Today I had the opportunity to attend the funeral services and burial of Phoenix police officer Travis Murphy. He was shot and killed last week and leaves behind a wife and two small children, ages 2 yrs and 2 weeks. He was 29 and his life was cut short in such a dramatic fashion. At the funeral I got to hear his mother and wife speak along with a friend and religious leaders. I was touched by the power and strength of their testimony in God and in our savior Jesus Christ.
Going to these events and watching these family members bear their feelings to us really has a way of peeling so many layers of crap I have built up and it penetrates my heart. I leave these funerals with more conviction to be a better man and to have a better focus on eternal things and to let go of all the superficial garbage I normally cling to.
Sitting there hearing about a young man with a young family who died doing things I do so often really gets me thinking about my own mortality. It doesn’t scare me in the sense that I don’t want to die but it makes me want to live in such a way that if I do die it can be said of me that I really did live! Funerals remind me that I too will one day face death and that I will never really be ready for it when it comes. The only thing I can do to prepare is to live each day to the fullest, to show greater love, to serve a little more, to listen a little longer. If I am stopped in my prime years and taken back to dwell in the eternities then I want it to be said that I lived well.
These are the feelings that help me get back into an eternal perspective and to strive to live better. I know and have felt today that God does live and that he loves me and that he weeps when we feel so much pain. I also felt that there is hope beyond sorrow and glory beyond pain. Mortality is such a small portion of who we are and who we will become when we consider ourselves to be immortal. I know that because God gave his only begotten Son, I will live forever! That life does not end in death it only marks the end of our mortality but it also is the beginning of our immortal experience. No matter how sharp the pain or how unjust it might feel that ones life is snubbed out to soon, it doesn’t compare to the great satisfaction we will feel when we have all passed through deaths doors and once again congregate together in an eternal place.
I pray that when I die all of you may feel that I have simply moved on before you and that as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, we will be together again. The pain is surely to be felt but it must be accompanied by the hope and reassurance that our lives are already eternal, that God has given us immortality and that eternity is our true home and resting place… we are just visitors here in mortality and we must all return home. What difference does it make in the eternal picture to have left mortality 1, 2, 10, or 20 years before another? What is 100 years when compared to eternity?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Culture, Habits, and Tradition
For the past few weeks I have started a very enjoyable tradition here at work. On Tuesdays I have my bagpipe lessons at 7 pm so I always try to go under the radar so I won’t get dispatched to a lengthy call right before I go out of service for the bagpipe lessons and my solution has been to go out of service for dinner at 6 pm and after I eat I stay out of service. The past few weeks I have gone to the “Gallo de Lagos” restaurant where I have become good friends with the owner Alfredo. I have learned all about his youth playing professional soccer on different Mexican club teams including Chivas. How he was injured, how he came to the US and how he ended up being a restaurant owner. The good thing is that his food is really good (I always get the tacos al pastor) and the company is enjoyable. It’s great to just sit there and chat with someone whom I feel close to now and to reminisce of a culture I am a part of and that is part of me.
When other patrons enter the store it is fun too… This last week I sat next to a Hispanic family with a 2-3 year old boy and a 5-6 year old girl. It was so cute how the little boy was asking me if I was a good police or a bad one. I asked him what a bad police was like and he told me the bad police gave his dad a ticket when he ran the light. Haha. Dad was so embarrassed as I sat there and his kid spilled the beans. In those moments where I am back to Spanish speaking and in the culture, it is so enjoyable so have opportunities like that one to educate the people I am around and to show them to not be scared of us police officers. I know they have rough encounters at times but it’s good to go out to their world and to reach to them in a way they have never experienced before. Here is a white looking officer all alone having great interaction and communication with their whole family in their language eating their food talking about things relevant to their culture (world cup, etc…)
Anyway I have decided to make it a tradition and to keep up this habit of eating at “Gallo de Lagos” on Tuesday before my piping lesson. I also eat out at other Hispanic establishments such as hot dog stands along Broadway where the same opportunities exist to mingle and share and live!
Alfredo asked me if I would allow him to take a picture with me and put it up on his wall. He told me that he wants pictures of his clients who have become friends so that when he looks back one day he will remember the great friendships he made in the restaurant industry.
When other patrons enter the store it is fun too… This last week I sat next to a Hispanic family with a 2-3 year old boy and a 5-6 year old girl. It was so cute how the little boy was asking me if I was a good police or a bad one. I asked him what a bad police was like and he told me the bad police gave his dad a ticket when he ran the light. Haha. Dad was so embarrassed as I sat there and his kid spilled the beans. In those moments where I am back to Spanish speaking and in the culture, it is so enjoyable so have opportunities like that one to educate the people I am around and to show them to not be scared of us police officers. I know they have rough encounters at times but it’s good to go out to their world and to reach to them in a way they have never experienced before. Here is a white looking officer all alone having great interaction and communication with their whole family in their language eating their food talking about things relevant to their culture (world cup, etc…)
Anyway I have decided to make it a tradition and to keep up this habit of eating at “Gallo de Lagos” on Tuesday before my piping lesson. I also eat out at other Hispanic establishments such as hot dog stands along Broadway where the same opportunities exist to mingle and share and live!
Alfredo asked me if I would allow him to take a picture with me and put it up on his wall. He told me that he wants pictures of his clients who have become friends so that when he looks back one day he will remember the great friendships he made in the restaurant industry.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Exemplary Driving!
So this last week at work I was dispatched to a family fight. The dispatcher made notes that a 15 year old was being verbally abusive with his mother and that the fight was escalating. I knew that another officer was about to go on scene so I hastened my driving a bit and arrived with a sense of urgency. As I arrived and got out of the car I saw a pickup truck pull up close to my car and it appeared the driver was a bit worked up so I immediately thought this was maybe Dad from the family fight or something... I stopped walking to wait and see what this guy was going to do or say and he ended up rolling down his window and yelling at me "Dont cops have to obey all traffic rules or are you above the law?" I said "excuse me" as I tried to process what he said because I was totally expecting him to be talking about this event I was heading to. He then said something to the effect that I think I am above the law because I dont follow all the traffic laws and that I made a lane change without using my turn signal.
I said to him "did you seriously follow me to tell me I didnt use a turn signal?" He said went on with some drama about police thinking we are above the law and I interrupted him saying I had to respond to this family fight and to wait if he thinks its important enough to discuss with me. I entered the house and we dealt with the call and about 10 minutes later I came out of the house and sure enough he was there still on his phone reporting me to the dispatcher for not using my turn signal.
Now that the urgency of the call was gone and I had more time I approached him and asked him how I could help him.... he went on about me thinking I'm above the law and so forth and so on.... I told him that in normal circumstances I am an exemplary driver and that when responding to an call with more urgency I forget the details of using my blinker. I told him I was sorry for being human and making mistakes while driving. He wanted to continue to talk to me but it truly was at the wrong time as many more calls for service were coming out and there were no units available to take them. I told him I no longer had time to talk and continued my duties....
Once I was away and had time to actually think through his complaint I got more and more frustrated and mad. I can see if a citizen follows a police officer and observes civil violations that it would be frustrating if that officer was only going to the coffee shop, or doughnut shop, or just to eat, or socialize with another officer, etc... I was actually heading to a call for service where another citizen felt unsafe enough to call us in the firs place. I responded in a sense of urgency and when responding to certain calls I am justified in violating certain traffic laws... Some calls even warrant speeding, running red lights, driving in oncoming traffic, etc... So why did I apologize to this citizen for failing to use my blinker when I dod nothing wrong! Ahhh! I didn't have the time to sit and explain all of this to him so it left me frustrated and thus I am venting.
I wish I could have told him that one day it will be him or a family member with an emergency and that he will wish to God that day the officers responding are not following every single traffic law but are driving with a sense of urgency to his emergency! I can see his point of view if I were driving to something that does not require urgency but this was not the case and the fact that he followed me and stopped me from responding one minute earlier just gets to my nerves. I hope he understands one day that there is a difference in complaining about what I did and what other officers have done and do when driving indifferent to the law simply out of convenience with no actual urgency or service at the time.
Anyway that is enough about that!
I said to him "did you seriously follow me to tell me I didnt use a turn signal?" He said went on with some drama about police thinking we are above the law and I interrupted him saying I had to respond to this family fight and to wait if he thinks its important enough to discuss with me. I entered the house and we dealt with the call and about 10 minutes later I came out of the house and sure enough he was there still on his phone reporting me to the dispatcher for not using my turn signal.
Now that the urgency of the call was gone and I had more time I approached him and asked him how I could help him.... he went on about me thinking I'm above the law and so forth and so on.... I told him that in normal circumstances I am an exemplary driver and that when responding to an call with more urgency I forget the details of using my blinker. I told him I was sorry for being human and making mistakes while driving. He wanted to continue to talk to me but it truly was at the wrong time as many more calls for service were coming out and there were no units available to take them. I told him I no longer had time to talk and continued my duties....
Once I was away and had time to actually think through his complaint I got more and more frustrated and mad. I can see if a citizen follows a police officer and observes civil violations that it would be frustrating if that officer was only going to the coffee shop, or doughnut shop, or just to eat, or socialize with another officer, etc... I was actually heading to a call for service where another citizen felt unsafe enough to call us in the firs place. I responded in a sense of urgency and when responding to certain calls I am justified in violating certain traffic laws... Some calls even warrant speeding, running red lights, driving in oncoming traffic, etc... So why did I apologize to this citizen for failing to use my blinker when I dod nothing wrong! Ahhh! I didn't have the time to sit and explain all of this to him so it left me frustrated and thus I am venting.
I wish I could have told him that one day it will be him or a family member with an emergency and that he will wish to God that day the officers responding are not following every single traffic law but are driving with a sense of urgency to his emergency! I can see his point of view if I were driving to something that does not require urgency but this was not the case and the fact that he followed me and stopped me from responding one minute earlier just gets to my nerves. I hope he understands one day that there is a difference in complaining about what I did and what other officers have done and do when driving indifferent to the law simply out of convenience with no actual urgency or service at the time.
Anyway that is enough about that!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Writen just before my 31st birthday
Well, I am only a few days away from my 31st Birthday! I am currently working on an off duty job and decided to spend my downtime catching up a bit on my journal. I cant believe that I am almost 31! It seems like a few days ago that I was in my early twenties….
I am very satisfied for where I am at this ripe age of mine. I am happily married to the love of my life and I have three beautiful children. Robyn is 10 years old and seems so old these days. She is very helpful and is blossoming into a beautiful young woman. She is so kind and sweet and I hope that she stays far away from the terrible teen stages some youth go through. I’m sure she will be fine as her natural disposition seems so unlike those traits I fear.
Olivia is almost 5 and is such a fun little person to be around. She is full of character and always cracks me up with the things she says and does. She loves to talk and is very social when we are in public. She loves going up to random people with dogs and asking them if she can pet their dog. She is currently into the Nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar, the Last Air Bender” and she always pretends to water bend when we are playing around. She also loves kung fu style fighting from “Kung Fu Panda” and she is also a musketeer just as “Barbie the Musketeer” is… haha. She loves to paint and she is showing some talent with it too. I love taking her to school and playing dora the explorer in the car. She is learning so much and growing so fast! I wish she could stay this cute and little for a bit longer.
Landon is almost 3 and is barely showing signs of improvement from his terrible twos… haha. He is a handful right now and is always busy looking for stuff to play with (destroy). He is such a little boy and so darn cute! Even though its tough some days, I know I will miss this stage one day. He is so innocent and inquisitive and I wish I could keep him this pure forever. He is learning the art of air and water bending from Olivia and he is learning about Musketeers as well. He is truly a Mamma’s boy as he seems to be glued to Anissa’s side and would be totally content if he could be surgically attached to her.
Anissa is such a great Mother to the kids and an amazing wife to me. We celebrated Mothers day yesterday and I helped the kids make some cards for her and then we cleaned up a bit and I made breakfast (actually lunch) for everyone before I left for work. It felt good to cook and clean and try to take up more of the responsibility that she usually holds. It amazes me how much Anissa does and how selflessly she does it. Mothers in general do so much, but some mothers have more selflessness than others and Anissa is among the greats in my mind! She is patient and loving and never ceases to amaze me with how much she does and how much she gives up for all of us.
Recently we have befriended a few couples in the ward and Anissa and I have hung out a few times with Cambi and Joey and their Kids. Olivia and Landon love hanging out with their kids who are similar ages and Anissa and Cambi are becoming more and more close. I am so glad for her to befriend someone like this and for us to have friends who have kids for our kids to play with too. Anissa just recently started going to a work out group with girls from the ward 3 times a week and she is teaching pilates to them on Fridays. Its great to see her excited to do this and to see how convenient it is. For a mothers day present Anissa and Cambi are going to go stay at a hotel in Scottsdale and get a 24+ break from their motherly duties.
I currently own a Suzuki DL-1000 V-Strom and am loving every chance I get to ride it while it is for sale. I have ridden 2000+ miles and gone on two 300 mile long trips on it. I am currently working Swing shift with W,T,F off from 1400-2400 hours. Our yearly bid is coming up and I am thinking of switching over to Dayshift. I think it will be best for the family life if I work days and even though I would prefer the type of work and calls of swing shift, I am willing to do days because ultimately family is number one to me! I am currently learning to play the bagpipes for the police honor guard. I am loving the experience that the honor guard gives me and cant wait to play the pipes one day!
Mom and Dad are currently in Dallas, TX because Uncle Joe had another heart attack and underwent an Angioplasty procedure. The surgery was not successful and the doctors said that it’s a matter of time before Joe has another heart attack and may die. Its crazy how many times we have heard this from doctors and how many times he has pulled out of the situation. He is a fighter and has a strong will but at the same time, he is mortal and we all know that one day the encounter with death will come. Its sad to think that one day he will be gone and it reminds me that mortality is temporary and that one day everyone I know including myself will personally experience the touch of deaths hand. I pray that I can be strong when it comes and takes those I love and I pray that those I love will be strong when it comes for me. If one we were allowed one farewell call back home once we die! That would make the experience so much easier, but I guess its all about faith in things un seen, huh.
Well, this is a long journal entry so I will wrap it up. Noah and I will be 31 years old in 4 days and we are both loving every minute of our lives. I am glad to have him close by so we can do stuff and his new schedule as a business owner allows us to do more things together. Life is great and hopefully will continue going well for a while at least. Until the next time!
I am very satisfied for where I am at this ripe age of mine. I am happily married to the love of my life and I have three beautiful children. Robyn is 10 years old and seems so old these days. She is very helpful and is blossoming into a beautiful young woman. She is so kind and sweet and I hope that she stays far away from the terrible teen stages some youth go through. I’m sure she will be fine as her natural disposition seems so unlike those traits I fear.
Olivia is almost 5 and is such a fun little person to be around. She is full of character and always cracks me up with the things she says and does. She loves to talk and is very social when we are in public. She loves going up to random people with dogs and asking them if she can pet their dog. She is currently into the Nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar, the Last Air Bender” and she always pretends to water bend when we are playing around. She also loves kung fu style fighting from “Kung Fu Panda” and she is also a musketeer just as “Barbie the Musketeer” is… haha. She loves to paint and she is showing some talent with it too. I love taking her to school and playing dora the explorer in the car. She is learning so much and growing so fast! I wish she could stay this cute and little for a bit longer.
Landon is almost 3 and is barely showing signs of improvement from his terrible twos… haha. He is a handful right now and is always busy looking for stuff to play with (destroy). He is such a little boy and so darn cute! Even though its tough some days, I know I will miss this stage one day. He is so innocent and inquisitive and I wish I could keep him this pure forever. He is learning the art of air and water bending from Olivia and he is learning about Musketeers as well. He is truly a Mamma’s boy as he seems to be glued to Anissa’s side and would be totally content if he could be surgically attached to her.
Anissa is such a great Mother to the kids and an amazing wife to me. We celebrated Mothers day yesterday and I helped the kids make some cards for her and then we cleaned up a bit and I made breakfast (actually lunch) for everyone before I left for work. It felt good to cook and clean and try to take up more of the responsibility that she usually holds. It amazes me how much Anissa does and how selflessly she does it. Mothers in general do so much, but some mothers have more selflessness than others and Anissa is among the greats in my mind! She is patient and loving and never ceases to amaze me with how much she does and how much she gives up for all of us.
Recently we have befriended a few couples in the ward and Anissa and I have hung out a few times with Cambi and Joey and their Kids. Olivia and Landon love hanging out with their kids who are similar ages and Anissa and Cambi are becoming more and more close. I am so glad for her to befriend someone like this and for us to have friends who have kids for our kids to play with too. Anissa just recently started going to a work out group with girls from the ward 3 times a week and she is teaching pilates to them on Fridays. Its great to see her excited to do this and to see how convenient it is. For a mothers day present Anissa and Cambi are going to go stay at a hotel in Scottsdale and get a 24+ break from their motherly duties.
I currently own a Suzuki DL-1000 V-Strom and am loving every chance I get to ride it while it is for sale. I have ridden 2000+ miles and gone on two 300 mile long trips on it. I am currently working Swing shift with W,T,F off from 1400-2400 hours. Our yearly bid is coming up and I am thinking of switching over to Dayshift. I think it will be best for the family life if I work days and even though I would prefer the type of work and calls of swing shift, I am willing to do days because ultimately family is number one to me! I am currently learning to play the bagpipes for the police honor guard. I am loving the experience that the honor guard gives me and cant wait to play the pipes one day!
Mom and Dad are currently in Dallas, TX because Uncle Joe had another heart attack and underwent an Angioplasty procedure. The surgery was not successful and the doctors said that it’s a matter of time before Joe has another heart attack and may die. Its crazy how many times we have heard this from doctors and how many times he has pulled out of the situation. He is a fighter and has a strong will but at the same time, he is mortal and we all know that one day the encounter with death will come. Its sad to think that one day he will be gone and it reminds me that mortality is temporary and that one day everyone I know including myself will personally experience the touch of deaths hand. I pray that I can be strong when it comes and takes those I love and I pray that those I love will be strong when it comes for me. If one we were allowed one farewell call back home once we die! That would make the experience so much easier, but I guess its all about faith in things un seen, huh.
Well, this is a long journal entry so I will wrap it up. Noah and I will be 31 years old in 4 days and we are both loving every minute of our lives. I am glad to have him close by so we can do stuff and his new schedule as a business owner allows us to do more things together. Life is great and hopefully will continue going well for a while at least. Until the next time!
Monday, February 8, 2010
My sweet Landon
I have had a few thoughts I want to share about my two and a half year old Landon. Landon is full of energy and at times he can be difficult to find peace around. He has a good nature about him but he has a knack for destructive encounters with things. I have had a hard time the past several weeks when I think of how to govern his behavior and make him more disciplined. Anissa shared a great video with me that helped me realize that this is only a phase and that one day I will look back and treasure this time and wish with all my heart for the painfully ordinary things I now complain about. I have had that thought in my heart these past few days and at work this past week I took a report involving physical abuse to a 2 year old boy. I met the child and his mother (Mother was not involved) at the hospital and the little boy was broken down. He had bruising all over his face and head and he had a fractured arm. It was heart wrenching to think that someone out there could do this to such a sweet innocent child. (These are the calls I dont talk about much and shield my emotions from my family, they hear all the fun stuff but these sad one happen every day too....) It made me think of my own angry reactions to things my 2 year old boy does and it humbled me to even think that the emotion of anger is ever directed toward him.
I feel like a change has occurred within me and I will never feel that anger toward him for his mischievous behavior again. When he pushes his sister or spits in my sister in laws hair or breaks the nintendo wii, I will remind myself that he is a treasure to me and that nothing he does should ever rob me of even a second of my life feeling anger toward him. Maybe disappointment at times but never anger. What a humiliating insight it was to realize that the emotion that caused that little boy to be beaten was the same emotion I have felt toward my son but without the restraint and the limits that I have. The realization that being angry and being angry and beating someone is only a difference of action made me feel horrible for ever being angry at Landon.
I love Landon and see him in a different light now. He is sweet and he is learning and he needs me to stand before him and teach him through my example. I am excited to continue growing by his side and will treasure the daily routine of cleaning up and following his every step while he walks through his terrible two's....
I feel like a change has occurred within me and I will never feel that anger toward him for his mischievous behavior again. When he pushes his sister or spits in my sister in laws hair or breaks the nintendo wii, I will remind myself that he is a treasure to me and that nothing he does should ever rob me of even a second of my life feeling anger toward him. Maybe disappointment at times but never anger. What a humiliating insight it was to realize that the emotion that caused that little boy to be beaten was the same emotion I have felt toward my son but without the restraint and the limits that I have. The realization that being angry and being angry and beating someone is only a difference of action made me feel horrible for ever being angry at Landon.
I love Landon and see him in a different light now. He is sweet and he is learning and he needs me to stand before him and teach him through my example. I am excited to continue growing by his side and will treasure the daily routine of cleaning up and following his every step while he walks through his terrible two's....
2010 begins
Well this is my first entry for 2010 and so much has happened already. We spent Christmas in Utah and New Years here in AZ at the Rojas house. It was great fun and I was able to take off all the time I needed since I was still a Spanish Rover at work. On Jan 4th however they got rid of the Spanish rover program and I am now back to normal patrol work working in Central in beat 34. I have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things and if feels good to participate more frequently in normal day to day calls with patrol. At the end of January early February I tested for a position as a Spanish speaking hostage negotiator but was unsuccessful in getting the job. I went up against some really qualified people but i am glad to have gotten the testing experience and may try again in the future if a position opens up.
This year has also started a new chapter of my career being a member of the honor guard. I have enjoyed getting all dressed up and representing law enforcement officers everywhere. I have had the opportunity to participate in a parade, a car show and a funeral already this year. I am tempted to try to learn how to play the bagpipes because they are so awesome and have a sound that really touches my spirit. We'll see if anything comes of that idea or not....
On Jan 28th at 10:45 pm while I was at home, not even a block away a Gilbert police Lieutenant made a traffic stop on a truck with two people in it. The passenger ended up shooting and killing the lieutenant and it ended with a fifty mile chase that resulted in the arrest of both people after they were shot in the legs during a gun battle. I have friends who were involved in the pursuit and it has caused a wide rang of emotions for me. First the fact that it happened to close to my house and on the border with Mesa makes me think how easily it could have been a mesa officer to be killed. Second, the killer and his accomplice didnt get killed in the ensuing gun fight... When all is said and done and I think this through I can only conclude that when its our time to go, we will go and God will administer perfect justice to all of us at the conclusion of our probation. I am glad that no other officers or civilians were hurt and I hope that we dont have to pass another experience like this for a long time!
This year has also started a new chapter of my career being a member of the honor guard. I have enjoyed getting all dressed up and representing law enforcement officers everywhere. I have had the opportunity to participate in a parade, a car show and a funeral already this year. I am tempted to try to learn how to play the bagpipes because they are so awesome and have a sound that really touches my spirit. We'll see if anything comes of that idea or not....
On Jan 28th at 10:45 pm while I was at home, not even a block away a Gilbert police Lieutenant made a traffic stop on a truck with two people in it. The passenger ended up shooting and killing the lieutenant and it ended with a fifty mile chase that resulted in the arrest of both people after they were shot in the legs during a gun battle. I have friends who were involved in the pursuit and it has caused a wide rang of emotions for me. First the fact that it happened to close to my house and on the border with Mesa makes me think how easily it could have been a mesa officer to be killed. Second, the killer and his accomplice didnt get killed in the ensuing gun fight... When all is said and done and I think this through I can only conclude that when its our time to go, we will go and God will administer perfect justice to all of us at the conclusion of our probation. I am glad that no other officers or civilians were hurt and I hope that we dont have to pass another experience like this for a long time!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Mark Kelly's Christmas surprise
Here is a video of my friend Mark Kelly and his family getting a BIG surprise from the Mesa Police Association. I am in the video talking to Mark and his wife while the kids are opening their surprises from the Blue Santa. I walked in and went to say hi and while talking to them realized what was going on and saw that there were news agencies and video cameras recording us. Haha it was fun.
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