I know I'm not alone in being glad that 2020 was over and looked forward to 2021. Now, I'm not sure that 2021 is going to go off better than in 2020, maybe worse.
Locally, it has not been a good year. The first week has had more bad news than most years contain. It has made me appreciate our local law enforcement, our first responders, EMT's, fire department, our dispatchers and anyone else I may have not mentioned. The jobs that these folks do I never even considered exactly what that entailed. I saw accidents alongside the road, some were bad ones but I never considered who had to deal with the worst parts of those. I knew "the police" or "the ambulance" responded but I had never, for some reason put a face to the titles. Of course, I didn't know many police officers or others in the profession or I never talked to them about their jobs. Probably because I know just hearing what they deal with would send shivers up my spine.
It used to be when I saw an ambulance because I'd ridden in one a couple of times, I'd pray for the passenger in the back. Now my prayers include the ones taking the calls and responding as well.
I'd guess that for the most part, we all assume that cops are out there just waiting for us to run stop signs and speed so that they can nab us. I'd guess that's the easy part of their job. If I were honest I'd say I only come to a complete stop at stop signs AND use my blinker when I spot a cop car. Come on now, surely I'm not the only one. Yes, I DO know the rules of the road, but I spend too much time thinking while driving to pay attention to the speedometer and other detail, like blinkers and complete stops. I DO watch for pedestrians and other cars, but I'm bad about the rest of it. However, when I spot a cop car out there in the middle of the night, it makes me feel good to know that they are there. I hope that when any of us growl at you for getting stopped, you know what we mean is, "I was in a hurry, and I know that you're right, but shucks, I wish you wouldn't have caught me, and yes I'm being an idiot."
The last few years have not been good to our officers across the country. Never is there enough pats on the back and thank yous headed in their directions for the millions of things that they do.
They often respond if there is an emergency of any kind to lend a hand before, during and until everyone else is gone. Our Ambulance crews are called at any time, day or night and fly into action to deal with any sort of crisis. They see and do things that I know I couldn't do. Our dispatchers respond to anything from trespassers to the worst of the worst type of calls and they never know which it will be when they answer the calls.
The officers inside our jail get to deal with the ones that society has deemed bad enough to be removed from the streets. So you know they have the pleasant folks to deal with, every day while making our lives safer on the outside.
On weeks like this, we know you are "just doing your job," and I just wanted to take a minute to acknowledge the job you do and thank you for it.
For those dealing with the losses in this short week, our hearts go out to you as well. It definitely is not the way to begin a new year.
We could get into things happening in our nation's Capitol, but I like to think we are all on the same page in Vinton. We might disagree politically, but we still love and appreciate each other. We look out for each other. Sure, some of us are a little wacky, but that's what makes the world go around, and life more interesting.
So as we continue on in 2021, let's all hope and pray for a much better "next week," every week throughout the end of this new year.
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Norma Gould