HR 5698 passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a not-even-close vote of 382-35. This “Protect and Serve Act” provides Federal penalties for people who deliberately target local, state, and Federal law enforcement officers with violence.
I was out of town last week. He went to church alone. As he pulled up to church a sudden sinking feeling crept upon him. Unsettling. Unnerving. So much so that he sat outside the church in the car for well over 10 minutes breathing a silent prayer. “Please God. Not today. Not here. Not…… Continue reading Not today. Not here. Not today.
That one blue ribbon. I saw it as soon as I topped the hill. There were no other mementos. No other ribbons. Just one thin, blue ribbon tied at the end of the monument. And I wondered. I wondered who tied on that ribbon. I honestly don’t know why I wondered who it was, because…… Continue reading Someone
It’s in Homer’s Odyssey where we first learn about Mentor. When Odysseus, King of Ithaca, leaves to fight the Trojan War, he relegates the care of his household and more importantly, his son Telemachus, to Mentor. Mentor was charged to serve as teacher and overseer of Telemachus while Odysseus was gone. From this Greek mythological…… Continue reading Police Wives Need Good Mentors
This week has been set aside for memorializing police officers who have died in the line of duty. I have thought a lot about these officers. I have thought about the three I personally knew. I thought about how every single day officers put their lives on the line. I thought about what they could…… Continue reading Practice
I am a time traveler. Not the Dr. Who-Marty McFly-Phil Connors-Terminator-Bill & Ted-Dr. Spock kind. I don’t have a time-skipping phone booth or a DeLorean or a TARDIS. I’ve never piloted the Starship Enterprise. I’ve never been beamed-up. Even so, I have earned a significant number of reward miles through my time travels. Time travel…… Continue reading Time Travel
Philosophers have long pondered which came first…the chicken or the egg? As a self-appointed philosopher, I frequently ponder which came first….the boy or the badge? (Disclaimer: I do know and admire the female officers out there, but I don’t live with them, so I’m not qualified to explore their personalities!) Are the guys who become…… Continue reading Which Came First? The Boy or the Badge?
Early in our marriage, we moved to Houston so my husband could seek his fame and fortune at a big city police department. He had been an officer two years in our home town and our little life was rocking right along. I was 22 years old and had never been away from home. Suddenly, I…… Continue reading Life Lessons
All Manner of Things Blue 