Exactly 30 years ago Friday, I ended my career as a cop. When a request for vacation time was grudgingly approved, I considered it a two-week notice. My resignation was on the chief’s desk a few minutes later.
Few things would satisfy me more than to say that I never looked back. However, I didn’t realize that such a thing would never be up to me. Few careers leave their mark on a person quite like public safety.
Cops, fire, military, emergency medical services — we all end up with closets full of monstrous images, smells and sounds crammed behind a door we lean against for the rest of our lives.