Day in the life

This was written earlier in the summer and I just wanted to share it with everyone. It is reprinted with permission of C&S Media Publications, Inc.

Preparing to spend a shift with an officer of the Farmersville Police Department was a bit nervewracking. With the recent string of crimes such as the burglaries, the downtown businesses being shot I just didn’t know what to expect.

As I met Patrol Sargeant Brian Alford at the police department and entered the police car, I was calmed down by Officer Alford’s cheerful demeanor and his confidence toward his job.

The shift began with his explanation of the inside of the car, including moving the computer sideways so we could both see the screen. His explanation of the computer codes proved to be very helpful as calls from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Princeton PD and of course, Farmersville calls began to roll in. The first order of business it seemed for most police officers at the time we entered the vehicle was dinner. Officers throughout Collin County began to check out for dinner and Pizza Ghetti seemed to be a popular hangout for some of the Collin County Deputies. One officer went to Salt Grass and then several simply returned to their residences to eat dinner.

The first call we received as Officer Alford and myself drove traffic on Hwy. 78 was to serve as backup for another Farmersville Officer Chris Wallace. The call was a civil call at the Quik Check/Exxon station. Both Alford and myself thought it was an unusual place for a civil call but went to investigate nonetheless.

As Officer Wallace and Officer Alford went to talk to a gentleman about a custody complaint, I remained in the vehicle simply observing. At this point, I was also observing looming clouds pushed toward us by Hurricane Alex. It was going to rain, it was just a matter of time.

It turns out the gentleman who had placed the call had a scheduled custody appointment and the grandmother, who had permanent custody of the children, was 30 minutes late delivering them. Since the gentleman had a court order not to go to the residence where his three children were at, he called the PD to get an officer to go and get the children for the custody visit. In short, Officer Alford said he did what he was supposed to do.

As both officers, along with the gentleman (under police directive) went to the house to get the children, I rode along wondering what, if anything would occur. I was nervous. I had heard that custody disputes and domestic disturbances are usually two of the most dangerous types of calls.

When the officers spoke to the grandmother after doning bright yellow rain slickers, they learned that two of the children were at the house and after a phone call, the other one was on their way back from the movies. In short, we waited until all three children could be reunited with their father. After a brief wait, the kids ran to their dad … all smiles, happy to see him, bounding up to him with teddy bears in hand. I asked the officer if it was worth it to see the kids happy to see their dad.

Smiling, he replied, “Absolutely. It’s never fun to have to give kids to their parents when they don’t want to see them.”

The shift continued on, in the rain, we drove up and down Hwy. 78, Hwy. 380 (especially watching the Shell station) and through Farmersville and downtown. The rain was driving down, pouring. Officer Alford and myself decided it was perhaps time for a dinner break and headed toward Charlie’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, a favorite of both of us.

Walking in, it was evident that the officer had a very cordial relationship with the staff at Charlie’s and apparently spent a great deal of time eating there. As a meal of meatloaf and Bratwurst was consumed, I quickly learned that eating with a well-liked cop had its benefits … fresh tea and great service.

After eating, we proceeded to start patrolling once again. Driving around, I began to get sleepy (this was at about 9 p.m. and the shift lasted until midnight.) I asked the officer how in the world he stayed alert and awake on his late night shift. “Lots of sugar and caffeine,” was his response.

As the officer began to look for traffic stops, which was difficult due to the rain, I learned that pulling a u-turn on Hwy. 380 was not an easy task. Traffic made it dangerous and the rain cut down on the visibility at night. Combined with the fact that most citizens seem to be law abiding, at least the night of my ride along, it was hard to pull people over. Several chuckles were issued by myself at how much people slowed down when they realized that was a cop around. When I asked the officer if it ever annoyed him he said, “No, that’s what were here for. To make sure people slow down and follow the law.”

Continuing to patrol, we eventually pulled over a couple of people for minor traffic violations, a couple of headlights being out. No tickets were written. I could lie and say the flashing lights and pursuit wasn’t enjoyable for myself, but I would be lying. It was exciting and the red and blue lights definitely look different from inside the police car. One thing I learned inside the car during traffic stops is that each and every license plate, to check to see if they have warrants, had to be ran through Collin County dispatch, which takes some time depending on what is going on in the rest of Collin County.

We continued to patrol, especially around the businesses, crossed paths with Officer Wallace and Officer Landry (who had came on duty at that point) a couple of times. The officer did a couple of security checks requested by businesses and home owners away for the weekend or on vacation. We eventually responded to an interior alarm for a business. It was a bird trapped inside but it had to be checked out nonetheless.

As the end of the shift approached, a call was received about a motorist assist at Sonic. The car had apparently gone haywire, just shut itself down and was locked in park. The motorist was going to have the car towed the next morning and just wanted to make sure it was ok to leave it in the parking lot overnight. After confirming with Sonic, that it was indeed ok, we made our way back to the police station.

After talking to Officer Alford about another possible ride along during the day because of it being so slow, I began to make my way, yawning, home. Officer Alford, however, went inside to finish paperwork and to go home to prepare for his other job. He had another eight hours to go before he could get sleep due to working security in Dallas. I learned that most officers have more than one job due to the pay scale throughout Farmersville and Collin County.

I learned lots during my ride along but most importantly I learned that an ordinary day in the life of a police officer isn’t always fun or exciting. Sometimes it’s really boring and full of empty streets.

Today was hard

As a reporter there are always things that are hard to deal with. Hard news, like fires, floods and accidents, while exciting to some extent to cover, always leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Yes, I believe it's news. Yes, I believe it belongs in the paper with specifics as the case allows. But while shooting the photos, taking down the facts, getting the news, the names, the specifics, in the back of my mind I always am thinking, someone's life changed today. Someone's family is hurting or in some cases, about to hurt.

Today was one of those days. Without going into specifics, there was a bad accident. Someone was killed. And emergency responders (i.e. cops, fire fighters, paramedics) couldn't help.

I like to play like I'm a big, bad, tough reporter, not afraid of anything or anyone but the truth is, I am a bit shaken up today. I am sad. Someone's life, in the blink of an eye, is over. Someone's family is hurting.

I'm also sad for the emergency workers who have to live things like this everyday. Who train and work hard and struggle and battle fires but who sometimes, despite their best effort, God has other plans.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and to all the local responders who do a very difficult job everyday.

10 things you may not have known about me

Hello fellow readers.

Though this isn't an original concept (thanks for the idea from Pencil to Paper) I thought maybe I would let some of you new readers get to know me better.

Here are a few things you may not know about me (10 to be exact):

10) I have a compulsive disorder toward cupcakes and other baked goods. Other may call it cravings or a passion, but mine goes far beyond that. I eat a cupcake (especially from Sprinkles in Dallas) and start trying to break down its ingredients. (I will conquer you elusive cupcake.)

9) I really, really, really dislike country music. Yep, I am a rock fan. Give me Tool, Rage Against the Machine and A Perfect Circle any day. I can't stand sappy country songs and have been known to walk outside of karaoke clubs when someone is singing one.

8) I'm not good at relationships (at least not of the male variety romance). I just fail or missed the gene on that one. Ironically, most of my friends are guys and I really don't have a problem maintaining friendships. Hmm.

7) I didn't know my brother and sister until I was 21. I met my half brother and sister when I was 21 and found out I have six nieces. Yep, long story but I am so glad I have them all.

6) I don't drink carbonated drinks. If you're close to me, you know why but due to health issues, I haven't had anything with carbonation in more than a year. I don't really miss Dr. Pepper, but sometimes I dream about Sonic Ocean Water. Tear.

5) I have irrational fears... of clowns, mirrors at night (I actually cover mine up every night), tornadoes and spiders. I once duck taped a spider in my closet (all four sides, all the way around) until a friend could come over to kill it for me. It was big and had eight legs. Only requirement I need.

4) I am an avid reader. I don't mean occasionally, I mean everyday. I read for at least 30 minutes a day (usually right before bedtime) and have lots of different interests. I often read more than one book at a time and more than genre at a time. Half Price Books is a great thing.

3) I can't stand dishonesty. I can deal with many things in my life (including mirrors and spiders) but dishonesty isn't one of them. I would rather people be totally honest, even to the point of brutal, than to even think about lying to me. Been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.

2) I'm divorced. Yep, married for almost 2 years, been divorced for 5. Yep it hurt but it had to happen.

1) I love nature photos. Though I am a journalist by profession I love to try to capture unique settings through my photos. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. I usually take the best ones and put them in a calendar for my family each year. They love it.