LAPD Wife

My poor neglected little blog...

I'm so sorry. The day after school got out, we left for vacation back in the Midwest. Had a blast on the farm (more on that in a soon-to-come post) but there was no time for computer time. Sorry I haven't checked in - I'll update you soon. Am downloading pictures like mad... stay tuned. I missed you all!  : )

A Cop's Life

A book review of "A Cop's Life - True stories from the heart behind the badge." By Sgt. Randy Sutton

I like the subtitle of this book. It sounds like a catchy title for something about wives of police officers, too. We also are the heart behind the badge, right? I have had this book in my "to be read" pile for about a year now. I finally picked it up a couple weeks ago and read the whole thing within a few days.

This book was easy to read and kept me interested throughout. Each chapter is a story from Las Vegas Police Department Seargeant Randy Sutton as he remembers from throughout his career. His stories do not attempt to glamourize police work. Instead they are often dark, gritty and very raw, exposing a side of police officers, victims and criminals that only those who work in or with law enforcement will be familiar with.

This is not a book that is cheerful. It can be inspiring at points, though, as Sgt. Sutton shows how some officer and victims make it through dark times and learn to survive. One story is even sweet, as Sgt. Sutton recalls a time when he stopped his patrol car to help a little girl across a busy intersection.

This book is good for those who want to experience, through an officer's perspective, the darker side of law enforcement - whether it be helping victims who have lost hope, dealing with a fellow offer's suicide, or fighting overwhelming feelings of guilt after failing to save a victim when they had a chance.

I would not recommend this for a girlfriend or newly-married wife of a police officer - especially those who may already have worries about what their spouse may be experiencing on the job. But I would recommend it for those who want to learn more about troubles and trauma that officers might experience (esp in larger cities) and maybe gain a better understanding of what goes through their thoughts and emotions during and after these experiences.

I enjoyed the book and read it quickly. The stories each started and ended as their own chapters. It was easy to read and understand. I do think that Sgt. Sutton has experienced more than his fair share of hardship and trauma during his career, though, and hope that people who read this don't think that every single officer out there also experiences the same. The tone of the book is moody and dark, so don't read this if you're having a down day. Overall, though, I did find the stories interesting and am sure that some of you out there will too.

They All Know Each Other, Right?

I pulled a rookie move the other day. We were at my son's Little League awards ceremony this weekend - it's an hour-long sit in the sun, with about 2 minutes of excitement and cheering as my son's team was announced and got their trophies, followed by 58 minutes of boredom as the gazillion other teams filed through and got theirs.

One of the team's coaches was introduced as a member of 'LA's Finest, an LAPD Officer,' I turned to Officer Jake and asked him if he'd heard of this guy. Jake just gave me a "you've got to be kidding" look and shook his head no.

Like I said, a silly question and one I usually know better than to ask. He gets that all the time from people. As soon as they find out he works for the LAPD, they tell him "Oh, I know an Officer BlahBlah, he works for the LAPD, too. I bet you know him right?"

There are approximately 10,000 sworn officers in the LAPD. Not to mention the civilian employees. The odds of Jake knowing someone are slim-to-none. Not to say that he hasn't actually known a few now and then. But it's pretty funny when people ask.

We do know that another LAPD officer lives a few blocks from us, but haven't met him. And when we're at restaurants once in awhile, I'll see Jake give that head-nod thing to some other guy in the room that men do when they see each other. I'll ask him who it is and he usually answers that he doesn't know, but he sees him all the time at court or something. But that's about it. There are so many of them - and contrary to popular belief, they don't all know each other.

Telepathic Blogging

You know what I do a lot? I compose blog posts in my head as I go through my day. I'm always thinking "gee, this would make a good post," and mentally writing it as I go about my chores, work or other daily routine stuff. And yet, many of these escape me and I can't remember them as I sit down in front of the computer at night. Or I'm just so friggin tired that I think "tomorrow... tomorrow I'll do it." And tomorrow turns into the next day... and then the next day... and then the next.

That's what is happening to me now. It's the end of the school year and all the craziness that comes with it. Plus it's crunch time with one of my clients and I'm busy meeting deadlines for work. Oh yes, and Little League playoffs and I'm the team Mom so I'm coordinating coach gifts and end-of-season parties and trophy ceremonies. And so on and so forth.

Meanwhile, we've done some fun things lately and I've go pictures to share, so I'll try to actually write a few of those mental posts I've been thinking of. Meanwhile, brush up on your telepathic skills and enjoy those posts that probably won't make it from my head to your computer monitor and are just wingin it around out there in space.