I saw a sign

When Sam came home this morning I was in a deep sleep, not even the dogs barked at him coming in the door like they used to. Strange too because I went to bed fairly early last night. After he finally got me up, he started telling me about his day. From what I can remember doesn't sound like much happened...which is a good thing.

He asked me if I had run into much traffic on our street when I got home. I said I didn't get home until late since I visited with my parents after work but noticed the flashing sign across the street from our drive about the lights being out. A few feet down our street is a small but relatively busy intersection with the 4-way-stop-flashing lights. Well there was an accident just before he was leaving for work. An elderly woman's car got totalled. And of course I can't find anything about it in the news online! Any way, Sam must have been coming down the driveway to go to work when a kid along the sidewalk stopped him saying there was a accident down the street. He got in his car and checked out the scene.

He thinks its a sign that he should be working for our city. I hope so! He's already heard from a few people that have switched over that they've put in multiple good words about him. Should be another couple weeks before we know anything for certain.

Send your prayers

Cop's 3-year-old son shot at home with handgun

Our thoughts and prayers go out to this officer and his family.

I'm still around

Well we're still around. Sam is still recooperating from December's episode. He was just recently cleared for work next week. We still don't know what exactly happened but the family (diverse medical backgrounds) are leaning toward SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia), so as long as he stays on the medication. I just wish in these past few months we had gotten a more definite diagnosis from the doctors. He's very dissatisfied with the specialist, who told him that he would grow out of the condition and to suck it up and go back to work. All we can do is keep an eye on and pray it doesn't get any worse.

He's been doing a lot of thinking too with all this time spent at home and away from the streets. He's been thinking of getting out of the police business going back to school for a degree. I support his decision a 100%! I love that he's a cop but I hate having those thoughts that he could be hurt --more seriously, on a regular basis. And he sees that police work isn't all that its cracked up to be. What we think police do and what they actually do, he's seen as two different things. Even if he gets out of the line of work, he'll still always be my handsome officer.

I've been busy too these past few months. Since moving in, I've become the quote-unquote breadwinner of the household now that I'm a full-time employee...oh which reminds me I need to complete my benefits package. I just wish I could stay home with him all day...work is bleck! Money is nice but I hate being swamped with work and practically forced to work overtime. Downside...our romance has dwindled a bit in the process, but that's nothing we can't work with. Hopefully I'll get back into blogging and writing within the next week or so. I miss it.

Driving home from work today, I saw in the southbound lanes I saw numerous red flashing lights which immediately peeked my interest as usual. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic for 8pm on the highway but of course there isn't any traffic reports on the radio at that hour. As I approached, I saw two fire rescue trucks, two fire engines, two ambulances and a couple of trooper's patrol cars around another ambulance that had overturned on the side of I-95. I didn't see any other vehicles involved but then I had very limited sight at 75mph on the northbound side of the road.

Here's what I was able to find on RadioReference:
TRAFFIC ADVISORY 07/26/11 20:16 - (JUPITER - TAC 2A) UPDATE: DEPUTY CHIEF 1 INCIDENT COMMAND OF ROLL-OVER MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT INVOLVING COASTAL CARE AMBULANCE, MINOR INJURY, LANES BLOCKED [FLA172]

I didn't see any other news online, but I hope everyone involved are okay.

Cops seek suspects in shocking hit-and-run

From: Associated Press, June 24, 2011

YEADON, Pa. — Police in a Philadelphia suburb say they have found the car involved in a hit-and-run that injured a man in a convenience store parking lot, a crime recorded by surveillance cameras.

WPVI-TV reports that a tip led Yeadon (YAY’-den) police to a silver 2007 Dodge Caliber in Philadelphia. Detective Sgt. David Splain says it has damage consistent with the June 9 accident, which injured a 7-Eleven employee.

Police say the owner and driver of the car, 32-year-old Wilaisha Rankins, remains at-large. A passenger in the car surrendered Tuesday. Police say that person is cooperating and likely won’t face charges.

Footage from the store’s surveillance cameras shows the car hitting the employee around 10:30 p.m. on June 9, pushing him into the store. He suffered an injured leg.




After watching the video, it almost looks like the car intentionally hits the employee. You see it from the second angle. The driver backs out of the space, but doesn't pull away instead sits there until employee puts bag in trash and guns it forward! Then the passenger calmly exits the vehicle and walks off camera while the passenger in the backseat exits in a roll out the car as its backing up to pull away. Anyways, I suspect foul play just by watching the video and I hope they're able to find the driver and that the employee makes a speedy recovery.

I get knocked down but I get up again, You're never gonna keep me down

I'm in the bathroom just getting ready for bed....yes at 2:34AM....when I hear the little you've-got-a-text-message jingle from my bedroom. Sam still has another hour before heading home and he's only gotten home at 2:30 just once. I finish in the bathroom, crawl into bed and am greeted with this:

Not sure if you can see it, but this is his elbow, just a little banged up. He called after he sent the picture to tell me the story, his voice was very excited *smiles*.

He and a fellow officer stepped out with a man when he took off running. Naturally, Sam gave chase. The guy hopped a chain link fence, which didn't have that top horizontal support pipe so it was just chain links....if that makes sense. Because it's dark, Sam didn't notice the flawed fence and when he went to go over it the fence and him collapsed. I'm not sure if it was the guy he was chasing stopped to laugh at him or if it was another bystander. It was probably the runner, who else would be up at that hour? *shrugs* Well my babe is a trooper, he got up and kept chasing the guy. When Sam sent the picture and called, they had lost the guy but were currently patrolling the area. I hope they find this guy.

Sam was okay though, just a scratch...of course I'll see how bad it is on Tuesday when I see him. He also ripped his pants a little when he got tangled with the fence.

(title lyrics "Tubthumping (I get knocked down)" by Chumbawamba)

Just a time bomb

Got to work this afternoon and saw this ad front page of the Post: Popular police cars prone to explode, tied to deaths (3page article from the Palm Beach Post). I'll have to post one of the pictures the online article didn't include, showing the position of the fuel tank near the axle. Sam texted me while I was reading the article, he was getting ready for work. He knew that Vics could do that. I don't like that; him and other officers driving around in just the larger version of the Pinto. Its also sickening to think that Ford knew about the defect in their vehicles. How could they knowingly put these servants and civilians lives at risk? In the name of profit?

These are the five officers listed in the article from Florida who died in Crown Victoria related incidents:
Trooper Patrick Ambroise
Florida Highway Patrol, Florida
EOW: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Police Officer Alex Del Rio
Hollywood Police Department, Florida
EOW: Saturday, November 22, 2008
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Jefferson Hancock Davis
Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Florida
EOW: Thursday, May 30, 2002
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Steven Michael Agner
Madison County Sheriff's Office, Florida
EOW: Monday, July 26, 1999
Cause of Death: Automobile accident

Trooper Robert G. Smith
Florida Highway Patrol, Florida
EOW: Saturday, July 26, 1997
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

It makes me think of Sam's accident last week. I've only had dreams or worries about him being seriously injured and never entertained the thought long enough to see its conclusion. I would hate to even think what I would do if something happened...I know in his line of work there is always the possibility but I'd like to think of him as my invincible knight, that nothing could ever harm him, except for my "playful" smack on his biceps after him spitting water in my face for a quick giggle *smiles* I love that man as annoying and as silly as he is.

All any of us can do is hope and pray for our men and women is to be safe when they're out there on patrol or driving to and from work. Sorry, I think its that time of the month soon, I'm getting all emotional. :)

I hate these calls

Sam called at 9:30 tonight to let me know that he was involved in a small traffic accident but that he was okay. It happened around 6ish.

As he explained it, he and another officer were responding to call. His fellow officer ahead of him decided to pull over a bicycle on the the other side of the bridge. Sam following the flow of traffic was coming over the bridge when the car in front of him saw the first officer with lights flashing and put on the brakes hard. Sam slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the car but as we can see that didn't work out so well. I don't think Sam went to the hospital but he said the other guy did complaining of "severe neck pain".

At least he called and told me he was okay. When he broke his knee last November, he put it in a text very nonchalantly "hey babe i broke my knee"....He assured me he was okay then. I'll probably head over to his place tomorrow afternoon once he's awake and getting ready for work just to check up on him. ♥

Hero of the week

I'm giving myself this gold star moment. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and through the littlest of actions. What I did wasn't especially heroic and I was at best just a good samaritan.

Saturday we had a major storm system that came through the area. It caused the baseball game at the stadium to be called  and as such I was on my home early by about 30minutes. I'm driving northbound on I-95, just crossed over the county line when I see a few feet or yards ahead of me through the rain an SUV make a sharp turn to the left through the center median and across southbound traffic. As I'm passing, I don't see the car or their headlights on the road. I keep driving not sure if I should turn around in the emergency median. I don't turn around right away and travel another six or seven miles to the next exit before I finally do. I couldn't leave it unchecked thinking what if I read about this in the paper the next day. I could have been there, it could have been avoided. How could I sleep if I knew something could have been done.

I'm going at least 75 or 80mph, my usual on I-95 but rather unsafe in the rain. It seems like I was driving forever but I finally find the car in the ditch between I-95 and the Turnpike. I couldn't believe no one else had stopped. The car didn't appear damaged. I put on my emergency flashers, turned off the car and headed down the small incline to check on the driver and any passengers. The driver was a young black woman, around my age. She was on the phone with I guess a family member since when I asked if she had called 911 she indicated she had not. I told her that I was going to call them for her. I climbed back up to my car, got in and made the call letting them know what happened and where we were. After the call I went back down, she was still on the phone, and I let her know they were on their way and asked if she was okay. She said she was fine and the only apparent damage was to the back of her car. Regardless, I was going to stay with her until someone arrived.

The fire department and ambulance arrived fairly quickly, asking if we were okay. I said I wasn't involved but just the witness and recounted my story to them. I said that I didn't think she was hurt but had called just to be sure. Another medical officer asked if the car had rolled at all and I said no. They thanked me for the call and staying with her and went to check her out. I got a call from dispatch asking to clarify the position as the department was having trouble finding us but I assured them that they were on scene. She thanked me and said that I was good to go. We hung up but I stuck around because a state trooper arrived and I figured he would want my account. I waited about ten minutes, the fire department had finished their assessment and were leaving the scene and it was maybe another five minutes before the trooper came to my car to get my side of the story and my driver's license information for his report.

Any who, the woman was fine and able to drive her vehicle out of the ditch with the trooper's assistance. After that I was good to go. I got home about 8:30p, not too late but it almost seemed forever between all the driving back and forth and for the emergency services to get there.

Now that I think about it, in all that time I spent waiting with the woman we never did exchange names. Not that it matters to me, I'm just really grateful that her accident wasn't any worse than it could have been. She was very lucky in that fact.

The New Year

is looking extremely promising! Sam was discharged from physical therapy early, only seven sessions. And after an agonizing two-something hour wait at the doctors office he was cleared for full duty. Starting Sunday, he goes back to serving up "justice with a side order of spaghetti." I'm so glad he can go to work and not sit around twiddling his thumbs. He'll be back to training for SWAT in no time at all. To think it was only another month ago the other doctor was talking about possible surgery!

I have to admit (as I have to him) that I'm not too fond of him switching over to midnights. Firstly, I will not have him to cuddle with in the night because well, he'll be working. The night shift as he has told me is a little more on the dangerous side. But that's what he loves and I can't exactly stop him. He knows how I feel about it and he has assured me that everything will be fine, which I know is true. At least I know his mom is in the same boat as I am.

Now all we need to do is get him a toy for his patrol vehicle. Speaking of toys, I found a great find for him at Staples the other day. I originally saw them during Black Friday and thought about getting him one but hesitated then. I happened to see them on clearance and decided to grab two as gift ideas. I'm going to be in a bit of a gift crunch with Valentine's, his birthday and our first year anniversary; birthday and anniversary just so happen to be in the same month. Well I have a big gift for his birthday already but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for other ideas for anything else I can think of.

Well time for bed...maybe something will come to me in my dreams :)