Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Kenneth Brown · Oct 21, 2005

Well the good news first. My mother had her surgery yesterday In Plano. Cut her in front and back to fuse her back together. They had to use a cage instead of straps. Should have took 3 hours but ended up 4 and a half. I left the hospital while she was still drugged up pretty good but talked to her last night at 8 and she was doing great. Thank the Lord and the help I got from the gang here. Not so good news. I got a letter from my Lt at the police dept. yesterday also. They are dropping my commision. So I am no longer a LEO. I am required to work so much every month and I haven't. Between my wifes scedule and mine there was no time left for anything as I have 2 kids. It was awful hard to pay for a babysitter to work for free for the PD. I used to work ten hour days so I had a free day off during the week. Its now back to 5-8's and its gone. I'm really not upset about it. Its disaapointing that it happened though because I have never been fired from a job in my life. I should have took the responsibility and resigned when I seen that I didn't have time to devote to the city. That was my mistake, so I guess I'll own up to that. I will clarify the free part also. I mean FREE, no money, not just low wages. I have done this for 9 years, 5 with SO, 4 for for the city, all gratis. All in all life is still good, I can sit here and type this can't I?

kenimpzoom · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Sometimes you have to consolodate your life into the things that are the most important. Spreading yourself too thin is a mistake too many people make. I have given up many things, including much better paying jobs, just so I can be at home every night. Ken

dolluper · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Good news on Maw Great!!! Workin for free hummm wouldn't risk my life for free

KaGee · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

First, I never heard of volunteer police before.... interesting. Second, No money or organization is worth the time spent with those kids and your wife. Those minutes are never wasted.

Kenneth Brown · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Kagee- Texas is filled with many great people. Almost every dept in the state has volunteers. Most depts depend on the volunteers as much as the paid force. We are fully commisioned and carry the same powers. We also have to have the same amount of schooling. Thats how I got started. The SO would pay for the police acedemy in return I had to give back 2 years of service. My job pays quite a bit more than I can make as a LEO so I just continued doing it for free. I was going to try to be a state trooper but I don't want to move, and I would have had to. In the first 6-7 years I really enjoyed it. As my kids started getting bigger it became more of a chore as I didn't want to miss out on them. Thanks for the words about maw too.

crab bait · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

let me get this stra8.. you were a cop that got no pay,, work'd for nothing.. an you got fired for not putting in enuff time working for free...... hope your mom recovers well..that's one nasty procredure..

Kenneth Brown · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Ya crabby, you hit it on the head. I turned in my stuff today and had a sit down with the Cheif. He has only been here a short while and basicly went with any changes the Sgt wanted to make. He was very understanding and offered the job back, if I could put in a little more time. I ain't mad at all, its a monkey off my back. I talked to my mom this afternoon also. She is doing ok. The nurse keeps screwing up her medication and she still hasn't started the physical therepay, that was supposed to happen LAST NIGHT. Thanks for the encouragement.

snapperbait · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

For your Mom, KB...

I'm sure the PD lost a good Man... Anyone who'd volunteer for such duty has to be a pretty good feller... My hat's off to ya, KB...

Barbee Q · Oct 21, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

KB I know how you feel.. There is a lot of pride of ones work, whether it payed for or not.. I worked as a volunteer for a kids shop.. I really enjoyed it alot.. I also worked jobs I hated.. I'd work 14hrs days and a double shift one time when someone didn't show up.. I'm sure you will find something else.. Think of it this way: A door closed on this job, but maybe it will open another to something better... I am sure this happened for a good reason.. Maybe this is a chance to help your mom.. Take care and thanks for sharing..

Braxton · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Big B you did all that! im almost 100% sure that there is a star in Heaven for you, and im realy happy your mom did good. Hold your head high and be proud. You had alot on your plate and it sounds like you handled it very well. Good luck to you sir. My hat off to you. Brax

tommays · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

the hour requirement is what stops a lot of Volunteers up here also the fire deparment needs a lot of help but there not happy if you can only give 10 hours a week they want 15 tommays

crab bait · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

they should fire all volunteer workers,,those ungrateful lot.. always doin' sumthin' for nuthin'.. they oughta give some pay,, then stand back an see how they like NOW..!!

JasonJ · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Thats too bad KB, but not surpising. Its the same deal at my PD, the reserves have to put in at least 20 hours a month. I do it because that is what I was told I needed to do to be hired fulltime. Some of it is paid, most is not paid, but that is the sacrifice I have to make if I want fulltime. Its not too hard for me to do it, the wife is understanding (she is a county reserve) and knows this is what I have to do. One of our other reserves just had a kid and his wife hates him doing the reserve thing. He wants fulltime too, and she doesn't get that he has to go through this to be considered, she thinks he should have just been hired right off the bat. Oh well, thats his problem. Its looking like I'll know about being on fulltime within the next few weeks. The good thing about the reserve program is you are not going on the job fulltime totally green. We get the same training as the fulltimes as reserves, then we get it all over again when we become fulltimes, so we are much more ahead of the game than someone fresh off of the street. Glad the Mom is doing good, my mom went through a back thing a number of years ago and had been fine ever since...

12Footer · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

It sounds like you had an out-of-control time schedule anyhow. Look at it as a "re-organization" of your available time, Kenneth. Sometimes, we have to dedicate what liottle free time we have to ourselves....Go fishin, man!

Stop and smell the roses. Like Toby Kieth's song suggests; Under an old brass paperweight is my list of things to do today Go to the bank and the hardware store, put a new lock on the cellar door I cross 'em off as I get 'em done but when the sun is set There's still more than a few things left I haven't got to yet Go for a walk, say a little prayer Take a deep breath of mountain air Put on my glove and play some catch It's time that I make time for that Wade the shore and cast a line Look up a long lost friend of mine Sit on the porch and give my girl a kiss Start livin', that's the next thing on my list Wouldn't change the course of fate but cuttin' the grass just had to wait 'Cause I've GOT more important things like pushin' my kid on the backyard swing I won't break my back for a million bucks I can't take to my grave So why put off for tomorrow what I could get done today? Like go for a walk, say a little prayer Take a deep breath of mountain air Put on my glove and play some catch It's time that I make time for that Wade the shore and cast a line Look up a long lost friend of mine Sit on the porch and give my girl a kiss Start livin', that's the next thing on my list Raise a little hell, laugh 'til it hurts Put an extra five in the plate at church Call up my folks just to chat It's time that I make time for that Stay up late, then oversleep Show her what she means to me Catch up on all the things I've always missed Just start livin', that's the next thing on my list Under an old brass paperweight Is my list of things to do today And IMHO,he has a point.

FLATHEAD · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

I can not even fathom them dropping you for not putting in enough time. I would think they would want any free help they could get be it ten hours a week or sixty. Dont make sense.

Kenneth Brown · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

First the good news- Mom is on the way home right now. She's doing good and everything seems alright. Now the other side- 12 footer hit it with the Toby song. I have been in the process of reorginizing my life for a while now. Lots of the things that seemed important to me don't really matter that much any more. Jason- The people around here that want to go full time put in way too much free time. Most usually work around 35-40 hours a week, for free! It isn't worth it to me. It was a hobby because I never considered taking the paycut and loss of benefits. In a rural area such as mine I make as much as the Cheifs and almost as much as the Sherrif. Troopers make good money here. There is absolutely NO desire to move to the cities, although I could double my salary there. Flathead- I hadn't put much time in at all in quite a while, Mr Mom has had me wrapped pretty tight. They were right. One final thought(maybe

)- I thought about arguing the point. The man who sent me the letter is not authorized to dismiss me. Only the city council has the authority to do so. I then rethought the decision. I was gouing to quit fairly soon anyhow since it wasn't fair to either me or them. All is good and I can go back if I need to.

crab bait · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

yeah, they musta heard you say onetime ,, 'what are they nuts..!!! i wouldn't do this job for no ammount of money'...

f_inscreenname · Oct 22, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Lets just say the company I work for (I'm a flooring installer for a Home Depot install company) and I came to a decision on Friday morning that I would not be going there any more. I have worked for them for 5 years and always put my most into the company but they have seemed to have gone in a direction that was not for me. So it is official, I am unemployed. On Monday the reality will set in but for now its a 3 day weekend because I don't have a clue what I am going to do. I am thinking it is time for a change. I would love to be a boat builder if you know of any in Maryland

Kenneth Brown · Oct 23, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

Hate to hear it f_ but its probably for the better.

Haut Medoc · Oct 23, 2005

Re: Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

F_ in, you could start your own commercial flooring co. If you would work hard for someone else, think about how hard you would work for yourself....After being in the union in N.J. for 10 years, I moved to Seattle and started my own company, & have never looked back....Rug is way to hard to do it for someone else to profit off your labor.....Or like you said, get away from it & do something else.....IMHO.....JK

Whats been going on in my life, good and not so good.

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