Giving...It's The Absolute Best Feeling In The World!

Let me first start off by saying that I'm not writing about this to toot my own horn but to hopefully inspire more people to give to those that may not have as much as you do. Sometimes giving someone a gift right out of the blue, not expecting anything in return and for no apparent reason other than just showing that you care about them, can not only brighten their day but actually change their life.

While I was a patrol sergeant, I had the honor of working with some outstanding telecommunicators. There was a couple that I will never ever forget due to the experiences that we shared together. Even though the dispatcher is sitting at a desk listening to the radio traffic while I'm dealing with the call in person, the dispatcher is still highly involved with the call. The person on the other end of the radio is my lifeline and I depend on their ability to efficiently and effectively do their job. Even though the dispatcher is not physically there on a call, they're still impacted emotionally by what happens.

Can you imagine taking a 911 call about a murder and the suspect is at large and you have to send your officer in to harms way and then just sit and wait patiently not knowing what is going on as the officer deals with the situation? Seconds of total silence on the radio seems like an eternity while waiting for your officer to key up and tell you he's okay. While you're waiting, you wonder if you gave the officer all the possible information that you could or if there was something else that you could have done. The information that you failed to give out could cost someone their life. Even a high pursuit vehicle chase can test the most experienced dispatchers. There's so much going on. The officer(s) involved are constantly feeding you information over the radio that you MUST enter in the computer as it happens and also perform other tasks like notifying other agencies and getting other officers enroute to assist. They must do this while they hear the officers obviously stressed and excited voice, sirens blasting and telephones ringing constantly. This is by no means a job for the weak and I sure as hell wouldn't want to do it.

This particular lady that's involved in my story has dispatched some extremely serious calls for me and she handled them like a boss! Every vehicle or foot chase I was involved in, she was always on point and on her game. If she sent me to a serious or violent call, I knew that she has given me all the possible information that she could. When you work with someone in this capacity, you will form a special bond with them that you just can't get with anyone else, not even family.

After I left that department, I still kept in touch with this lady. We rarely see each other due to us both having complicated and busy lives but we make it a point to stay in touch whether it be via text or whatever.

This lady is extremely strong and independent. She's a single mother and works 2 jobs with one of them being a telecommunicator (12 hr. Shifts). I've always had a soft spot in my heart for her son. I've never met him personally, I've just seen him growing up on Facebook lol. She's a proud mother and posts about him every day so I feel like I know him. He's my kinda kid. He actually plays outside and isn't afraid to get dirty. His mother is giving him the best life that she can, which is pretty good, don't get me wrong. But there's a few things missing. He doesn't have a father figure in his life and his mom works so much that it takes precious time away from him. I've mentioned in the past about bringing him to my firing range and teaching him some basic fundamentals about firearms but it has just never worked out.

Well, I bought him a radio controlled car in hopes that he would get some enjoyment out of it. I would have killed for this when I was a kid so I figured he would be happy with it.

We actually live several miles apart from each other so I took the car to my family's restaurant and left it there for her to pick up for him. She wasn't able to pick it up until several hours later when I was already back home.

She sent me pictures of her son with the car and described in detail how excited and grateful he was and it made my heart melt. I honestly wasn't expecting the response that I got, it was the next best thing as to actually being there and seeing it for myself.

Below is some of the pictures she sent me and also screenshots of what she wrote on social media about it...

Screenshot #2

Not a better feeling in the world, folks!

@bluelightbandit
Non Ducor, Duco