Does anyone care? Everyday individuals in people helping professions of all kinds are going the extra mile to make a difference. Teachers put in all kinds of extra hours to help one struggling student. Nurses take the time to listen to a patient, who is lonely and scared. Firefighters and paramedics keep their skills sharp, so they can be prepared to take care of a person’s immediate medical concerns in the field.

And then there are police officers. No one wants to see them in their rear view mirror. And people get angry when an officer writes a citation, because a small child is not in a car seat. The other night when I was riding with an officer a lady was angry; because he told her it be five working days before an accident report would be ready. It was a fairly serious crash that involved 5 vehicles. She had no clue the amount of time that goes into a report of that nature.

On another occasion I was with an officer who was dealing with a man who had driven his truck off in a ditch. The man appeared to be intoxicated, but the officer told me he could not detect any smell of alcohol. The gentleman was totally incoherent. He could not even tell us his name. Instinct told me that he was having an insulin reaction. The officer directed me to check in the cab of his truck for diabetic supplies. Bingo… We were dealing with a diabetic in serious trouble. As the officer called for an ambulance, I started helping the man sip some Sprite. It was all we had with us that had sugar in it.

The man’s wife arrived at the scene not long after the paramedics loaded him in the ambulance. They told her what we did for him. She proceeded to tell us that she was a nurse and gave us an impromptu lecture on the care of diabetics. There was no expression of gratitude. If we the officer I was with had taken the man to jail without thinking first, the man could have died. There was no thank you that night. .. She got in the ambulance and we went about our merry way that night. That is just what you do…

Tonight was an exception to that rule. Officer Jon Ubinger of the Granbury Police Department was presented the Life Saving Award by Chief Mitch Galvan at a meeting of the Granbury City Council tonight. Officer Ubinger entered a burning home while he was off duty, and quite literally dragged his neighbor to safety almost two weeks ago. She remains hospitalized in serious condition, as she recuperates from burns and smoke inhalation. Jon humbly received the award with his wife and daughter at his side tonight to a standing ovation in packed council chambers. Fellow officers lined the back wall to show their support.

Does anyone care? I imagine all of us pose the question to ourselves periodically. We hear the negative feedback everyday. And people often forget to express their gratitude. But tonight was one of those rare exceptions. And I would think everyone left feeling just a little more inspired.

At any rate, we are all proud of Jon. I may have to buy him a sleeve of golf balls as a symbol of my appreciation for his dedication. And then hopefully I can catch him on a bad day on the course, and beat him for a change!