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Sometimes I wonder why my desire to be a cop was so strong. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my job. Probably more than any cop does. It was and is my passion but there is something to be said about a long 12 hour midnight shift. 3am rolls around and you’re bouncing off curbs trying to keep your eyes open. You finally decide that if you don’t close your eyes for 15 minutes you’re going to to wrap your car around a pole…. (which I’ve actually done… but it was a couple trees and it was a chase, not a sleepy accident) This is when I fall asleep… crammed in a patrol car, hoping not to be snuck up on by some random cop hating killer. then you wake up 45 minutes later and find that you have somehow manage to slump your body over center counsel that is made of metal and houses the siren, the radio, the detroit scanner and the switches for the overhead lights (the red and blue ones)…. you then notice that you can’t feel your right arm so you sit up with a jolt, and in the dark of morning, the sky is flickering red and blue and all of the neighbors are standing in their windows wondering what is going on…… Oh SHIT!!!! you laid across the overhead switch and for who knows how long your lights have been waking up the whole neighborhood…. so much for an incognito nap…..

Well that was a bit off topic but a true story nonetheless. This Thanksgiving I’ll be working. While families gather on what is my one of my most favorite holidays I’ll be patroling the streets, driving around in aimless circles.

I’m not looking for pitty because that’s not what this is about. It’s about giving thanks for things you may not ever give thanks for but probably should. There are people in this world that do the dirty work. People who sneer in the face of danger and shine lights in your back yard at 3am to make sure there are no prowlers/burglars/murderers/car thieves lurking in the shadows of your sanctity.

 There are people who chose to work on thanksgiving because somebody has to. There are firefighters who climb into burning abandoned homes and risk their lives just to protect the house next door where you or a family member might live.

Our lives as public servants are thankless for the most part but there are always those brief moments in our careers that make every scared shitless moment worth everything you do. This year please give thanks to those who protect and serve you. Cops, Firefighters, Medics, Nurses and Doctors. We aren’t doing it for ourselves. Please the list of names below and give thanks for the ultimate sacrifice they have made.

November 15th 2008 Detroit Firefighter Walt Harris. Died fighting a fire in an abandoned home on the east side when the roof collapsed on him. He left behind 6 children.

November 11th 2008 Deputy Lawrence Canfield Philadelphia PD. Died in route to a robbery in progress call when a drunk driver struck his patrol car.

November 17th 2008 Spc. Agent Samuel Hicks of Pennsylvania. Died while serving a search warrant on a home suspected of drug manufacturing. Hicks was fatally shot by the wife of the subject being arrested. She hid in a back bedroom.

November 22nd 2008 Officer Del Rio of Hollywood Florida. Died in and on duty car accident. While attmpting to effect a traffic stop, a taxi cab pulled out in front of him. Rio died of his injuries

November 7th 2008 Officer Charles Skinner of North Salt Lake Police Department. Died during a vehicle pursuit. Skinners vehicle hit a wet patch of pavement causing his vehicle to lose control. His patrol car hit a pole and skinner succumb to his injuries. Skinner leaves behind a wife and newborn twins. 6 months on the job.

For more information on the public servants who give their lives for the safety of yours please visit the websites below

ODMP.org (officer Down Memorial Page)

USFA.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatality/  (Firefighter Memorial page)