Sigh

Some people, as you know, can be a constant source of disappointment. Some people don't follow through, some can't be trusted, some aren't kind to small children and animals. Thankfully, in my world there are far more folks who are honorable than not.

Currently, however here are two (or more) folks on my list of least favorite people this week. The first is the stupid yahoo who shot Washington State Patrol Officer Scott Johnson. Thankfully, the assailant was caught, and only had a 22 caliber pistol, which can be deadly but in this case was not. Officer Johnson is someone my family knows personally and that doesn't make the act more terrible it just feels far too damn close to home.

Officer Johnson will recover and go home to his family, but I worry that this incident brought back terrible memories for my parents of another State Patrol Officer who wasn't so fortunate. In the early 1970's my dad was a young trooper and he worked with an officer named Frank Noble. On a Saturday in February of 1972, Frank was murdered by a driver he had pulled over for speeding. The shooter was out on furlough and had just committed armed robbery. Sadly, Officer Noble didn't know this and didn't know to call for back up. I wonder how many lives the in car computers have saved.

I wasn't old enough to know officer Noble or his young family (I was only 3 at the time) but that event distinctly shaped our family. The officers my dad worked with were a very tight knit group and they worked together and their families played together. I don't think I'm over sharing by saying that Frank's death broke my dad's heart. The loss was so huge, so shocking and so unfair that my dad compensated by pushing all but the people closest to him away. When I think about my dad's friends, there aren't many. My mom is his best friend (awww how sweet) and he has a few folks that he considers friends, but they don't do the man-dates. They never have. These are all folks he worked with back in the day too. Dad is a social guy, he's kind and, has funny stories, but you aren't going to get too far into his soul. He keeps that to himself, and I think it's a form of protection.

We are extremely relieved that Officer Johnson will be with us for years and years to come, but his attacker is on my list and not invited to dinner EVER.

The other person (or persons) who are not invited to dinner are the soulless folks who have broken into our church and helped themselves to two electric guitars, a keyboard and most of the audio/visual equipment. I know that steeling is wrong, but how much more wrong is it when you take from people who have devoted their lives to others? It's a pretty shitty thing and frankly I'm pissed about it. Click here for more info.

Well... these are dark thoughts for a beautiful sunny Sunday, I don't need a dose of Prozac or anything. I'm actually going to go make a new recipe for dinner and think it will be tasty. I'm making Chicken Parmesan.

See, not being invited to dinner IS a punishment!