Lick my...history or Why I love history.

I have a love of eccentric history because it usually is better and more unique than any fiction out there.  I have not had many converts that have learned to love history as I do but here is just a sample of what they/you are missing.

From Wired Magazine...  Wired Link

FYI one of the Mozart Cannons is Leck mich im Arsch and Difficile lectu

Prototype: Gotz of the Iron Hand—Fierce Knight, Fearsome Prosthetic

• By Chris Baker  
• June 28, 2011  |  
• 12:00 pm  |  
• Wired July 2011

Photo: Gemeinde Jagsthausen

The Six Million Dollar Man, Darth Vader, Robocop—we have a passion for badasses who restore their mortal bodies with machinery. One of the earliest and most badassy cyborg action heroes was born 500 years ago in Württemberg, Germany. Gottfried “Götz” von Berlichingen grew up to become a knight of the Holy Roman Empire who robbed nobles and merchants in his free time. In 1504, he was struck by a cannonball during the Siege of Landshut. The impact ripped off his right hand and blew shrapnel from his sword and armor clean through his arm. It’s a miracle he survived. A normal man would’ve retired to a farmhouse on the Danube. Not Götz. He had an armorer fashion an iron limb with articulated fingers controlled by gears inside the prosthetic. With the appendage, he was able to grip anything from a sword to a quill pen. The handicapable warrior went on to cut an unholy swath across the continent for another 40 years, pillaging, murdering, and basically flipping the metal bird to authority. Götz became a Robin Hood-like figure in Germany, and his pioneering prosthetic was a symbol of the nation’s mechanical ingenuity. Goethe wrote a play about his exploits, and his famous battle cry, “Leck mich im Arsch!” (Lick my ass!), was celebrated by Mozart in not one but two canons. (True fact, look it up.)

PS:Wired magazine a great magazine...was reading it in the wire room between calls.

Status Update

Okay, things are normalizing at the homestead and hopefully regular blog posts to follow.  Threw more than 40 35-gallon trash bags into the alley, along with two play-school slides, a play-school wagon, a treadmill, an exercise bicycle, financial documents from 1991, a baby bounce up seat and well stuff to damaged to identify.

Further climbed on the roof with a buddy to tarp up the hole to keep water from rolling in, which went a little longer then projected when I made light of his weight problem and the ability of the roof to withstand it .  The work stoppage was cancelled when negations reached the correct ratio of apologies to free beer.  Meanwhile we are in a waiting pattern because of a conflict between the roofers and the insurance company.

So all that to say a couple of quick hits and a review of a great pair of tactical boots that I just tried from 5.11.  And by Friday hopefully normalcy and posting.

And as I am typing a storm just came in and what to do know?  Water is coming into the second floor playroom...yeah, home ownership, embrace it.

James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

Long Delay Between Posts

It been an interesting three weeks.  Death in the family, tree fell on roof causing a hole in probably the worst spot possible and basement flooding with about six inches of sewer water.  I am thinking that God is telling me that my home should really be a two story enclosed above ground pool.

Not my house but it sure felt like it for a while

12 year old boys-a quick guide

I had the good fortune (and probably his misfortune) to complete a home project with my 12-year-old son last Sunday.  The task consisted of cleaning the gutters, laying down heater coil so the  icicle farm that had been growing on the front stoop every winter would finally vacation south and finally, lay down some gutter guard so that the plants that are currently making our roof green will no longer have a matrix of dead leaf matter for growth.

The elements?  A 1950's two stage wooden ladder that weighs at least 75 pounds, a home that has a walk up first floor so the roof that we were working on was really about a story and a half off the ground and one easily distracted boy.

On to the brief guide for understanding the elements contained in 12 year old boys.

1.  They're Ninjas.  I do not remember ever receiving advanced convert infiltration and camouflage techniques in elementary school but then I did not go to private school like him.  I would go up the ladder, get to the top, realize that I needed the clippers, shout down to "Luke" and ask him to throw them up.  I would look down to find out why he is not answering and *poof* he was gone.  It was less than thirty seconds and somehow he got from the base of the ladder and into the house without making a sound.  I didn't even see the front door open and it was in full view!  I would then, clomp, clomp, down the ladder yelling his name and find him in the house in the bathroom or in the kitchen fixing a snack, sneaking television on the second floor bedroom or walking behind the garage in the alley behind the house.  I would yell at him for a bit, then bring him back to the ladder.  And...*poof* he was gone again.  I half expected to look up and see him escaping by hopping from one roof top to another, into the distance.

2.  They don't think past the immediate moment.  Luke was very excited to help with our project but it was clearly evident that it was not because he wanted a father-son day but rather he wanted to get on the roof.  I had to stop him from climbing the ladder directly behind me and multiple of times I had to answer the question, "When can I go on the roof?" with "when we have a second."  My final answer shot me straight back to when I was 12 and with my Dad.  "If you ask me one more time there will be no __________! (roof in this case)"  I tell Luke to hold the ladder. I have to get on the roof and check a few things and try to find out how the birds are getting into the chimney.   So I am up on the roof for about five minutes doing my best not to fall off and I look up and there is Luke (see item 1) standing next to me.  I look at the ladder nestled at an extremely vertical angle on one side of the house, which is why there needed to be a man holding the ladder at the ascent and the decent.  I look at my son and ask, "So the third man on our team is now holding the ladder?"  He looks at me and says, "Um there are only two of us..."  I look at him long and hard and ask, "right, so...since your here with me, who is going to hold the ladder so we can get off the roof?"  His response? "But I wanted to get on the roof."  Flash forward, I am laying on my back on the roof, one foot in the gutter, the other thrown as far as I can to the side of the sloping wall to brace myself, while I pull back on the ladder with one hand so that dumba#$, I mean, my son, can crawl over me, get on the ladder and descend to the bottom safely.  Oh and by the way he stepped on my leg in the process.

3.  They do not look at you when your talking to them.  This happened about a hundred times.  I would say, Luke we need to do, this and that.  You need to get this and go there.  I would be pointing at what I wanted him to take and where to go.  Each and every time...I mean, EACH AND EVERY TIME, he would start off in the wrong direction or could not find the item he needed.  I would have to say, "look, look at me I AM POINTING AT WHERE IT IS!!!!!!!!!"  Luke would then say, "Oh ok I did not know it was over there."  I would then remind him, "THAT's WHY I AM POINTING TO IT!!!!!!!!!!"

4.  They edit your conversation to suit their needs.  When I say, "Ok I am at a bad angle here, stay at the bottom of the ladder so I do not fall off".  Translates, "Hey when I get to the top of the ladder, that would be a great time to go inside and go the bathroom.  Oh and do not tell me your doing it."  When confronted with his action and what my request had been I get, "But you said fifteen weeks ago that I do not need to ask you every time I need to go the bathroom and you only need me to hold the ladder while you were going up".  I then had to remind him that I said, "Stay at the bottom, in other words: do not move, remain, man your post and don't F'en MOVE!"  To which the response is, "Oh I didn't understand that."

5.  They quit and they quit quickly.  "Ok, Luke.  We need to bring the ladder down, its heavy but I don't have to tell you that.  So your job is to simply grind this one leg down into the ground and don't let it move.  I'll bring down the rest of the ladder.  What ever you do, don't let that leg go anywhere."  So I start lowering the ladder by tilting it to the side and well, right before the entire ladder was horizontal to the ground the leg brakes free and the ladder turns into a see-saw with me as the fulcrum. I drop it and *crack* right into my shin.  After jumping around and increasing my physical fitness for the day, I ask, "why did you let go of the leg of the ladder?"  A long story then followed that could be summarized this way, it got hard so I let it go. Another example of this is the request every 15 minutes for a "break".  Yet strangely enough the "break" is never long enough and has no lasting affect since in the next 15 minutes a break would be requested again.

6.  If it is funny the first time saying it a thousand times more makes it even funnier.  I really don't have to explain this one much further.  I would say something that would strike Luke as funny and he would then, for the next two hours, quote me back to myself.  I would gently say to Luke, "Luke I know that is funny, that's why I said it to you.  I do not need you to say what I said back to me."  Which would stop Luke for about 10 milliseconds.  I have to admit you gotta love his gusto.  He laughed with the same level of intensity at the first telling as with the one thousand seven hundred and thirty-fourth telling of my cheesy one liner.

Father and son bonding...more keystone cop than family circus...at least in my household.

Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund

I had the opportunity to visit the memorial in Washington DC.  It is a sobering to realize how many Police Officers have given their lives keeping America safe and free.  It is a worthy cause to contribute too.  Their Link National Law Enforcement Memorial Their Blog http://nleomf.blogspot.com/

On the walls that surround a reflecting pool are the names of all the fallen.

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Evangelizing in the Downtown

Another Pamphlet that was handed to me again when I was walking downtown.  What a great ministry.  Link: Rock of Israel  

Why the Police Learn to Dislike the Public

There is an old adage in Law Enforcement that says:  This would be a great job except for the people you work with and the people you serve.

There are many examples for why the Police learn to dislike the public.

Below is one such reason 

Story link from CNET http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20073165-71/man-takes-hostage-for-16-hours-updates-facebook/

JUNE 21, 2011 10:08 PM PDT
Man takes hostage for 16 hours, updates Facebook

"I'm currently in a standoff...kinda ugly, but ready for whatever."

This is, perhaps, not the average Facebook update. But it seems that it's one that was posted by Jason Valdez, 36, while he reportedly held a woman hostage for 16 hours.

According to the Associated Press, Valdez held the woman in a motel in Ogden, Utah. While he was there, he used Facebook to send messages to his friends and his family.
It seems that Valdez had barricaded himself and the hostage in the motel room after the police attempted to serve a warrant for a felony drug offense.

However, during the standoff, he even posted pictures of himself and her to Facebook, with the immortal update: "Got a cute 'Hostage' huh."

In reply, friends warned him about SWAT team members that were positioned in the bushes.

It didn't end well.

When the SWAT team stormed the motel room, Valdez reportedly shot himself and is now in critical condition.

However, the Facebook posts--and the replies--make for macabre reading.

For example, Valdez posted: "I'm currently in a stand off wit these shady [epithet] from old, kinda ugly but ready for whatever, I love u guyz and if I don't make it out of here alive that I'm in a better place and u were all great friends."

To which one acquaintance replied: "dude you're an idiot."

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

• People do not walk into the surgical theater where a friend/family member is under the knife and attempt to help the surgeon.  Why then do they attempt to intervene in a hostage crisis?
•  Warning him about how SWAT is positioned?  This creates the classic "Us against them" that some Officers develop.
• Read the comments in any of the new articles on line and they are predominately anti-Law Enforcement?  Think we do not  notice?
• Is she a victim or an accomplice?
• Finally after he has done all this, his family is still coming with the ridiculous lawsuit for wrongful death (if he dies-by his own hand which still will not matter) or depreciation of rights if he lives.  Either way the officers have to worry about their homes for the next decade or so.

*Sigh*

Paracord Survival Bracelet

My first one

One of Mine

I have begun wearing a paracord (550lbs minimum breaking strength) survival bracelet on my right wrist whenever I am on duty.   If you are not familiar with it, it is a bracelet woven and tied into a knot from one or more pieces of cord that when unraveled can provide, depending on wrist size, 14' to 24' of cord.  The bracelet is basically like carrying a loop of rope that you forget that you even have it with you until the need arrives.  It is also cheep, easy to get and all over the internet.  I only purchase mine (I have several in a bunch of different colors) that are either made by our military or organizations selling them as fund raisers for worthy charities.  Bear Grylls from Man Vs. Wild, wears one made by survival straps (Link: Survival Bracelet Purchase) and more importantly a lot of our troops overseas.  I would strongly recommend wearing one regardless of your mission, profession or duties it will come in handy for anyone. 

Cool Things-Getting the word out about Christ.

I was walking down the street in our downtown area heading for work, when I was handed this pamphlet on the street.  What a neat tract!  You have to reconstruct it with the fold with my two scans but it will make sense once that is done.  I always love the different ways people attempt to reach others for Jesus.

Cop Writers a Newspaper Article

I was told about this article in the paper in McComb Mississippi about the book “Stories of Faith and Courage from Cops on the Street,” compiled by Grant Wolf (2010, God & Country Press).  I have contributed a number of chapters to it also as has Lt Gill who is the subject of this article.  I receive/received nothing for my contribution so the link to purchase from Amazon that follows is my sincere recommendation that this book is a must read for anyone in law enforcement, family member of one in law enforcement, a well wisher, someone contemplating this employment  or everyone else for that matter.

http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Courage-Street-Battlefields-Blessings/dp/0899571123/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285910184&sr=8-1

The Article

WATCHMAN ON THE WALLS (Link News Article from Enterprise Journal)

By Ernest Herndon, Enterprise-Journal

A McComb police lieutenant is a contributor to a new book of writings from law enforcement officers around the world who share the importance of religious faith in their work.

Lt. Sean Gill has two chapters in “Stories of Faith and Courage from Cops on the Street,” compiled by Grant Wolf (2010, God & Country Press). The book consists of 365 one- to two-page entries, one for each day of the year.

Each of Gill’s chapters consists of a poem followed by a description of what inspired it.

“A Service Call” describes an officer’s feelings when the radio sounds, dispatching him to a scene. “Final Rest” was inspired by a train wreck that left three children dead.

Gill, 46, has been writing for around 20 years. After he became a Christian in 1997, his poems and essays turned to spiritual themes.

He ran across the book “The Peacekeepers: A Bible Study for Law Enforcement Officers” by Michael Dye of Florida. Gill read the book, contacted Dye, and they became friends.

Gill then found out about the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers and joined. When then-president Grant Wolf issued a call for writings to compile in a book, Gill sent him some.

The resulting book came out in late 2010. It’s available at local bookstores and online, Gill said.

Gill, whose middle name is Aaron, signs his writings “from Aaron’s pen.” He plans eventually to compile his work into a book of his own.

Gill grew up in Bogalusa, La., where his father, the late John Wayne Gill, died of brain cancer when Sean was in high school.

He spent six years in the Army, including three in Italy. When he got out, he went to work for the New Orleans Police Department for a year, then applied to the McComb Police Department, where he’s been for 20 years.

Gill and his wife Tamara have two daughters, Hannah, 9, and Sarah, 7.

Gill was attending church at Thompson Baptist when he was baptized in the East Fork of the Amite River. He and Tamara attend Grace Temple Ministries of Hattiesburg, where they started going when she was a student at University of Southern Mississippi.

Two years ago he went on a short-term mission trip to Kenya, Africa, to help build a seminary.

Gill credits Tamara with leading him to Christ. “Tamara was the light of God’s world stepping down into the darkness of my life,” he said.

He sees police work as a calling from God and cites Bible passages that seem to support that view.

• Isaiah 62:6: “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem.”

• Ezekiel 3:17: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel.”

• Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

• Romans 13:4: “For he (governing authority) is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing.”

Gill also takes inspiration from Ephesians 6:10-20, which describes putting on the “armor of God.” Gill said he thinks about that when putting on his uniform.

“I’ve come to see that this is my purpose, what God is calling me to do,” Gill said of police work.

“He calls on us to serve Him in everything we do. My job as law enforcement officer is an intricate part of serving Him.”

Gill hopes people will read the new book. The writings, from officers across America and in other countries, describe incidents ranging from life-and-death experiences to day-to-day tasks.

“It will definitely give insight into law enforcement. That’s definitely what we need, given the negative stigma in law enforcement,” Gill said.

“Hopefully this will open up some of our fellow officers in, ‘Hey, this is where God placed me.’ ”

List-Point and Click Games (Best Of)

As previous postings assert, I am a gamer.  There are times where an excellent in depth, long duration game is appropriate and there are other times where a solid twenty to sixty minute game on-line is better.  The following is a list of games I have played and their links.  A "best of" from my personal experience.  The list in no particular order.

1.  Little Wheel -One of the best I have ever played... original, smart, intuitive, beautiful, excellent story line.

2.  Samorost 1-Original, original, original-organically beautiful, story a little simplistic.

3.  Dark Visions-Reminded me of the best of the early PC point and click games. Excellent story, some puzzles are not intuitive.

4.  The Dreamerz-excellent and hard.  Really enjoyed playing it and did I say it was hard?  Very unique and surreal, Oh and did I say it was hard?

5.  Loondon-beautiful, excellent story line, and again unique.  Puzzles too simple would have an incredible game if the two difficulty levels from Dreamerz and Loondon were combined.

6.  Alice is Dead-Point and Click macabre mystery very well done.  Has three episodes.

7.  Vorago-Its the end of the world-Christian point and click without the usual Davy or Goliath or the gentle love.  From the excellent studio Godlimations.com

8.  Bowja The Ninja-Excellent, simple, had me flashing back to the Gameland in Lake Geneva WI in the late 80's, may it RIP.

9.  Aurora-The Old West, Mystery, Super Natural...if it had Doctor Who in it with Resident Evil I would never have to play another game again.

10.  Monster Basement-another Godlimations...I like it but I really don't know why.

11.  Morningstar -Excellent if short, mystery-sci-fi, clicking brown on brown objects...

12.  Bela Kovacs and the Trail of Blood-Ambitious, Hungarian, doesn't quite work but I understood their drive and my increased cultural understanding of our brothers across the world...

13.   Colour My Fate-A proof of the less is more principle plus they spell color the European way, reminds me of all the reports that got kicked back because of the word "grey" and my Germanic sevens.

 14.   Owls Nest-Oh how I wanted this to be great...undead Nazi's how can that miss...well it does but only by a little and if you have time to kill and souls to eat its worth a play.

15.  Hetherdale-Excellent...what else is there to say...Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull of Doom (keep Lucas away from the director's chair) style done well.

16. Coma-Aspires to be little wheel and comes very close.  Very Playable.

17. Miestas 2-Arty with a dose of yuck.  Brilliant and yet very newspaper-y.

18. Treasure Box-Ok I guess I have a love of the "arty" games...play it...enjoy it...wonder at the mind that created it.

There you have it, about 20 hours for you to burn and also, well, enjoy.

1 Corinthians 9:25
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

PS:  Anyone need a consultant (free) for any point and click police games?  Or any games at all?  I am available.

*Sigh* still no calls... oh wait...not a game designer...*sigh*

Cool Things from the Tactical Gear Blog

Not at Tactical Gear Blog...

I received an email from the Tactical Gear Blog about two fairly cool things:

The first is a contest in which you can win a Suunto Core Watch (Its something I've always wanted, extremely cool) by posting your best "hardcore" story in 75 words or less on their web site or facebook page.

Link: Tactical Gear Blog Contest

The second is a Father's day gift idea list with a number of things I would like to receive from my two kids (Hint: helicopter- surveillance would be so much easier with my own helicopter) ...but it will probably be a tactical tie...its the thought that counts.

Link: Father's day gift list

Hope this resource helps.

PS:  Why does it make it so darn desirable when they paint it black and write tactical on it?

Spamalot Ticket

Our Lives are Governed by the Extremes not the Norms

I am, just like almost every Police Officer I know, a HUGE proponent of the concealed carry laws in 48 of our 50 states.  In most cases Police responses take six to eight minutes and require a phone call to start the response clock.  In that time frame, a lot of very unfortunate things can happen to you that if you would/could defend yourself, you would at least give us a chance to get their before your are permanently deprived of your possessions, your innocence, your sexuality or your life.

But, of course, to give the opposition the factual ammo to attempt to argue that you, as the average citizen, lack the capacity, the ability and the intelligence to protect yourself in a violent encounter and that you should wait till the experts arrive to help you, because the damage you would create attempting to keep yourself from being a victim would vastly outweigh the consequence of you being the victim, there is the extreme example that is used to (wrongly) prove their position (wow Steinbeck like sentence).

Here is that extreme example, that while I believe its uniqueness proves the rule that the vast majority of Americans are defending themselves in a logical, sane and well intentioned way,  the other side is currently pointing to, to have self defense be a governmental only task is the case of Jerome Ersland.  Below is the article from CBS (Link to CBS Story).

(CBS/KWTV/AP) - OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City pharmacist now faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after being found guilty of murder for the death of a 16-year-old who tried to rob his store.

Confronted by two holdup men in May 2009, Ersland pulled out a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. The drugstore's security camera then filmed Ersland as he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into the wounded Antwun Parker as he lay on the floor.

The 59-year-old had been hailed as a hero for protecting two fellow employees.

The Ersland jury began deliberations around 1:00 p.m. Thursday and returned with a the guilty verdict around 4:30 p.m.  The verdict stunned the courtroom. Ersland, who many hailed as a hero, sat emotionless as the guilty verdict was read. People sitting behind him were noticeably upset.  Parker's mother and her sisters were inside the courtroom most of the trial, and burst out of the room when the verdict was read. They clung to each other and cried in the hallway in an outpouring of emotion.

Erlsand was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs with deputies surrounding him. The wife of the Reliable Pharmacy owner was seen crying as she left.

She was visibly stunned that the jury chose to find Ersland guilty of murder instead of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Judge Ray Elliott refused to lift the gag order so the prosecution, the defense, and the jury are not allowed to comment on the verdict. But we do know the jury had asked to see the surveillance video of the robbery and shooting one more time before they went up to deliberate.

Ersland will be sentenced July 11, the same day Anthony Morrison and Emanuel Mitchell will be sentenced. Morrison and Mitchell were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy for planning the robbery at Reliable Pharmacy.

Below is the link raw security camera footage from that day in 2009.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=eed_1243733340

Take a good look at the footage.  This is where he goes from hero, defending himself and two other employees from criminals that have no regard for another's life and becomes a murder.  Watch when he walks back into the store, walks past/over the fallen body of the robber who met real justice, quick, and up close, and does not glance at him or take any action that would suggest he still viewed the fallen robber as a continuing threat.  Yet he goes to the counter, retrieves another firearm, turns and empties it into the robber on the floor.

The simple rule is: if he/she is a continuing threat to your safety or the safety of others you can continue to take appropriate action against him/her.  If they are no longer a threat you have to stop.  He didn't stop.

You have a right to defend yourself.  Americans do not have to wait for governmental intervention to stop from becoming a victim, they can directly stop the victimizer.  The fact that this story is being told through all the nation media outlets and is being used by the side that does not believe you have the ability to help yourself demonstrates the uniqueness of this event.  What you do not hear is the thousand of times that the potential victim, stays potential and not actual.  You don't have long in-depth conversations about why water is wet.

PS:  The DA that charged him, asked the Judge to allow him to carry a handgun into the courtroom for his own protection.

Numbers 14:9
Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

Example of the "F" Decision

The below article is from Chicago Breaking News and is an example of the "F" decision.  He was driving, saw cute little ducklings that were in danger from that nasty high speed expressway, jumped out of his car and lost his life.  Had Edward taken a second to consider his decision, he would have come to the realization concerning the level of his personal risk (very high), his personal value (value: high) and that maybe these ducks (value: low) were on the wrong end of an immediate and dynamic act of natural selection.  For a full explanation concerning the "A" "C" and "F" decision making processes see blog entry on Tuesday June 7, 2011 (IE the one right before this one).


Man killed trying to remove ducklings from I-294
By Stacy St. Clair and Carlos Sadovi | Tribune reporters
May 31, 2011


(Handout photo)

A Naperville man attempting to help a family of ducklings safely cross Interstate Highway 294 was killed Monday when he was struck by a limousine, state police said.

Edward Gardner was traveling north when he pulled over near Schiller Park about 9:30 a.m. because he saw a family of ducklings on the tollway, Illinois State Police Sgt. Nick Hasan said. That’s when the limousine, which police said wasn’t speeding, hit him. Gardner's girlfriend was inside his vehicle.

The 38-year-old was pronounced dead about four hours later at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

“That’s totally Ed,” said Jim Gollwitzer, a longtime friend of Gardner’s. “That’s just how big of a heart he had.”

Gardner, who worked in the telecommunications industry, had dedicated much of his life to helping animals, Gollwitzer said. He spent his vacations volunteering at a wolf sanctuary in New Mexico, doing construction work and whatever odd jobs needed to be done there.

“He cared about animals,” Gollwitzer said. “It was one of his passions in life.”

Gardner’s other passion was muscle cars, in particular the 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood that he spent years restoring. Before Gardner purchased the station wagon, it had been used as an outdoor shed and was considered by many to be unsalvageable, Gollwitzer said.

But Gardner spent hours on the vehicle, transforming it from a rusted junker into an award-winning masterpiece. He painted it bright orange, a color choice he made while eating a bag of Cheetos in his garage one night.

To honor his gastronomic muse, he spray-painted a picture of mascot Chester Cheetah on the tailgate.

“He poured his heart into that car,” Gollwitzer said. “It meant a lot to him.”

It also meant a lot to car show crowds, who would gather around his car to reminisce about childhoods spent in Parkwood wagons. Gardner enjoyed listening to their stories and took great pride in the fact this car made people happy, Gollwitzer said.

The Parkwood won about 60 awards after Gardner began showing it, including several national prizes.

He recently disassembled the car to upgrade it in time for the summer show season. Members of his car club -- The Bad Bowties -- plan to put it back together in the coming days, said Gollwitzer, who is president of the club.

“It’s what Ed would have wanted,” he said. “It’s important that we do this for him.”

State police are investigating the incident, but no citations were issued to the driver of the limousine, Hasan said.

Quick Emotional Decisions make for...

I believe there are three types of decisions.  The "A" decision-the one that helps you.  The "C" decision-the one that does not help you but does not hurt you either, and the "F" decision-the one that hurts you.

Two huge factors in determining which type of decision will be the result of your the judgement you caste, is the decision time frame crossed with the level of emotion at the point of the choice.  Simply put, quick emotional decisions make for more "F" decisions and the opposite make for more "A" decisions.

I just recently spent a week in the hospital when my wife's great aunt was stricken ill and via the E.R. was placed into the I.C.U. (and I.C.U. too).  The relative is in her early nineties and does not get around easily but other than that her health is basically good.  She had developed Pneumonia and was having trouble breathing and fluid was building in her lungs.  When she made it to the I.C.U., they also discovered that she had a large bleeding ulcer in her stomach that required a tube to be inserted into her nose down to her stomach for drainage.  She also had an infection that required an IV drip of antibiotics.  She was in bad shape.  When we arrived, she did not look good, so I began trying to prepare my wife for the worst.  A short time later my mother-in-law arrived and the nurse then stepped into the room.

The nurse said, "Okay I was told by the doctor to wait till you got here to start the morphine drip, so I'll just start it now.

My mother-in-law then said, "Oh no your not, I know what the morphine is for (have you heard any songs by Youth In Asia?)...and it will depress her breathing so it will not be used."

The nurse, looking perplexed said, "I spoke to the doctor and he said...".

But my mother-looked-up and said, "I will not permit the morphine to be used."  The nurse then went away looking puzzled.

The next day the elder care physician came in and took the position that the morphine should be used to ease my wife's great aunt's suffering because this patient would not recover and it would be cruel to allow her to continue to suffer.  Again my mother-in-law said "no" and the doctor then stormed off.

Now my mother-in-law is a R.N. and had already planned for this eventuality (the relative/patient was in her early 90's after all) and had set up the parameters for the use of morphine or not, long before this day.  Now the rest of the family started rolling in.  One brother of my mother-in-law came in frantic and upset and decided morphine was the right thing to administer.  He was followed by his sister and then the other brother and all voted for the morphine.  Their decisions were made in the height of emotion and extremely quickly.

The conclusion?  The elder relatives infection is now gone, her ulcer has stopped bleeding and the tube has been pulled.  She is eating on her own and is now without any supplemental oxygen and will be leaving the I.C.U. any day now.

So the "A" decision was to keep her alive and the "F" decision would to have killed her with the morphine.  Too short decision time frame and too high emotionally would have killed the elderly patient had my mother-in-law not had the power of attorney and made a good decision before she arrived at the hospital.

End of the World!!!!!!!! Part, I don't know, sixty?

Its the end of the world...proof one hundred and sixty.







A Brief List of Zero Rated Movies and their box office revenue.








Zero Rated Movie                        Its Revenue


Sucker Punch                                  $89,792,502

Did You Hear About the Morgans?  $85,280,250

Saw IV                                            $139,352,633

Bratz                                                $26,013,153

Hostel: Part II                                  $35,619,512

The Devil's Rejects                          $19,390,029

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo     $45,109,561

Wolf Creek                                     $27,762,648

The Life of David Gale                     $38,955,958



That's it!  Let's pack it all up! We're done here.  Let's find another planet to destroy.

References: listal, www.boxofficemojo.com, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/ and www.imdb.com

Circus Ticket

Mentors-Bill Powers

I was cleaning out some of my basement and came across the obituary of one of my Law Enforcement mentors.

I came into this field honestly, IE, I was not a friend of the program either through family, interest or drive.  Rather, it first came across my perceptions while I was taking paramedic courses in college in Texas.  I realized during my hundreds of hours of on the road clinical time that the police can be proactive and paramedic/firemen can only be reactive.  The idea of preventing calamity rather than reacting to it was very appealing.  A few years later I found myself in the Police academy.

Fast forward nine years and I found myself in a professional crisis, due to a mixture of my mistakes and a management change that soon found me deselected from the fast track and placed me on the no track.  It was looking that I was going to be having a "meeting" once every eight working days on patrol for the rest of my career.  I began fishing around to advance myself outside of work.  I first did what everyone does in a crisis/test/trial I went back to God.  I started leading a small group at my church and set it for Tuesdays at 10:30am so that anyone who was a second shifter could have a Bible study.  It was a disastrous.  Just in case you are thinking of using that time, while there are a number of people who work afternoons and midnights that need bible study, there are also a number of people that are free during that time mainly due to complete insanity.  Anyway one day a Chicago Cop named Mike Touhy came in and had a prayer request for an old partner of his who had just been diagnosed with cancer, Bill Powers.  I soon called him, enrolled in the Master program he created and got to know him and learned of his love of the Lord.  I was amazed his career path was incredibly similar as mine and he managed to become deputy superintendent (my hopes are not half that high).  He provided me with some advice and things immediately got better back at the home department.  Because of his mentoring I was able to right a nearly sunken ship and I because a believer in the idea that everyone needs a Christian mentor.

A quick anecdote as to the kind of man he was.  My wife and I came to his home during his home hospice on the second to last day that he was on this earth.  When we arrived he was a sleep on the couch.  My wife and I were sitting across from him when he woke up.  He looked up and said, "(my name) how are things?  How is school going?  How are things back at the department, any better?"  I said, "How am I doing!?! I think the only thing that matters today is how your doing!"  He looked up at me, sighed and said, "I know how I am but I want to know how you are."  He then made me answer his questions.  That was the man that he was and a man that I have tried to emulate as I have moved forward in my life.  Below is his obituary.

 
Link to Mike Touhy's truck stop ministry:
Transport for Christ




and a quick article about it

Failed Predictions

In honor of the walk of shame that another prognosticator has yet taken once again, a post of Failed Predictions.









Source Credits: Listverse, ODDEE,2 Spare, 2 Thing.org, and Live Science

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.

“We will never make a 32 bit operating system.” — Bill Gates 

“Lee DeForest has said in many newspapers and over his signature that it would be possible to transmit the human voice across the Atlantic before many years. Based on these absurd and deliberately misleading statements, the misguided public … has been persuaded to purchase stock in his company …” — a U.S. District Attorney, prosecuting American inventor Lee DeForest for selling stock fraudulently through the mail for his Radio Telephone Company in 1913.

“There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.” — T. Craven, FCC Commissioner, in 1961 (the first commercial communications satellite went into service in 1965).

“To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to earth – all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances.” — Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer and inventor of the vacuum tube, in 1926

“A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.” — New York Times, 1936.

“Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical (sic) and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.” – Simon Newcomb; The Wright Brothers flew at Kittyhawk 18 months later.

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” — Lord Kelvin, British mathematician and physicist, president of the British Royal Society, 1895.

“There will never be a bigger plane built.” — A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people

“Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality in 10 years.” -– Alex Lewyt, president of vacuum cleaner company Lewyt Corp., in the New York Times in 1955.

"It will be years --not in my time-- before a woman will become Prime Minister."
--Margaret Thatcher, October 26th, 1969.

“That virus [HIV] is a pussycat.”
--Dr. Peter Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, 1988

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy."
--Associates of Edwin L. Drake refusing his suggestion to drill for oil in 1859.

"Reagan doesn’t have that presidential look."
--United Artists Executive, rejecting Reagan as lead in 1964 film The Best Man

"The singer [Mick Jagger] will have to go; the BBC won’t like him."
--- First Rolling Stones manager Eric Easton to his partner after watching them perform.

"Taking the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and converting him into a right fielder is one of the dumbest things I ever heard."
-- Tris Speaker, baseball hall of famer, talking about Babe Ruth, 1919.

"Ours has been the first [expedition], and doubtless to be the last, to visit this profitless locality."
---- Lt. Joseph Ives, after visiting the Grand Canyon in 1861.

Everything that can be invented has been invented.
Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899.

Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.»
Irving Fisher, economics professor at Yale University, 1929. 

Democracy will be dead by 1950.
John Langdon-Davies, A Short History of The Future, 1936.

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-
Last words of Gen. John Sedgwick, spoken as he looked out over the parapet at enemy lines during the Battle of Spotsylvania in 1864.

Man will not fly for 50 years.
Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer, to brother Orville, after a disappointing flying experiment, 1901 (their first successful flight was in 1903).

The Americans are good about making fancy cars and refrigerators, but that doesn't mean they are any good at making aircraft. They are bluffing. They are excellent at bluffing.
Hermann Goering, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, 1942.

... good enough for our transatlantic friends ... but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men.»
British Parliamentary Committee, referring to Edison's light bulb, 1878.

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?» H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927.

END OF THE WORLD...well no its um tomorrow...sorry.  Or is it the next day...

Person                                                  Date

Charles Wesley                                   1794

John Wesley (Brother of above)           1836

Jehovah Witness                                 1914,1915,1918,1920,1925,1941,1975,1994

William Miller                                     March 21, 1843 through March 21, 1844

Joanna Southcott                                Oct 19, 1814

Albert Porta                                        Dec 17, 1919

Nostradamus                                       July 1999

Joseph Smith                                       Feb 1835 plus 56 years.

Pat Robertson                                     End of 1982.

Michael Rood                                     April 15, 2000

Richard Noone                                   May 5, 2000

Rebecca Harrison                               May 17, 2000

Marily Agee                                        May 28, 2000

David Parked                                      May 28, 2001

Proverbs 12:23
The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

End of the World!!!!!!!!

I was going to take a shot at Harold Camping and his mathematical system he created to delve into the mysteries of the Bible that had today as the Judgement Day.  But instead I will ask this question instead...If it really was the end of days do you know FOR SURE  where you would go? Heaven? Hell? Wal-Mart greeter in purgatory?  Drummer for an all girls polka band? 


Salvation is the only way to live for eternity with our Lord in heaven.


Romans 3:23   All have sinned.
A sin is anything we do wrong, anything we do that is disobedient to God. This is one reason we should read our bible so we understand what is sin and what isn't.

Romans 6:23    The wages of sin is death
The death being spoken of here is not physical death but it is separation from God for eternity in Hell.

Romans 5:8      Jesus paid the penalty for your sin.
God sent his one and only Son to die for YOU on a cross so that you may be forgiven of your sin.

Romans 10:9-10    Believe in the Lord Jesus and the salvation provided through Him.
It's simple all you have to do is believe that Jesus is God's Son and he was sent to die for YOU upon a cross and confess with your mouth and believe with your heart.

Romans 10:13   Everyone who calls on the name of te Lord will be saved.
All you have to do is pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins and you must repent of (or turn away from) your sin.


Now the end of the world has no fear for you, you now know your final destination.

Salvation Verses

Charles Barkley-You gotta love him...

I was listening to sports radio, Tuesday, while on another marathon vehicle surveillance (can't feel me knees anymore) when an interview came up with basketball legend/Michael Jordan confidant/TNT announcer, Charles Barkley.  Since it was with ESPN radio, the sycophantic sportscasters were gushing all over him and pushing the TNT broadcast that he would be on.  They asked the enviable question concerning his contribution to  Basketball and American society in general.

Charles said this, "I am just an entertainer.  I always say that there are only five real jobs.  Doctor, Police Officer, fireman, teacher and the military.  The rest, while nice, aren't necessary.  I am an entertainer.  I hope that for a few hours I can let people get away from their problems but my job has never been important."

Wow, can't argue with that.  I wish the rest of society would wind that swiftly into the clockwork in their heads.  But my hopes are not high.



Ephesians 4:11
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

Addendum:  I wish I could fully embrace Charles except for the: drunken driving, gambling problems and driving around looking for a "blow job" (Dec 31, 2008).

 

Life and the Job...Changes

The first vehicle pursuit that I got into I remember thinking, wow this is cool, this is the reason I signed on to be a Police Officer.  The lights flashing, the blaring of the radio, the engine noise coming through into the interior because of it's near red-lining, brakes squealing and coming home after that shift with stiff and sore calves because of the continuous *stomp* on the gas followed by *stomp* on the brakes followed by *stomp* on the gas...well you get the idea.  Oh and we got him too.

The last one that I got into recently, my feelings were quite different.  The thoughts that were going through my mind this time was not about how cool this was, but rather it was *stomp* on the gas, “I am going to get sued and loose my house”, *stomp* “some little kid is going to run in front of me”, *stomp* “if I ding up my car its going to be three weeks of paperwork”, and so on.  Oh and he got away.

I always marveled when I first came on the job about how all the veteran Officers seemed so embittered toward Law Enforcement.  They would pine over their future retirement at every roll call.

I understand them a little better know that I am half way through.  It slowly kills the enjoyment of this job when you begin to focus not on the task at hand or the people you help but rather on the consequences that would happen should it suddenly go all wrong. 

Its best summarized this way: in the beginning it was, "Yeah! We got him! Can you believe...(insert story of incident that just happened)", and now its, "Wow sure glad nothing happened!  Can you believe what would have happened had...(insert analysis of worst case scenario)...I knew a cop that...(insert story of Officer that got in trouble or lost his job through no fault of his/her own under similar circumstances)".

The first part makes you look forward to going to work, the second part makes you look forward to going home.

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


1.  5/04/2011 1:33am

Back from Vacation

Spent a week in Sedona Arizona for the family's yearly visit and got some much needed R and R.  The kids got to run around like manics and my wife was able to be left alone (a very rare occurrence).  In order to make the trip more relaxing we decided to leave right after having our 1st floor repainted...it only took three weeks.  We are just getting the house back together and are using the total chaos to Spring clean and chuck all the assorted bric-n-brac that have piled up over the years.

So...computer put back together, blogging resuming.  Status quo reached.

Psalm 116:7
Return to your rest, O my soul,For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

PS:  the house we were staying at is just on the other side of Cockscomb the rock formation pictured.

Easter

A little late but...

HE HAS RISEN INDEED

Chap-Hop

I was originally going to post this on April 4th after reading about Chap-Hop in the WSJ.  But when I searched the internet to listen to a couple of examples of this new sub-genre of Hip Hop, I discovered hundreds of people blogged about it already.  So, I waited till now in the attempt to appear fresh and unique, which I am not.

I do have to say I really enjoyed the music I came across and discovered it is legitimate musical form way beyond the apparent novelty aspects it first seems to present.  It is a Steam-punk ethic of Hip-Hop.  I embedded my favorite four in this post.  A Victorian gentlemen hip-hopping about about relevant issues in his day.  If you could throw in a dose of Doctor Who into the mix I would never need another type of media to enjoy.

So put on your tweed, send the servants to bed and enjoy the night with a whiskey, neat, and Mr. B or Professor Elemental on the Victrola.

  







I have to say I really like the music...

Mexican Drug Cartels-making insane decisions-Update

Update...

MATAMOROS, MEXICO-- Ten more bodies were found in a new mass grave in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas, bringing the total number to 126 bodies, officials said Wednesday.

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They have terror, they have most of the government paralyzed, they are the second biggest employer next to the oil industry in Mexico...etc.  I still can not frame this within an economical model, geopolitical model or even within a terrorist framework.  Time will tell.

FYI:  Most gang members pose for a booking photo or news photo with their chin up so that the picture can not be used to identify them in a future criminal investigation.  

Mexican Drug Cartels-making insane decisions.

Mexican authorities have found 59 bodies on a remote ranch in the La Joya farming village.  This occurred in the same area where they had found 72 bodies less than a year ago.

The news link from Yahoo


The story

At least 59 bodies found on Mexico ranch

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AFP) – At least 59 bodies have been found on a ranch in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas, on the US border, authorities said Wednesday, warning that the grim toll could rise.

The Tamaulipas state prosecutor's office said 11 people had been arrested and another five kidnapping victims had been set free in the same operation on Wednesday.

Police and military staff learned March 25 that several buses had disappeared in the area, leading to their investigation which turned up a grisly find: eight mass graves in the La Joya farming village, in the town of San Fernando, the prosecutor's office said.

"With our work that is under way, we are trying to establish if the remains are those of the people who went missing on the buses," the prosecutor's statement said.

Authorities said they feared the number of dead would rise as the remains had only been counted in three of eight mass graves. A military patrol located the mass grave, the source added.

The gruesome find was in the same town of San Fernando where 72 migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Brazil were killed in August 2010 for refusing to work for drug traffickers.

Meanwhile thousands of outraged citizens took to the streets of 38 Mexican cities on Wednesday, venting anger over widespread violence linked to the country's illegal drug trade.

The protest marches were organized following the murder of a well-known author's son along with four close friends and two others on March 28.

Javier Sicilia, a poet and columnist for the daily La Jornada and the weekly Proceso -- two of the country's leading publications -- called for the protests following the killing of his son Juan Francisco, 24, near Cuernavaca, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Mexico City.

Seven major drug gangs are operating in Mexico whose bloody clashes have left over 34,600 people dead since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon's government launched a military crackdown that has so far failed to stem the violence.

Authorities said Saturday that 20 people were killed in under 24 hours in Mexico's most violent city, Ciudad Juarez, which borders the US state of Texas.

Ciudad Juarez is considered the most violent city in Mexico, with more than 3,100 homicides in 2010. Most of the violence is blamed on drug cartels who fight for control of lucrative drug routes into the United States.

Just on Monday the United States boosted security at its consulate in Mexico's drug war-rocked northern city of Monterrey, where it built a second protective ring wall.

Two other US consulates on the Mexican side of the shared border were temporarily closed last year. Security concerns forced the office in Ciudad Juarez to close for several days, while another in Nuevo Laredo was closed after an explosive device attack.

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__________________________________________________

__My thoughts______________________________________

One of the core principles in illicit drug investigations is to approach the enterprise as a business entity and not as a criminal conspiracy.  You either attack the supply line or the financial line.  It is simple logistics, they have to move product in through a distribution network to their retail outlets and take out their profits, after paying the bills, usually through a different network.  They have personnel and raw material costs, banking/financing costs etc.  You attack one side or the other and work your way back.  It is a logical though criminal system.  The violence that a criminal enterprise generates can even be viewed in two ways:  one as an internal ( but extremely draconian) self correcting/disciplinary function or a method to gain market dominance.

However these mass killings do not make any business sense and I am having trouble placing them into prospective.  I understand that violence can streamline and prevent governmental/law enforcement interference by keeping information under control and increasing local populations participation in the criminal enterprise and decreasing its participation with law enforcement.   Further it can create a political climate that is conducive to their criminal activities, but that is usually achieved through different levels and types of corruption (See Chicago, New Orleans).  But the caveat to the use of violence to achieve financial ends is that once a certain threshold is reached and maintained the citizenry will rise up and fight back (See Columbia 1990's).

The cartels control almost all aspects of local Mexican governmental bodies.  They have almost total "buy-in" from the peasant class.  The terror they generate from killing criminal participants within and without their cartels is almost total for the population and sapped the majority of the will to combat illicit drug sales and distribution.  These mass killing gain the cartels almost nothing, in fact it is starting to raise resistance.  They do not make sense from a money making prospective.  It even allows further enticement for the American's to demand  and President Calderon to allow, American military cross boarder sorties against the cartels.

So what is this?  I can think of only three possibilities.  1st, there is an enforcer for a cartel that really is a serial killer that found his/her ultimate dream job.  2nd, it is another voodoo drug cult like the one where they discovered (04-11-1989) had murdered the 12 American college students in the Mexican city of Matamoros or 3rd some of the cartels have become terrorist groups that have both broad political and and financial goals ( example: al qaeda selling heroin).

I am waiting and watching for the answer.

1 Kings 18:4
While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)

Risk, Death and the Job.

I was notified about Deputy Robert Britton death on duty through the nationwide law enforcement prayer chain that I am a part of because of my membership in FCPO. He was killed by a wounded cow.

The Link to the Story

The Story from the Star Telegram

TYLER, Texas — An East Texas deputy has died of head injuries suffered when he was attacked by an injured cow while he directed traffic around the half-ton animal.

Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith says Deputy Robert Britton of Tyler died Monday at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he'd been since the incident early Thursday near Bullard, 95 miles southeast of Dallas and 15 miles south of Tyler.

Smith had said the 54-year-old deputy had responded to a report of a stray cow struck by a vehicle and was directing traffic on Farm Road 344 when the cow charged him. He says Britton was knocked into the air and landed head-first on the pavement before the animal continued the attack until other deputies rescued Britton.

Smith says the cow was euthanized.
_________________________________________________
The probability of being killed/murdered on the job by the hand of another is very slim.  According to the Washington Post there were 160 officers killed in the line of duty in 2010 (all levels, local, state, federal), out of around 900,000 officers country wide.  The officers that I have known that have died on the job have been killed in traffic crashes, heart attacks, accidents or environmental hazards.  The real risk on this job is the environment in which we conduct our business.  This risk is not understood by the public we serve.

In this case Deputy Britton was responding to a traffic accident involving car verses cow.  I was talking to my friends about the incident at Baker's Square waiting for our kids to get out of Awana.  I was being asked, if the cow was wounded why he didn't shoot it, or why he didn't hear it coming or...whatever.  I had to tell them that the cow still has value if it can be properly butchered, if the cow is shot it can not be used for anything.  Britton was trying to keep the rancher from loosing out on the total value of his property.  Second, when you are out directing traffic, it is noisy and it takes all of your attention.  The motoring public does not pay attention and will hit you if you are not watching every direction at once, I have been brushed by side mirrors more times than I would like to remember.  Third, most people have no experience with large animals.  I have been around a few cattle when I lived in Waco, Texas and they are huge and they are fast (got chased out of a pasture once).  I have had a few deer who were struck by a car, suddenly bound up and run away. If they had connected with me what happened here could easily have happen to me.

There were two times where I remember cutting it close.  One was a fire department assist for a reported heart attack and another FD assist for a burning stove.  The heart attack had been caused because the family that lived in the house had set off about five roach bug bombs but didn't leave the house.  I was the first one on scene and walked right in and promptly got poisoned.  I was found bent over on the front lawn fighting for air.  I beat the FD to the stove fire and met the family standing in the hallway of the apartment while smoke was pouring out of their front door.  I was told that "Molly" was still in the apartment, so I ran in to save "Molly" and of course "Molly" was their cat (I think they didn't say please save Molly our pet cat because I would have looked at them with the "yeah right" look), which when I had made it to the back bedroom promptly ran out of the apartment saving itself.  And again, I was found bent over on the front lawn gasping for breath.

That's the real risk to this job and since its not sensational or dynamic or "Hollywood", the public just doesn't understand what's being risked for them.   Deputy Britton lost his life trying to protect a rancher's property, directing traffic for others safety and just doing his job.

Our prayers are for his family and the ones he left behind

1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses

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