I'm a 41 year-old police detective.

Over the past 10 years, I've let myself get overweight. Tired. Lazy. Unattractive. Boring.

It was easy--I had an excuse. I went back to school in 2002 and worked my way through a Master's degree from the University of Florida, Summa Cum Laude. Mostly, I carried a full-time course load in addition to my full-time job. And homicide callouts. And court overtime. And instructing at the police academy. You get it. I'm a Type A personality.

While I was busy perusing book after book and researching paper after paper, my ass got bigger and bigger. My pants size grew larger and larger. Meh...I'll fix that later. Well, guess what?

Later.....is NOW.

And, it's a hell of a lot easier putting the weight on than taking it off. Anyone who had gained and lost more than 20 pounds will tell you the same.

This is my journey to lose 35 pounds and compete in the closest thing to the Olympic Games offered in amateur sports. The 2011 World Police and Fire Games in New York City.

I have 5 months to lose the weight and train my body to compete against elite athletes from around the globe. I've seen the records and they're no joke. I'll have to swim faster than I did when I was 14 or 15 and broke county records in Maryland back in the 80's.

No luck necessary. I'm getting my fat ass into the pool.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Rosetta Stone!




An incredible thing happened at work today.  I realized just how lucky I am with regard to my job.  I had the privilege of escorting a delegation of Russian criminalists through our facilities--I'm a crime scene investigator--and none of them spoke English.  So, via an interpreter, I was asked poignant questions about my job and how we handle the forensic aspects of crime here in the U.S.  One question in particular that took me aback: 

"When you go to a scene of a dead person in the street, are you very careful for fear there may be a bomb underneath the body?"  

Huh?  Seriously? 

Until that moment, it had never even occurred to me that a bomb could be planted under a dead person. I'm certain that the look of absolute horror on my face told the story, but I tried to stay cool and explained that this doesn't happen in Jacksonville.  I was told that this was a COMMON ploy by some who wish to harm the Russian police force. 

I was taught a very valuable lesson today.  Value your family.  Value your home.  Value your friends.  Value what you have because trust me, we don't reflect enough on what truly matters.  

Live in the moment.  

 
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