Morning all:

“I’m in an office, surrounded by heads and bodies.” — opening line from a long forgotten SciFi work

“The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” — Casey Stengel

I guess that it’s a bit strange to be enjoying my morning java while wearing headphones blasting Jimmy Buffet’s Feeding Frenzy CD. Actually, if you think about it, it’s not so strange, Marcia would be grumpy all day were I to wake her to the sound of his A Love Song (From a Different Point of View).

July 1st I retired from my employer of nearly fifteen years. I held off mentioning this because I was unsure whether or not I’d be suffering from any of those newly discovered ailments discussed in medical depth in thousands of advertisements and on spectacularly educational programs such as Dr. Phil, Oprah, and The View (just too bad they’re only deep and not entertaining at the same time).

I wasn’t certain which ailment I’d get pegged with, but I had assumed it would probably be the retirement version of something akin to Post Partum Depression. Instead, I am discovering that I am having a grand time.

Oh, one thing I should mention is that the day after my retirement I started as the company’s new consultant. So, the real difference being that now I work from home on my schedule and I get paid to commute should I have to go to the office.

Earlier this week I did have a meeting at “the office”. Amazing how quickly even the building’s exterior started looking just a bit different. My old digs were already newly pressed into service (without even a fresh coat of paint). People, huddled over my old conference table (no doubt discussing the important ‘stuff’ of the day), turned their heads with big smiles on their faces and gave little waves. I must say that the whole thing was kinda strange and disjointed.

Wearing my own version of proper corporate attire, my very best light-blue 100% pima cotton summer Guayabera shirt, I wanted to shout “I just love my freedom!”

Only I didn’t.

Last Monday I patrolled with Citizens on Patrol. To date my patrols have been spreading goodwill and noting “quality of life” issues. This patrol was a little bit different in that our little group got sucked-up into drug bust. In training we’d been advised that a major event, specifically one that is violent or has that potential will start without warning and be over in seconds. Very true!

We advised dispatch that we’d be on foot patrol specifically to perform a walk by targeting three known drug houses. As we came up to the third a van pulled into the drive with police converging at the same time. Guns drawn, orders were given to the drug dealers. I saw the van’s sliding door open –this was facing away from the police – and ‘paraphernalia’ was tossed into an adjoining yard.

By this point our little group had moved clear and formed a peripheral observation post. Once secure I had the privilege of assisting with the ‘combing of the yard’ as we searched for drugs. This particular drug house was only a handful of city blocks from our safe and secure neighborhood. It’s good to see the nefarious activity at that place has been stopped cold. This week we’ve been dog-sitting Shang for Adrianne and Tevita, so several times on my evening walks I have routed myself past the place, now feeling perfectly safe. Thank you Shang.

Make it a great week and stay involved to make your own neighborhood even better than it is. Okay Shang, time for your walk, “let’s go boy!”

Cheers,

Dirk