I’ve been writing my Ramblings for over a couple of years now and have e-mailed out over a hundred cop stories. Who knew my remembrances of a cops career would go this far? Hell, English was my worst subject in school. Spell check has saved me the trouble of wearing out a few Webster’s.
I started out writing about my family life and watching our grandkids grow up. I got tired of writing about changing diapers and watching the Doodle Bops. I thought I would share some of the cop stories I use to tell at steak fries. I sent out my first stories to a few retired cops that I worked with. They forwarded them to other cops and friends and before I knew it my stories spread like a bad rash. Soon, my stories were going to 4 different states. I heard from old partners and that encouraged me to continue writing. I guess my ego kicked in.
copywrite 1970
Some of my Ramblings inspired numerous replies and others nothing. I have always written true stories about incidents that I either participated in, or heard about from a partner. I sometimes added a little embellishment and I always tried
to add some humor. Not everyone remembers or participated in the practical jokes that I described. Some didn’t approve, but then I didn’t like everything that Wambaugh wrote about either.
I have been discouraged at times but every so often someone will write how they liked a story and told of similar experiences. I recently got an e-mail from a retired cop who I didn’t even know. He told me that he has gotten my Ramblings and forwarded them to other retired cops across the United States. Now, my Ramblings have been forwarded to at least 19 states and three countries that I know of. I’m sometimes asked when I am going to write about this incident or that subject. I usually look at list of my bullets and pick a subject. Sometimes a Ramblings is written in a few hours and other times its takes weeks. I write the most while the grandkids are watching Sponge Bob or the Disney Channel. I usually have 3 to 5 stories written ahead before I send them out. My lovely wife edits my stories for spelling, sentence structure and grammar. She also tells me to tone down some of my political sarcasm.
I was even asked if some of my Ramblings could be used in a cop book by an author in the San Francisco area. I’m still thinking about that. (That would be Just the Facts, Ma’am blog—and obviously Hal decided to send his stories to me) Anyway, I’m going to continue to write Ramblings as long as my memory comes up with stories and incidents that cops can relate to. If anyone wishes to be removed from my mailing list, let me know. I’ve been told that my stories are verbose and loquacious and I admit that I use a lot of words to describe an incident. In my defense, some of my stories are passed onto quite a few non-police recipients who are not familiar with police terms. I can handle rejection—just look at my promotion record.
Thanks for your support and encouragement as well as criticism. I still have some cop stories to write about, but I know that someday I’ll have to go back to writing about our grandchildren and our dog.
Did I mention I have the smartest dog in Eagle Rock?
Be afraid.
