Time
08-15-2003, 10:15 a.m.

Time...
A Dear X Collaboration

August 15, 2003

Dear Daddy,

I so cannot believe that the time has come for you to retire. It doesn�t seem possible to me that today is your last day at the Police Department. You have talked about retiring for a couple of years now, but it was always followed by �one more year� and quite honestly, I couldn�t see you doing it for a couple more years. It always just seemed to be so much a part of your life, something that you�ve loved. My whole life, you have been a police officer, and some of my earliest memories include you in your uniform. I can�t believe that today is the last day that you will ever wear it again. I remember being little, and looking up to you, knowing that nothing would hurt me, because my Daddy was there to protect me.. He was the good guy, the police officer who was there to help me, and other kids out there too. Dad, you were my hero, and to this day you still are.

I am so proud of you today, but then again, I am proud of you every day. You are a wonderful man, one who has given a lot of his life to protecting others. I remember a time when you worked in a not so good neighborhood, and there were reports on the news of a situation in which a police officer was killed. They were not releasing names until the family was notified and we sat there scared to death� until you finally called. You were so sad, your co-worker had been killed, but you never stopped doing your job. There have been scary moments like that over the years, but never once did it deter you.

Not all my memories are scary ones though. Do you remember the time that you picked Sherry and I up from roller skating, in the Paddy Wagon, and you put us in the back, in handcuffs, in front of all of our friends� You drove a block and let us out, but we were in awe of you that night. Our friends talked about it for months, wanting to know what we did. It was such a thrill for us. Or how about the time I drove you to work so that I could have the car, and you asked me to wait until you could follow me out of the neighborhood.. Do you remember pulling me over to say goodbye, and those guys on that corner making fun of me because I got pulled over by a cop.. The look on their faces, when you handed me money and kissed me. I will never forget it. Or even many years before that, when I was just a little girl, and you would take me to the station with you, and show me where the bad guys would be locked up� or let me sit in your police car, and turn on the lights and sirens�I loved all of those things, and I will never forget any of them.

I wonder if part of you today is thinking about your own father, and his retirement from the same police force all those years ago. I know that he has been on your mind a lot lately, and that you are still reeling from his death a few months ago.. I know how proud of him you were, and I see you sometimes looking at his framed badge, and of the pictures of him when he still wore the uniform, and I wonder if I too will do the same thing many years from now. Is it neat knowing that you followed in your father�s footsteps? And that your oldest son is following in yours? I look at Scotty in his uniform, and it reminds me of you. I know that you look at him with pride, and that it�s something you two share, and I love watching it.

Congratulations Daddy! You put your time in, and now it�s time to sit back and enjoy yourself, your family, your grandchildren. You have been a wonderful police officer, but more than that, you are a wonderful man, and a great father. We are lucky every day of our lives, that we have you� and it�s amazing to me to know just how many other lives you have touched in the process. Thank you for being who you are, and for sharing it with me. I hope that I can someday be a fraction of the person that you are.

Love, Pookie