Chapter 1
A policeman… is a composite of what all men are I guess a mingling of saint and sinner dust and deity. Called statistics waved the fan over stinkers. Underscore instances if dishonesty and brutality because they are news. What that really means is they are exceptional they are unusual they are not common plays buried under the froth is the fact. And the fact is that less than one half of one percent of policemen misfit that uniform and that is a better average than you'd find among clergymen. What is a policeman? He of all men is at once the most needed and the most wanted; a strangely nameless creature who is sir to his face and pig or worse behind his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won but if a policeman is neat he is conceited but if he is careless he's a bum if he's pleasant he's a flirt if he's not he's a grouch. He must make instant decisions which would require months for a lawyer; but if he hurries he's careless if he's deliberate he's lazy. He must be first to an accident infallible with the diagnosis he must be able to start breathing stop bleeding tie splints and above all be sure the patron goes home without a limp or expect to be sued. The police officer must know every gun draw on the run and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. If you hit him he's a coward if he hits you he's a bully a policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all of the sin is and not partake. The policeman from a single human hair must be able to describe the crime the weapon the criminal and tell you where the criminal is hiding but if he catches the criminal he's lucky; if he doesn't he's dumb. If he gets promoted he has political pool if he doesn't he's a dullard. The policeman must chase bum leads to a dead end stake out 10 nights to tag one witness who saw it happen but refuses to remember; he runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who will get dealed out by a shameless Shamus or an honorable that isn't honorable. The policemen must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman. And of course he'll have to be a genius because he'll have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.
I knew for most of my life what I wanted to do when I grew up. Help people. I used to go outside on the fire escape every day to watch the police officer's begin their day; we lived a block away from the fifth precinct. I went into the military when I was 17 to get away from my parents constant fighting. I hated being in that kind of situation so I served my country for four years then got out and became one of New York's finest. That's when I met her...
My mom told me and my brother all of our lives that it would happen one day when we least expected it; boy was she right. Plus to think who I would actually falling in love with caught me off guard. I had known her our whole career with the NYPD. We had met in the academy and a year later, she was transferred to my precinct and they stuck us together. Who would have thought? Not me. I never looked at her as attractive, until she told me that her husband was cheating and they were getting a divorce. Something just clicked in my head and I wanted to be around her as much as I could. So after a while I did it, I asked Faith to marry me. Coincidentally, I proposed to her on the anniversary that she found her husband in bed with another woman. None of that matter, we were happy together and everything was going smoothly... Well, almost everything.
To Be Continued…