd be grievously concerned.

I certainly am.

Though I no longer wear a badge, I am out there in spirit with my brothers and sisters. Inwardly, I worry for their safety, both from within the departments they serve and from the increasing dangers they face daily in this world gone mad. It isn't the same world I knew even three years ago.

Not even at 0300 hours on a very cold night.