Heroes, and never giving up.

Earlier today, I was thinking about what it takes to be a hero. What do you think about when the word "hero" is said to you? Do you think about a fireman, or a policeman, or a soldier? Do you think of a teacher that changed your life, or turned it around?

I have several heroes. My father and my brother are but two of them. But today, I couldn't get an LAPD officer by the name of Stacy Lim out of my mind.

Stacy Lim is an LAPD officer, who was driving home one night from her after-work softball game. She was off-duty and in her own clothing and car. Unbeknownst to her, she was being followed by a group of armed car-jackers, who were intent on stealing her car. When she got home, she was ambushed by the car-jackers. She identified herself as a police officer. One of the suspects, a young male with a long history of violent crimes, shot her. In the heart. With a .357 Magnum.

After this officer was shot, in the heart, with a .357 Magnum, she did not lay down, give up, and die. She decided that since he had shot her, it was only fair that she shot him. And she did. Several times. This woman, shot in the heart (did I mention that she was shot with a freakin' .357 Magnum?) chased her would-be killer across the yard, shooting him repeatedly. He died.

Even after this threat was ended, Stacy didn't give up. She had the presence of mind to strip the magazine from her weapon and throw it away, to prevent her own weapon from being used against her. Finally, she fell over. The medics and doctors wound up bringing her back from the brink of death three times. She survived, and went back on patrol as soon as she was able.

I thought of her because I thought of how easy it would have been for her to just quit. She had done much more than any one person should have had to, and much more than what could have ever been expected of her. She ended the threat against her and against anyone else that the gangbanger could have hurt. She was badly injured, (some would say terminally), and yet, she DID NOT GIVE UP!

As many of you know, last year, I was facing my own challenge. I was told by my doctor that I may be, sooner or later, reduced to a wheelchair. My spine was affected by an unusual issue, and my lower body was not doing any of the things that I came to take for granted. At first I didn't know even if I was going to survive. But my doctors shot me full of steroids, and my spine healed.

But there were times that I sat in my chair, blankly staring at the TV. I was scared, literally, shitless. I went through a few days of severe depression, and wondered what I would do if I couldn't be a cop any more. All of my hobbies, weight-lifing, Aikido, even the books that I read and the TV shows that I watched, all revolved around police work.

Finally, I pulled my head out of my ass, looked around, and observed the world. I realized that even if I could not be a cop, I could still serve the public (my big plan was to become a dispatcher) and regardless of what happened, I WOULD NOT GIVE UP.

The good news is, I didn't have to give up my dream job, and I was able to return to work.

The thought that I am passing along is, regardless of what happens, regardless of the hurdles that are thrown at you, regardless of your challenges, NEVER GIVE UP. ALWAYS FIGHT, ALWAYS KEEP GOING.

I never want someone to say "You should have trained better" about me.

I have been remiss in writing my blog. For that, to my friends, I sincerely am sorry. Sometimes I just don't have anything worth sharing. And I've started another one, and couldn't get my thoughts straight, and never finished it, but it posted.

That being said, when I first started thinking of this post, it was more geared towards my Law Enforcement and military friends. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought of how much it applies to everybody.

I was watching the Military Channel last night, and they had a program about the most dangerous sniper missions. And one of the segments discussed a sniper mission in Iraq, where the sniper and his spotter were engaging targets (don't you love euphamisms?) KILLING BAD GUYS, for four days in one location. And this car full of bad guys approached... Long story just a bit shorter, the sniper shot the driver of the vehicle, and the front seat passenger, who was "laden down with magazines and guns and an RPG" from 500 yards away. The sniper said something that to me, was very telling. "I just remember saying 'I trained better than you did. Next time, train better.'"

Next time, train better. What else can be said? For my Law Enforcement/Military friends, you know that annoying training that makes you say, "If I have to sit through this crap ONE MORE TIME..."? That training may save not only your life, but the lives of the people that you are trying to protect. The most important thing that we have is the brain in our heads. You can have the best equipment, most modern weapons, optics, fast cars, bright lights, etc, etc, etc, but if you can't use it properly and safely, then what good does it do for you or for your partners?

And for those of us that have been doing this, day in and day out, for YEARS, and "I don't really need to learn this crap again", have you ever watched COPS or any of those other 'reality' shows, and thought, "What the heck is that guy thinking? He's going to get himself killed."

I have. I have thought it, and I have done stuff that I have looked at later and said, "Next time I do something SO STUPID, somebody headslap me." You can learn something new every day. If its something that you read in a police magazine, online on any of the police sites, or something that you learn from your partners, you CAN and SHOULD learn something new every day. When is the last time that you read court decisions from SCOTUS or SCOPA? (Or whatever State you may work in?) Besides updates, that is?

The bad guys are learning new stuff every day. They are researching us, our tactics, our rules and regulations, our habits and even specific officers. They are carrying weapons when they are out there, doing the nefarious deeds that we are trying to catch them doing. Cops have been ambushed while off duty, at home, with their families. What are you doing to make sure that you aren't helpless if a bad guy comes through your door on Christmas Eve, like what happened to a national police trainer? Do you carry off duty? Do you vary your patterns? Do you train for what you and your family should do if an 'unforseen event' occurs?

I can't say this enough: TRAIN! Play those mind games, the 'when/then' games that you were taught in the academy. Train every time you can. Take training that is interesting to you. Your department is NOT responsible to make sure that you get home at the end of your shift. You are. Train, train again, then train some more. Someone much more intelligent than I once said "The more you sweat in training, the less you will bleed in combat."

To my non-LE and non-military friends, this applies to you as well. What new equipment do you use at your job? How proficient are you with it? What new rules have come into effect for you? What can you do to make sure that you do the best job that you can? Training is a continuous, fluid, thing.

To all of my friends, be safe, and remember to have fun.