4771 G The Cop

 G the cop was going to work the minimum, retire to a life of leisure and maybe start a daycare hovel.  The minimum was 20 years.  When 14 rolled around, she took the Sergeant’s exam and passed.  When nothing happened for six years, she put in her papers. 

G never fired her gun, on or off duty except on the range.  Never was invited to join a task force, go undercover, pose as a streetwalker, wore a wire. She never worked a Big Case. Never discovered a body in a back alley, a park or a parked car. Her picture was in the Daily News once, or maybe it was the Post. But women in uniform photographed walking away from the camera, pretty much all look the same. 

 G wrote a lot of tickets.  Went a lot of places where you get dirty.  Never was injured in the line of work. Or shot. It’s the kind of cop career that would make you bored and your parents grateful and able to climb off the ledge labeled “what if?”

Such it is with many a cop who steps down at the first possible moment with no special medals, no special complaints, no bonus money in the pension check and a life expectancy instantly extended by the actuaries.  Never took a bribe. Never was offered one. Never put a knee on a supine suspect. Paid for her own coffee and the occasional apple or orange from one of the semi open air delis of Midtown Manhattan. (and -- shhhh -- the occasional box of Malomars.)

Her marriage didn’t end in divorce, or at all. She got vaccinated even though her union told her she didn’t have to though her mayor and her kids told her she should.

Turned in the papers, the badge and the gun.

Dull as can be, right?  Right. 

“Putting the uniform on for the first day at the academy was a thrill,” she said, adding “got old really fast, but saved a lot in work wardrobe choices.”

 Dull work can breed wholesale boredom.  Being a cop can not only bore you but custom fit you with a dismal and dour view of your fellow critters.

 So, what about that day care center? “Maybe. Depends on what hoops I have to jump through to start and run one. I’m not a kid anymore.”  

 I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com

© WR 2021