A Year

Hard to believe I know, but one year ago, I began Chronicling my "adventures". A lot has changed in the past year, but mostly, things have just stayed the same. As they always seem to do.

After 35 posts and a lot of heart felt words put in an open forum for all to see, not much has changed. Sure, I am a little heavier, a little more scarred (both mentally and physically), and hopefully a little wiser.

10 things that I have learned in the past year:

1) Always wear a seat belt. Seat belts saved the lives of 4 of my colleagues. Before the wreck, if I was in a Crown Victoria or on a warrant team, it would be a rare occasion that I would actually wear this important piece of safety equipment. Due to the fact that it hampered my ability to "jump out". Now, I realize that getting to the location is half the battle.

2) Judges are not as scary as I once thought. Just because they hold sway over the lives of a lot of people. Does not mean they are out to get me. There are a lot of other things to be concerned with.

3) Friends are hard to come by. As Agent L learned the hard way, just because people work with you does not mean they are your friends. People who say they will go to the ends of the Earth for you during the good times, often find better things to do when you actually need their help. Even if all that is, is an encouraging word or a visit when one is lonely.

4) Do not waist a chance to get out of Dodge. Some opportunities only come around once in a life time. Just because things might get better, does not mean that they will, and does not mean that you should stick around just to see what happens. If the chance for something better comes a long, take it. You might not get another chance.

5) Women...despite the fact that I work closely with a multitude of Women (and have done so for most of my working life) I still know more about Particle Physics and what happens to stuff that gets sucked into a Black Hole, than I know about Women. Despite this, they are not as scary as I thought. Just like with Judges, what is the worst that can happen.

6) Always assume the dog has more chain. I believe this is self explanatory.

7) If I find myself in a position where a part of my body is involuntarily in the mouth of an unfamiliar Animal, hence forth, said Animal shall be rendered harmless by any means necessary. Questions, will be reserved for a later time.

8) Rabies and Rabies shots. Thankfully, I already knew a lot about the Rabies Virus. This is mostly due to a research project in College. However, I learned that the Rabies shots are not as bad as they used to be. They are by no means a picnic, especially for somone who does not like the sharp pointy things. Also, if you are in South Carolina, and in need of the first set of shots in a hurry, call your local Emergency Rooms. They are the most likely to have a stock of the First Series of shots on hand. Anyone else, including DHEC, will have to order them.

9) Do not trust a Government Agency to have your best interests in mind. Unless you watch them closely they will try and do as little as possible. You would think that I would know this, having worked in the Executive Branch most of my life. But, I am told that I can be quite stubborn.

10) God is good..all the time.

Agent L is still going through a rough time, a year after the accident and they are just now starting to work on her teeth. She will have months of Orthodontics, before they start working on the rest her.

Agent S is two weeks away from returning to work after having a healthy baby boy. However, her recovery had to be halted due to her pregnancy, and should resume if it has not already.

I am back to full duty. Extraditions from Maximum Security Institutions are already in the works. I receive my final Rabies vaccination this Friday and the real battle begins.

I pray that I am here next year and still typing on this blog, and I pray that more progress has been made.

Semper Fi Deus

Goose