I suspect very few of us noticed that this week is National Nurses Week. It is always celebrated in conjunction with Florence Nightingale’s birthday on May 12th. Some would say: Who cares? You might care when you find yourself in a hospital bed at the mercy of someone who has RN plastered on their name badge. I am a little partial to nurses. I spend my share of time visiting people in ICU, on the floor at the hospital, or…
A police officer simply being alert during patrol duties contributed to a woman’s life being saved in Roanoke, VA recently. 28 year old N.D. Comas heard a woman screaming, as he worked with the windows of his patrol car rolled down. She was threatening to jump off a bridge into the path of an oncoming train. She was screaming into a cell phone she held in one hand and had a knife in another hand. As he ran toward her,…
I do believe last night’s after dinner speech was the most inspiring presentation of that nature that I have ever heard. Retired Lt .Col. Brian Birdwell was the guest speaker at a Granbury Police Dept. banquet. I was privileged to sit next to him at the head table last since part of my role was to lead the invocation. Col. Birdwell survived the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. During the course of his speech last night…
I recently heard an audio recording of a little 5 year old girl who called 911, because her father was experiencing shortness of breath and other tell-tale signs of a heart attack. The conversation the dispatcher had with the little girl is priceless. She was very responsible and did everything the dispatcher asked her to do. She was also a prim and proper little girl who was quite concerned that she would still be in her pajamas when the firefighters…
Pat Robertson has created quite a stir this week following his comments regarding Haitian history within hours of the horribly devastating earthquake this poor country has experienced. I read his comments. I read what people had to say about his comments. And then I visited his website to read the reaction to the media stir he has created. I am not a Haitian history scholar, and it appears that Pat Robertson is not either. It is a good rule of thumb not…
Someday I want to build a home out in the country. I have a vision of its design in that little twisted head of mine. It will be two story with Granbury stone on the outside. It will also include a full basement and a large front porch. The kitchen will be roomy with plenty of counter space to prepare meals for large groups. My thought is this: I need three guestrooms with their own baths. Each son can come…
I am praying for the families of the four Lakewood, Washington police officers killed in the line of duty early yesterday. Washington State Patrol officials were in a desperate search this morning for a man suspected of ambushing the officers in a cold blooded attack. I was nearly late for an important lunch meeting today as I watched the coverage of that event on the news. The phrase protect and serve was on my mind, as I pulled out of…
I knew he was in desperate need… I got a call today to assist a young man traveling through Granbury who was without a vehicle, out of money, and hungry. I had a pretty idea that he was legitimate. In fact, I knew he was desperate. He showed up in the lobby at the police department late this afternoon. People that have something to hide don’t frequent the police department for any reason. As I interviewed him, he inhaled the…
I wanted to take her home. I am not exaggerating at all. I would have taken her home, and never looked back. I got to hold her a couple of months ago at a local business ,while several police officers were investigating an alleged crime. I can’t repeat her name for reasons of confidentiality. Nor can I share her exact age. I can only say that she is an infant. I was riding out with one of the officers on…
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, and his family were living in a deplorable Indian slum until they received a 250-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment this week. Why would that be of interest? He happens to be the child star featured in the 2008 academy award winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. Not too long after the movie’s release, I read where both of the young child actors featured in the film were still living in dire poverty. It seemed ironic at the time that a…