Jan 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 1

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE
Hello 2024
Well, it’s the New Year. Which
in and of itself, brings about new
opportunities. One of those new
opportunities is the new TCOLE web
site. Its up and running!!! Now to be
fair, there’s still some “under construction”
going on and I am OK with
that.
The fact that they finally got the
darn thing back up and running is a
huge help in more ways than one.
For example, finding your account
and information is critical to ensure
you’re staying up to date on
all the required courses the TCOLE
Board continues to administer.
Equally, there is a lot of information
that helps officers understand how
TCOLE works and gives an officer an
opportunity to see what’s happening
around the state.
One of the critical features of this
site is the Job Listings. This feature
helps all kinds of people in our state
who are looking for a job in the Law
Enforcement / Criminal Justice field.
Telecommunicators, Jailors, Peace
Officers, and more, can all find
the most up to date postings from
across Texas. And as difficult as it is
to fill those open positions, it’s just
as welcome by Department Heads,
as it is those seeking employment.
To be able to point and click on
one web page for all statewide job
vacancies, is critical to the overall
health of our profession. It cannot
be denied or understated just how
critical hiring personnel is. Our ranks
have diminished considerably over
the past few years. Since the George
Floyd fiasco and COVID, finding
people to even apply for a career in
law enforcement hasn’t exactly been
easy.
The Job Postings section on the
TCOLE web site is critical for both
Departments and Persons looking
for employment, alike! To see this
critical area continue, should be a
huge relief to everyone.
A one stop shop for recruiting is a
good thing for all Texans and their
Law Enforcement Agencies.
• • •
So, a young lady sent the BLUES
a copy of a letter her Grandpa had
recently written. He intended to
send it to her, but passed away
before that could happen. I had the
opportunity to read her words and
his letter, and I got to tell you by
the time I was done, my eyes were
definitely leaking.
I honestly believe any Veteran
Officer would probably tell their
children or grandchildren much the
same as this man did. You see by the
time you get 20 plus years; you’ve
seen, heard, smelled and endured
pretty much anything and everything
imaginable. And then, you realize
you’ve endured all those moments
at a great cost to you and your
family.
Speaking from my own experience,
I was gone way too much. I
saw way too much. And when I was
home, I was probably not what anyone
could have ever considered “a
good husband” or “a good dad.” In
fact, I pretty much failed miserably
at both.
However, not all was lost. My son
is now healthy and moving at incredible
speed with his own business.
He broke the cycle of our family
being cops and or firefighters. I for
one am grateful. He is a successful
self-made businessman. He’s a great
husband to my daughter-in-law and
an amazing father to my grandkids. I
don’t know how he did all that with
me as a role model. I can only surmise
he learned what not to be and
took it from there.
Police work is hard work. The
hours, the incidents, the trauma, the
pressure, the well, you get the idea.
This profession can kill you. Literally.
I believe the old Sheriff meant every
word he wrote. I believe in his heart
that given the chance; he would
have done things differently. But I’ve
been around long enough to know
there are just some days, you had
no choice in the matter, and you did
what you had to do.
And then many years later, we
discover that maybe we could have
and should have done a lot of things
differently. I am so grateful to this
young lady for sharing what was a
very personal letter from her Grandpa.
It needs to be shared so that
many others, on both side of the pen
and paper, can see we are not nearly
as alone as we might think we are.
That loneliness is just another
symptom of this business. It’ll hurt
your heart every damn time if you
let it, so don’t let it.
God bless. Stay safe. Have a great
and happy 2024, y’all!!!
8 The Blues - January ‘24