Behind the Badge
How many of us will go to Thanksgiving dinner and truly be thankful for what we have?
Will you be thankful for the family around you today or will we go through the motions because that’s what you have always done?
On Wednesday afternoon, I dropped my daughter off at my mom’s house on the way to work. After I said goodbye, I drove down the street and stopped for the stop sign before making a right turn. While I was stopped, I saw a man sitting in a chair at the southeast corner.
The sight of the man made my heart ache as a father because I knew why he was sitting there.
He was there because this was the spot where his son died many years ago in a traffic collision.
He was sitting in a chair in a small grass area next to his son’s memorial, which included a skateboard and pictures. He was alone with a book in his hand as he looked down, lost in his own thoughts as traffic went by. I have seen him here before over the years, along with a woman, who I assumed was his wife.
I watched him for a moment and couldn’t imagine the emptiness he felt. This was his spot to mourn a life that was taken away too soon. This was his spot to be close to the last place his son ever stood on Earth. This spot was his last connection to his son.
After I turned, I thought how different my Thanksgiving was going to be compared to this man’s and his wife’s.
I’m sure they wished they could have one more Thanksgiving dinner together as a family with their son.
This is something to think about when you sit down to have your Thanksgiving dinner with your family. Take a moment and be thankful for the people around you because there are others who wish they had one more chance.
Editor’s Note: John Roman is a traffic officer for an Orange County police agency who writes a blog, Badge 415 (www.badge415.wordpress.com). His posts focus on the human side of police work and safety tips. Roman, a cop for more thsn 20 years, has handled more than 5,000 accidents as a collision investigator. BehindTheBadgeOC.com shares some of his columns.
