It was the half-dozen police cars on our small street that caught my husband’s attention early in the afternoon. His reporter instinct sent him outside to question the cops – he found the chief of police in an unmarked car. (Love the local police department!) They had been searching most of the day and even they must have believed what we did – that the couple had wandered through the thicket at the edge of the creek, maybe waded waste-deep where the creek turns the bend, if not crossing at the rocky area where the kids often play. They may have known better than to take refuge in the forts made by some of the neighborhood boys, and continued on to the emptiness just downstream.

Still, the police told us to lock our doors and keep an eye out.

But my son loves the outdoors the way I love pedicures, and the minute he came home from pre-K he wanted to go outside and play baseball in the driveway. Rick and I looked at each other and I started to speak when Rick put his hand up to stop me. “Let’s not go there.” And he was right. So we went outside, locking the door behind us. The recent rain had washed away Truman’s sidewalk-chalked baseball field so he began redrawing the baselines. It was a beautiful evening, as most late spring evenings are here. It made no sense to be trapped inside. Before my son could finish chalking third base our neighbor walked over. He had opened a new red and wanted to share. The three of us went next door and ate their food and drank their wine and forgot to watch the news report on TV. We laughed and talked until the clock reminded us there were baths to take and nighttime stories to read. We made our way back through the gathering dusk to the safety of our home.

The Citizen’s Alert e-mail from the police department says the couple is still on the loose, so we will remain cautious. We’ll set the alarm and lock our doors. It is a small inconvenience, but more so, it is a wrinkle on the fabric our otherwise quiet neighborhood. The wanted couple may have taken nothing tangible from us, but they did take our sense of security. And that is just wrong.

Photo, Flickr, davidsonscott15

Post from: Blisstree

Losing a Sense of Security

Officer Ken Bachman, an eight-year veteran, launched TheBadge.org earlier this year. Currently the only dating site on the Web catering exclusively to emergency service workers, TheBadge.org is free to users and offers a number of useful features.

“I first developed the idea for the website by listening to co-workers telling me horror stories of broken-down relationships and failing marriages,” Bachman said. “Much of this was due to the odd shift work and job stress the police officer was bringing home.”

Bachman tells the story of a Camden, New Jersey, police officer whose job in the most violent city in the United States took its toll on his marriage.

“This guy can relate to how stress on the job can ruin a relationship,” Bachman said. “His fiancé left because she could not stand the odd shift work and wasn’t there when he wanted someone to talk to.”  FULL ARTICLE at Behind TheBadge

I’d never really thought about the need for such a niche dating site, but can certainly relate to the need.  Being the emotional worrying type that I am, I could easily see how a partner with such a dangerous and stressful job might not be the best choice for me.

The site currently hosts over 300 profiles and is 100% FREE to use.  If you or someone you know happens to work in Emergency Services, it might be worth introducing them to TheBadge.

Post from: Blisstree

Behind TheBadge: New Jersey Police Officer Forms Single’s Website