Why would someone choose to run a marathon?

Running sucks.

Throw a ball out there to chase, and I will run. I have never been a big fan of running just to run. During the police academy, I grew to tolerate running. That is after I lost a little weight from "snack cake Rusty" and it no longer felt like I was causing aftershocks every time I took a step. In the academy they divided our class into four running groups based upon ability. Group 1 were the gazelles. They could run forever and never tire. At the other end of the spectrum was group 4, they could hardly walk and got tired getting out of bed. I was placed into group 2. I have never been mistaken for a gazelle, but I can get out of bed without breaking a sweat. While in the academy we ran approximately three times a week and the furthest my group ever ran was 5 miles. 5 miles also being the furthest distance that I have ever run in my life. I hope to keep it that way.

Since the academy, I have exacerbated my lower back injury twice. Once while wake boarding and once by falling down a flight of stairs. My orthopedic surgeon recommends that I run as little as possible. Hallelujah. The pounding does not help my back. So, I follow his advise. Luckily, I normally have a rookie with me that I can kick out of the car to chase someone if necessary.

This past Sunday was the Chevron Houston Marathon. I have had friends complete the marathon in years past. This year, I had some friends running in it as well. They are in my Sunday school class and as a class, we decided to support them by cheering them on during the race. While I was on Christmas vacation, the department asked for volunteers from my station to work the race. They did not get enough volunteers, so they ordered those low in seniority to work the race. I have not worked the race since I was a rookie. This year, I volunteered to take the place of one of the rookies. I got to cheer on my boys and get paid at the same time. It was a win-win situation.

I reported for the marathon roll call in the gym at 5 AM and I was given my assignment. I was assigned to the Fairview and Grant intersection. I was to keep traffic from moving west on Fairview past Grant. Easy enough to accomplish with a police car and lights. We were instructed to be on our post at 6:15 AM and to close the route to all traffic at 6:30 AM. I was finally instructed to open up my route to traffic at 11 AM after all of the runners were safely past my location. I made a few observations during the four and half hours that I was posted at mile marker number 8.

It is amazing how many people come out and support the runners. In my area the route was lined with people and they were all shouting encouragement to the runners. I watched numerous individuals come out of the neighborhoods, sit down in a lawn chair and cheer. Lots of people were pulling wagons containing their little children making the event a family affair. They brought cow bells and lots of enthusiasm to motivate the runners.
The wheelchairs are the first to begin the race. They are amazing to see. The lead wheelchair finished the race in about an hour and 45 minutes, for an average speed of almost 15 miles per hour. Wow. A wheelchair under human power averaging 15 miles per hour over 26 miles. Unbelieveable.

I saw two people pushing other people in wheelchairs. I do not know their stories, but it was very inspiring to see.

The sheer number of runners is impressive. Once the main body of runners reached my location, they did not stop coming for two hours. Just a mass of humanity running mile after mile.

For the most part, the drivers in the area understood the traffic snarl created by the race. Once the runners reach a place, traffic can't cross the route in that place until all of the runners are past. However, one driver in particular did not understand. He came flying up to my police car and started yelling at me. "How do I get home? Why can't I cross? Where can I cross the route? This is ridiculous." He tested my patience. Severely. I had been awake since 1:30 PM the day before. I was not in the mood. The marathon had been in the news for a week. There were signs for the race everywhere. Rude man knew the race was coming. He had the chance to be where he needed to be before the race started. He did not like my answers to his questions and after some drama, sped away from my intersection.

Overall, the race was a cool spectacle to see again in person. The triumph of the human spirit to overcome and run that distance is very impressive. A quick shout out to my boys that completed the race, great job fellas. Wear your "finisher" shirts with pride.

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A difficult situation with a child

One of my friends, C, is going through a difficult situation with her daughter, T. The daughter, T, is 18 years old and a senior in high school. Back in early December, T decided to move out of C's house. T moved in with her boyfriend, G, a 20 year old male. They live in a house with a friend and that friend's parents. G does not have a job, he just hangs out. So far, T is still attending high school. My friend, C, learned all of this from her other daughter, L, who is 16 years old and is still in contact with T. C has not talked to T since she moved out of the house.

As a parent, I can't help but to put myself in C's shoes and wonder what I would do in that situation. I really have no idea what I would do. What can you do? I know what I would want to do and that would involve a shotgun and a visit to the house where she was staying. But I have a feeling that would not end very well. If your child is old enough to move out, there is not much that you can do to stop them.

As a parent I know that as A and A2 get older I will try to help them avoid the same mistakes that I made while growing up. My parents did that for me. Sometimes that will work and the mistake will be avoided. Other times they will have to learn by making the mistakes themselves and dealing with the consequences. At times, children do not think that their parents are very smart. They do not realize that most of the time, the parent has already been through the same situation and learned from that situation. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a parent to watch their child screw up when it is avoidable. Even worse would be watching the child repeat the parent's mistake.

Children do not come with a manual. You do not need a license to have a child. The most important job in the world is also the most difficult. As the child gets older, it seems that the job gets more difficult. At some point, you have to trust in God and how you raised them and let go. I know that I will be dealing with that all too soon. To me it seems like just yesterday that A was born. He is almost 9 and is in the third grade. In theory, at 9 years old he will be half-way through his time under our roof. That is hard to believe. It feels like tomorrow he will be graduating from high school and heading off to Texas. Time goes by so fast.

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To finish first or to make an A? A big challenge for my third grader

A is in the second semester of the third grade. So far, it has been academically challenging. Jen and I found out early on in his third grade year, that his second grade teacher do not do very much teaching. A made "A"s all year long in second grade. We thought that he was doing just fine. However, there are 6 kids from A's second grade class in his third grade class, and they were all behind. This was unfortunate. A goes to a good school in a good school district with a very good reputation. Third grade is also a very challenging year academically. So, A went into third grade needing to learn a lot of second grade material while learning third grade material. This was especially evident in math.
Jen and I expect to help out in the educational process with our children. But, we are not teachers by trade. We found ourselves having to teach A after school. In my opinion, A and his entire class are assigned a lot of homework. I am sure that the teacher feels that the homework is necessary to get them ready for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. A goes to school from 8 AM until 3 PM. He gets home at 3:30 PM and then does homework until about 5 PM on most days. That is a long day for an 8 year old. So far, he has been a trooper. He gets home and gets right to work on his homework.

Besides learning two grades worth of material in one year, A also has to deal with being my son. When I was in school, I always wanted to be the first one done with an assignment. I took pride in being the first one finished with a test. I liked being the first one to stand up and walk up to the teacher to turn in an assignment. Sadly, I am still like that. I had to take a test at the end of field training school. I was the first one finished in the class by 15 minutes. A likes to finish first as well. He wants to get done quickly so that he can do what he wants to do. And what he wants to do is read.

During the year, the third graders are given benchmark tests. The tests help the teachers determine how well the kids are learning the necessary material to pass the TAKS test. On the first benchmark test, A did not do very well on the math portion. In fact, he failed that part. Jen and I were fairly certain that he had rushed through the test. Recently, A brought a letter home stating that he might be asked to participate in after school preparation for the TAKS test. The extra tutoring would start at the end of January and last until the end of March, for an hour four days a week. Wow. He already has long days and they are wanting to make it an hour longer. A had a second set of benchmarks coming up. We encouraged him to take his time on the tests. We told him to not worry about who finished first. He took the math portion on Tuesday. He told us that he really took his time and did his best on the test. On Wednesday, when he got home from school, he said that he had some important news to tell me. I had no idea what was coming. He was not smiling. Usually, that means bad news. Then he broke into a big smile and said that he had made an A on his math benchmark. I was so proud of him and happy for him. I could see in his eyes how excited and proud he was of his performance.

Then he added that he was the fifth one finished with the test.

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Kids and their activities

Children start participating in activities at very early ages. Anything from gymnastics to soccer to baseball to swimming to dance to karate and everything in between are offered. If the parent is not careful, all of the sudden the child is signed up for 4 activities and every evening of the week and every weekend is filled with something. Throw in more than one child, and now each parent is going somewhere different. Jen and I try to have the kids involved on no more than two activities at any one time. So far, we have been able to stick to that rule. We have been tempted to break it, but so far we are standing firm.

I am sure that it has always been this way, but I do not remember being involved in anything at 3 years old, and I turned out semi-normal. On the other hand, I imagine that Jen was dancing at 3 years old and she is a lot closer to normal than I. So, I guess both ways can work. Currently, our household is gearing up for spring activities. A is doing Little League and karate. League City Little League (LLCL) sign up took place last Saturday. When it was time to pay, A heard the amount that we owed and exclaimed, "That is a lot of money." It can be expensive to have fun. To help A have a little more fun this year in LCLL, I have enrolled him in hitting and throwing lessons at a baseball academy. A likes to do well and gets very frustrated when he struggles. Last season he had a rough start, so we are trying to avoid that this year. He has had one lesson so far, and it went very well. He had a great time and really liked the instructor. It was evident in his performance during the lesson that what he was being told was helping him. We have worked on the skills a few times since the lesson and he is enjoying it.

Karate is another story. It starts tonight and he is not looking forward to it. I have asked him why, and he says that it is boring. He enjoys the sparring, but does not enjoy working on the skills. He has three years invested in karate and is a red belt. I do not want to force him to go, but I do not want him to throw it away either. I told him to try it tonight. One of his friends became a red belt at the end of last semester, and I think that he will like that. Who knows?

A2 has startred dance classes at Royal Academy. Jen took classes at Royal Academy when she was a little girl. It is pretty cool that they are taking dance classes at the same academy. She has class once a week. The above picture was taken on her first day of class. Before she was placed into a class, she had to attend tryouts. I can only imagine what dance tryouts for three year olds looks like. One thing about the dance class seems a little extreme to me. All of the students must look the same. They must all have their hair in a bun, wear pink tights, and a black leotard. The tap shoes must have black elastic for the lace and not black ribbon. I must admit that she looks adorable in her dance gear.

Dance is going to be A2's only spring activity. She was involved in gymnastics, but that ended on Monday. On Monday, she had "Show Day" at the Little Gym. She did a floor routine, beam routine, and bar routine that they had been working on in class. She had a great time and did a great job after getting over her initial shyness. A2 is always a little nervous when things are different. She had gotten used to me not being in the gym with her. On Show Day, the parents are in the gym, and this threw her off her game a little to start. I have to give credit to the staff at the LIttle Gym of Friendswood. We transferred over to this gym when the gym where had been attending closed unexpectedly. They did a great job of making us feel welcome. A2 was treated like a princess and they were very patient with her. A2 enjoyed her time there very much. Thank you.

Two kids, three activities. Two are certain to continue and one is on life support. Who knows what the rest of the semester will bring. One thing is for sure, it will be well documented.

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A question that took me by surprise

This incident took place a little over a year ago. I was reminded of it tonight because we were dispatched to a call in the same building.

We were dispatched to a family violence assault call with injury in a very nice high rise residential building in the Midtown area. We made our way inside the building and into the elevator. At the correct residence, our knock on the door was answered by a cute blonde female, C, who was about the size of Jen. Which is to say, she was not a very large person. I looked beyond her into the residence and I noticed that the furniture was in disarray. A glass coffee table had been shattered. the couch had been knocked over backwards and a bookcase had been tumbled over. I also heard some moaning coming from inside the residence. I asked C who else was inside and she said that her boyfriend, T, was home and injured.

I entered and found T on the ground and in a great deal of pain. T was a large man, about the size of your average NFL linebacker. He said that he thought that his arm was broken and that he needed medical attention. We summoned HFD to take care of him. While we were waiting for the paramedics, I spoke with C in another room and my rookie spoke with T. C stated that they had been dating for a few years and had lived together for a year. She said that T was verbally and emotionally abusive to her. She said that on this night, T had pushed her over the edge. They were upstairs in the bedroom and T started his verbal abuse. She got fed up with it, and noticed that T was standing near the top o the stairs. She got off the bed, ran towards him and pushed him down the stairs. He tumbled down, knocked over the couch and shattered the table at the bottom.

According to T, his girlfriend just flipped out and pushed him down the stairs. T had done nothing to cause the attack, according to him at least. About that time, HFD arrived and after accessing him, thought that T had a broken arm and possibly a concussion. In these situations, we call the District Attorney's office and explain the situation to an on-call assistant District Attorney. We tell them both sides of the story along with any impressions that we have on the scene. In this case, we had a family violence assault with serious bodily injury. C admitted to me that she had pushed him down the stairs. The ADA thought that we had a good 2nd degree felony case against C. C was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. T continued to moan and complain and HFD transported him to the hospital.

As we were leaving the residence, a neighbor's door opened. I looked over and the resident, S, asked if she could speak with us. S bore a striking resemblance to Carmen Electra, but with blond hair. We had another unit with us to watch our prisoner, so we followed S inside of her residence. Inside, we met her husband. We then asked S how we could be of service. S stated that she is the one that called the police. She said that she always hears T yelling and threatening C. On this night, she heard the yelling start and then heard a loud thumping noise that actually shook her residence. She was scared that C had been hurt so she called the police. My probationary continued to ask her questions about the incident, and then started collecting her contact information for the report. He asked S for her business address, and she rattled off an Austin address. She lives in Houston, and has an Austin business address, that piqued my curiosity. So, I asked her what she did for a living. She said that she was an actress. Ok, cool. I asked if she had been in any films that we might have seen? She looked at me and said, "That depends, do you watch porn?" That was not the answer that I was expecting. Even better, the rookie pipes up with, "That is where I recognize you from." I expected the rookie to then ask her for an autograph. Thankfully, he did not. Outstanding. You just never know what each new shift will bring.

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Football, adversity, Colt, and a crushed 8 year old

As most of you already know, I am a sports fan. Not all sports and not all teams, I am particular. Soccer? No thanks. Hockey? Used to be. WNBA? You've got to be joking. Aggies? See WNBA. Baylor? Less than the Aggies. NFL? Absolutely. Any University of Texas athletics? Defininitely. UT Football? Borderline obsessive.

In 2006, the Longhorns were led by Vince Young and won the National Title over USC in an epic game at the Rose Bowl. After the game, I realized that as far as watching sports goes, I had just watched the game of my dreams. It could not get any better. I responded by buying a few burnt orange shirts (I think that I could go an entire month without a repeat) and every single magazine that put out a commemorative edition for the championship (the stack is 2 feet tall).

Now that you have some perspective, I bring you to the evening of 01-07-2010. The Longhorns were once again in the National Championship game. It was in the Rose Bowl, again. I had been anticipating this game for 5 weeks. The entire family came over to the house to watch the game. The game started well. A good defensive stand, a crazy fake field goal attempt by Bama, and we had the ball in good field position. Then it happened. Five plays into the biggest game of his life, Colt gets hit in the back just like he has hundreds of times before. However, this time the hit caused a pinched nerve in Colt's throwing arm. Colt could not feel his arm. After the game he said that it felt, "dead". Colt had been a redshirt freshman on the 2005 National Championship team. He had worked his entire life for this moment, and just like that, after only 5 plays, it was over.

Imagine working towards a goal for 15 years of your life. You train, you study, you compete every day. Then you actually get there. You have the opportunity to achieve your goal. It will not be easy. You will have to fight and claw and scratch to finish it. Then a freak thing happens. Your injured. And just like that, its over. You try to fight through it, but you just can't play. Then you watch your teammates battle back only to eventually lose. As you walk off the field, a reporter and cameraman stop you and ask how you feel? How do you think I feel? My dreams have just been snatched away from me. And this is where Colt showed his true character.

He responded with, "I've given college football the best I've had for the last four years. Every player's dream is to play on a stage like that and have an opportunity like that. I could have never imagined this would happen. I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life. And I know, if nothing else, I'm standing on the Rock..."

Wow. If I was Colt's father, I would have been prouder of him at that moment than if he had played great and won the game. It is very easy to say the right things and act the correct way when things go our way. When faced with adversity, we find out what we are made of. Colt is made of faith. Jen summed it up perfectly when she updated her Facebook status, Jen "wants my son to have the same character as Colt McCoy when he gets older. What an amazing, humble, Christian young man! Now there's a role model that I can support. Props to Garrett Gilbert for a valiant effort. Hook 'em...still proud of my Horns!"

We allowed A to stay up and watch the game. He was devastated by the outcome. As he was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, he began sobbing. Not just a few tears, but gut wrenching wails. Luckily, I was still in the room. I was able to help him calm down. I asked him what was wrong. He said, "Why did Colt get hurt? Why couldn't he play? Why did we lose?" I had a teachable moment. What could I say that an 8 year old would understand? What could I say that would convey true meaning to him? So, I said, "Son, losing sucks. Getting hurt sucks as well. But it happens. However, we show our true character when we lose. Colt stood up as a man of God and congratulated his opponent and thanked God for his opportunity. That is something that we can all learn from." Not too bad for an off the cuff in the heat of the moment response. He looked up at me and I waited to hear his response. I could see the gears turning in his head. He opened his mouth and said, "Can I play my iPod Touch tomorrow. I am really close to getting a new weapon in the game you bought me." He shook off the loss quicker than I will. I can learn a lot from Colt's and A's response. Have faith that God is in control, in the good times and the bad. And its just a game, get over it.

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First night back and people are still crazy

All good things come to an end. My Christmas vacation is over. Earlier tonight my dad asked me if I still knew how to get to work. I told him I had it covered, it is programmed into my GPS. I knew that I was getting a new rookie tonight, Z. I did not know that he would be 9 feet tall and from La Porte. Ok, 9 feet in an exaggeration, but he is 6'6" and from La Porte. He graduated from LPHS and went on to play college basketball. He then played professionally overseas for awhile. He is in his third phase of training and is stuck with me for three weeks.

At rollcall we were given a special assignment by the desk sergeant to meet an evening shift unit at Ben Taub Hospital. The evening shift unit, B, was dispatched to a disturbance. When B arrived he found a resident that had a house guest, Ron, that was refusing to leave. They were lovers and things were not working out. B got Ron's Texas ID and using the computer in the vehicle found out that Ron was wanted for a parole violation. B placed Ron under arrest and put him in the backseat of the patrol vehicle. Once Ron found out that he was going to jail for the parole violation, he started talking about suicide. "I'm crazy. I want to kill myself." Ron had quickly developed the "I do not want to go to jail" mental illness.

So, B took Ron to the Neuropsychiatric Center, NPC, for an evaluation. He was evaluated and released. They concluded that he just did not want to go to jail. B then transported Ron to the county jail. Ron had been quiet on the drive. Once they arrived, Ron asked if they were at the jail. B said yes and Ron started banging his head against the cage in the backseat of the patrol vehicle. B got Ron out of the backseat and restrained him. Ron was carried into the jail. The jail refused to accept him because they thought he was too intoxicated. B loaded Ron back in the patrol vehicle and transported him to the Emergency room at Ben Taub to be evaluated medically.

We arrived at Ben Taub, found B and Ron, and took over. B made sure that Ron was handcuffed to the bed. Ron did not need immediate medical attention so he was wheeled into the dreaded holding area of the ER at Ben Taub, the Tub. The holding area is a horribly depressing place. If you are without insurance and sick, bleeding, leaking, oozing, in pain, or crazy, but not about to die and you come to the Tub, the holding area is your initial destination. When I leave I always feel like I need a shower and to burn my clothing.

Ron was lying camly in his bed, and then he lost it. He started screaming and cussing. That earned him a ride into the hall. In the hall, My back was to Ron. I was facing Z and we were talking. Z was facing Ron. All of the sudden, Z said, "What is he trying to do?" I turned around and Ron had taken a sheet from the bed, wrapped it around his neck, and was trying to strangle himself. Ron's face was turning purple. I went back into the holding area and summoned the medical professionals. They took the sheet from his neck and then cut off his clothing. Then they strapped him to the bed. Ron was returned to the holding area. Ron wanted more attention so he resumed screaming. He asked for a scapel and when that wish was not granted said every curse word combination that you can imagine. He kept screaming until the medical professionals gave him a shot that put him to sleep. Ah, sweet silence. Ron was still asleep when we were relieved by a late side unit. When Ron wakes up, he will be taken back to jail. He gets an "A" for effort, but the end result will be the same.

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