Change is good!

Things have changed for me over the last 18 months...I am happier than I have been in a long time. I have landed on my feet and I am moving on. I had to look to find my password..thats how long its been since I have posted. Luckily my wife keeps everything written down! Lord I love that woman! I am going to start posting again...my new job is to good and the stories are better than make believe! Stay Tuned...and for crying out loud, dont try thias at home!

Texas Lawman!

My Opinion

Attention Politicians ( past, present or future):

If you enter politics with a personal agenda in mind then you are half- way to being corrupt.

I think I may ramble a bit today.

Well, as I was reading some of my older post it really hit me just how much my life has changed the last 2 years. I lost my re-election bid for Sheriff by 12 votes..now I could go into about a million scenerios as to why, I could blame uneducated voters, the Democratic party, etc etc etc...BUT, that would all be a lot of B.S.- the simple truth is this: I followed through with my promises, the same promises that got me into office in the first place, cost me in my re-election. I am one of the naive I guess- but I still believe justice is blind and that justice is best served equally, regardless of financial standing, community status,religion, sexual preference, race, creed or any other bias that you can throw my way. I was proven wrong. While in office and serving my term I was able to lower crime by over 29% (all crimes combined)..I had 13 vehicle burglaries in 4 years, 16 residential burglaries and 1 business burglary in 4 years- i went from having 14 sex offenders in my county to having 4! I will put my numbers up against ANY county in the state- ANY county. In the first 60 days in office the new Sheriff had 11 business burglaries, one being an armed robbery! The drug problem is once again rampant, sex offenders are moving back in and at last count there were 9 again..Deputies do very little patrol and can usually be found at the local cafe or at the office playing computer games..I had a friend call and tell me that he could not get a deputy to respond, so he called the cafe and had one dispatched by the cashier- (I swear to it)....I have gotten many calls from citizens, many of which are having "buyers remorse"..begging me to come back and run again..to them I say.."bahhahahahaha!"..no thanks!" It would serve no purpose- I have moved on. I would go back and do things EXACTLY the same way as before-and in the end the result would be the same in 4 years. Me and my family have relocated 60 miles down the road. I have taken a job with a good paying Police Dept. I work my shift, solve a few crimes, and go home. My family has become more of a priority then before simply do to less demands on my time..I am more focused on family time, vacations, and activities with them.I am making memories with them...that is "JOB 1"...the rest as they say is gravy. I won't lie and say that I don't miss the job- I do..it was the best job that I have ever had..I liked making the crucial, tough decisions-and I was damn good at it. But the only constant is change and I am rolling with it, more or less. I still have really hard days- attempting to fit in where I am merely a cog in the wheel and not a decision maker is rougher than I could have ever imagined. Being in a new county I have contemplated running for Sheriff here..this is the county that I was raised in..and I have had a few say that they would like to see me run.....I still have 2 years to decide. On one hand I would love to..on the other..I would be back to extreme demands on my time if I win...and what I can only imagine as incredible heartbreak if I don't. Do I really want to sign up for more of that or just enjoy the privacy that myself and my family currently have? I have some thinking to do. The wife, ever supportive as she is says she will support my decision either way. I know she means it, too. We shall see....stay tuned.

Back in the Saddle

Without going into all the gorey details right now regarding my long absence, I am looking forward to blogging again.

Stay tuned.

A Big Cry Baby in Jail

I haven't posted for a while, but things have been pretty hectic, but I have a funny story to share.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my "frequent flyers" returned to town. He apparently had forgotten the promise I made him about a year ago. I told him that everytime I saw him back in town, that he would go to jail. What you have to understand is that he is a drug dealer, drug user, thief, child molester, scum bag, all around DIRT BAG!! But, I digress... So, he shows up with his pregnant 18 year old girlfriend (He's 34)..Shortly after arriving he decides to slap around on the girlfriend..steal some gas, drive with an invalid driver license, no front license plate, defective equipment, fail to use turn signal, open container and had a small bag of weed...(as you can see, I didn't have to work very hard to find a reason to put his stinkin' ass in jail.)

He is famous in these parts because he cries when he goes to jail, and ( I swear that I'm not making this part up)..he is scared of the dark. He was crying when I got here 5 years ago..and still cries..He actually asked me, and I quote.."Sir, can you please leave a night light on, I am scared of the dark.." (my answer: Request denied!)..anyway...about 2 days later he is STILL cryin' and beggin for me to let him "just go home.." (Request denied!)...So, now we decide that we are having a heart attack...We call EMS (because we can't take chances, etc. etc.)..and when they show up, he is clutching his chest (the wrong side...)..He's such a genius! Of course, EMS checks him out, and tells him that he's fine..and his heart is on the other side...Then the famous claim.."I have blood in my stool...and in my urine.." So, we set him up an appointment at our local clinic...(in our very small town)..of course they don't have the equipment to check him out. So, by now I am severely pissed off. I have to have a Deputy transport him to the closest hospital...(45 miles away)..because of my limited man power...I have to stay on duty, after working my 11 1/2 hours first...I tell my deputy, "tell the ER Dr. what's going on." My deputy does just that.....The Dr. tells the Deputy..."he'll think before he makes these claims again.." Over the next 2 -3 hours the doc does a VERY COMPLETE EXAM! He tells the crook..."so, you have blood in your stool?" Crook: "Yes, sir!"..Doc: (as he pulls out a LONG, THICK probe)" Ok, I need you to bend over the table, and spread 'em wide"
Crook: "Uh, no, you know, maybe it wasn't blood, uh, just don't worry about it, it's really okay."
Doc: "No, you're here, we need to check, and we need to be sure."
my deputy said he looked like the doc was swinging a golf club back there. The crook was facing the deputy and white knuckling the table, crying and yelling, "stop, I was faking, I swear, I'll never do it again..I swear, please stop!!" The doc completed his exam. The crook says doc, I feel like I'm bleeding now...Doc says, "you probably are, but you'll be okay!"
Deputy said the ride home was pretty quiet, except for his frequent snickering, and the crook saying, "fuck you..I'm glad that you think it's funny! But, hey, don't tell anyone, okay?" Deputy continues to snicker saying, "yeah, okay..your secret is ..snicker..snicker...safe with me!"
Crook pled guilty to all charges and is currently on probation...in another county. Before he left he wrote me a note. "Dear Sir, with God as my witness, I WILL NEVER return to this county, for any reason. You have gotten my attention, and I realize that you don't play nice..and that you don't forget..or lie (you kept your promise)...You win, I'm done! Sincerely, Joe (not his real
name)

And people say there is no justice.

Lawman 1
Dirtbags 0

Startin Out New

My apologies for not posting in a while. Things tend to get a bit hairy around here at the end of the year what with annual crime statistic reports and such. But that kind of thing comes with the territory and I actually enjoy doing it. It's a good gauge of where we're at and gives me a little insight as to where I want us to be as a law enforcement department. It's also a good way to get a good dose of affirmation for me to keep doing the job despite the constant blood, sweat, and tears that it wrings out of a body.

I'm feeling good about the potential for 2007. I can look over the past couple of years and see where improvement and changes are needed, both personally and professionally. I try to remember all the blessings I have in my life every day but the New Year is always especially poignant for me. Things I don't have or things I'd like to have, whether tangible or intangible, don't seem to account for much. But what I have been blessed with seems to be even more so.

So Happy New Year, my fellow bloggers. May the new year bring you all you have hoped for and may you be blessed with health, happiness, and prosperity!

Another Great Quote

"It is not the oath that makes us believe in the man, but the man makes us believe in the oath." - - Aeschylus

Look at Somebody Else's Neighborhood to Move To

As the contact person for local law enforcement, I received a visit from a parole officer the other day. She was checking out the possible future residence of a convicted sex offender who is scheduled to be released soon.

Without too much hesitation I told her that her parolee would need to look at moving somewhere else. She seemed surprised at my forthrightness and undisguised opposition to him moving to my town.

"Well, you can't really determine whether he moves here or not."

"That's where you'd be wrong. Once he meets me, he's not gonna want to move here."

"It's a violation of his rights for you to attempt to create prejudice against him setting up residence here."

"How 'bout we take a little ride?" We took a short drive to the location where said parolee is intending on residing. I pointed to the house in question. "Count 'em. One. Two. And number two is why he will not be living there."

Two houses away from the house in question is a licensed home childcare center.

So my visitor attempts another tact with me. "Well, his sister lives here and if she lets him, he can live with her until he finds another place to live."

"Let's go for another little ride." By the look on her face she really didn't want to go any more rides with me but she agreed anyway.

I drove her to the parolee's sister's house. Parked right in front so Sis could see me. I waved. She didn't wave back.

I asked my visitor, "So from where you're sitting now, tell me what you see."

With a sick look on her face she answered, "A school."

"Bingo! I'm gonna make this clear to you and then, if that piece of dog turd parolee of yours shows up, I'm gonna make it clear to him: He is not welcome in this town. My first duty to these citizens is to protect them from people exactly like your parolee. I may not be able to prohibit him from coming here but I can make sure his life is a miserable living hell where he'll prefer Sing Sing to being here. Am I making myself constitutionally clear to you now?"

"Yes, sir. I will be sure to pass this information along. Thank you for the ride."

God . . . sometimes I REALLY love this job!