The holiday season is here and this is a time to enjoy family and friends…while being grateful for all that we have. We all lead different lives and our experiences teach us to be grateful for different things for different reasons. While we appreciate the blessings that we may have, it is also important to remember that not everybody is as blessed and cheerful as we are.
December 24th, 1987, I was a rookie patrol officer fresh out of the police academy. This was well before new recruits worked with a training officer for months prior to venturing out on their own. My field training consisted of a ride up and down Main Street with a supervisor and he handed me the keys and wished me well! I enjoyed the trial by fire aspect of the job and I wasn’t too worried. What could go wrong?
I was dispatched to a very nice area of the city where I was asked to check the well-being of a female who had hung up on a relative during a phone call. She didn’t answer when the relative called her back. I knocked on the front door, but nobody responded or came to the door. I assumed the female had left the house or perhaps simply went to bed as it was quite late. I walked back towards my cruiser, but something made me stop. No, I have no idea what it was that made me walk back to that door and climb up on the railing, so I could peak through the small window at the top of the door.
I saw her lying motionless on the floor. I didn’t panic, but I had no idea what to do. I was a rookie and this wasn’t a scenario I ran through at the academy. I tried to kick the door in, but I couldn’t get the leverage needed to force it open. I ran around the house looking for another way in, and I noticed that a window out back was broken and that made my mind race!!! Had someone shot this poor woman? Was she dead on the floor?
My backup arrived quickly (thankfully) and we managed to get inside the house. The young woman was alive and breathing, but we soon realized that she attempted to take her own life by overdosing on pills and alcohol. The window was broken when she threw an iron through it before she lost consciousness. She was all alone on Christmas Eve and the loneliness and despair was too much for her to deal with. She survived and hopefully went on to live a happy and lengthy life, but that was one of many incidents throughout my 30 year career in law enforcement that reminded me how the holidays are not a blessing to everyone. I grew to appreciate the little things in life and still do. While I encourage you to be thankful for what you do have…I recommend that you to be mindful of what so many others may not have. Give if you can because generosity matters. A simple smile or thank you can be the difference between a stranger having a good day, or a bad one. Try to be the light in darkness.
The biggest lesson I learned from what I witnessed that first Christmas Eve “on the job” came from my father. I told him about what happened the following day and being a career firefighter, he certainly saw things that I couldn’t even image. He could probably tell that I was a bit shaken by the fact that a young woman would actually try to end her life on Christmas Eve. His reasoned and completely accurate response was fitting and true…He said, “Don’t worry, you’ll see a lot worse”. I sure did dad, I sure did!
Tis the Season to be merry and bright. Enjoy every moment while trying to bring joy to others when given the opportunity. Why a picture of Maisie? How can you not smile and feel good when you see that face? Merry Christmas to one and all.
