Michelle and I have been living in Hiawassee for over a month now. We moved from Kennesaw on March 27, and I started with the Towns County Sheriff’s Office on March 30. I started out riding with another officer on day shift (6:00 am to 6:00 pm). Once they figured out that I knew what I was doing, they put me out on my own. I stayed on day shift for a couple of weeks until an incident occurred on night shift that left two officers on administrative leave. Once the GBI completes their investigation I’ll be able to say more. In the mean time, I’m working night shift to help cover the beats.

A self portrait from 2:00 am. I felt as tired as I look.

It’s nice though. I use to get terrible headaches everyday and I lived on migraine medicine. Since moving back to Hiawassee, I haven’t had any bad headaches. That either means that the headaches were stress induced, or the tumor that was causing them miraculously disappeared. It’s also been greet to be able to stop at home and eat with Michelle or stop at my parent’s house for coffee.

There are some drawbacks to moving back to Hiawassee though. I took a 50% pay cut. This blow was softened with a take home car, a county cell phone, and a free house (provided by Michelle’s grandmother, not the county). It’s also difficult to police in the town you grew up in. I’ve had to arrest a former classmate, and I know most people I pull over. If I don’t know the people I come across at work, then they either know me or my family. I’ll be talking to someone, and they’ll suddenly say, “Are you Stephen Smith’s son? He taught me algebra when I was in high school. He was the best teacher I ever had, and the best thing to happen to the school.” It’s hard to write a ticket to someone after they say something like that, but I manage anyway.

This semester I’m taking three classes, a big jump from one class last semester. My supervisors were generous enough to let me work from 2:00 PM until 12:00 AM Friday through Monday from now until I finish the semester. This may not sound like a great deal, but that means that I get Tuesday through Thursday off. It also allows me to take all of my classes on Tuesday and Thursday. It’s a big relief not having to go to school at 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM, and then go to work at 2:00. I technically only have one day “off” all week, but it’s far better than being active for 17+ hours a day. So far I like my classes. I’m taking Police in America (if I don’t get an A in this one I’ll be mad…), Criminal Law, and Social Issues: Perspectives in Sociology. Social Issues is an online class, but from the way things have been going so far, I’ll spend more time on that class than the others. I guess with traditional classes, just showing up is enough to show most teachers you’re interested in the class. With an online class, you have to participate in discussions threads, post comments and article reviews, as well as online tests.

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My grandfather passed away on Christmas Eve. He was admitted to the hospital a little while back, then the nursing home for rehab, then back to the hospital. It’s amazing how quickly things happen. Dad, Andrew and I all went to the hospital earlier that day and prayed over him, talked to him, and sang Christmas carols. He tried to talk to us, but no clear words came out. He sang and prayed with us. His lips were moving the whole time.

It was great to see all of the family that came for the funeral. There were many tears, but just as many laughs.

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One night while I was patrolling the rear of a shopping center, I observed the brake lights of a parked minivan quickly go on and off again. Considering that I didn’t see anybody in the car, I thought it was suspicious. I drove up a little closer to the vehicle, but still saw no one inside. I told the dispatcher that I was out with a suspicious vehicle, and approached it with my flashlight in hand. Upon closer examination, I found two 17 year old boys sitting in the front seats. They looked at me in shock. I motioned for them to roll down the windows (if I hadn’t, they probably would have left them up). Here’s our conversation:

Me: Hey, what are you guys doing?
Driver: Oh, we’re just hanging out.
At this point I did not see, hear, or smell anything illegal. But I did have a good idea of what was happening.
Me: So… you’re not smoking weed?
Driver and Passenger: Um… well… um… we…
Me: So does that mean you are smoking weed?
Passenger: Yes, sir.
Me: Do you have any left, or did you smoke it all?
Driver: I smoked all of mine.
Passenger: I’ve got some.
Me: Well give me what you have.

They both handed over their pipes and what was left of their marijuana. I called their parents to come pick up the car, and so they could yell at them before they went to jail. One of the mothers said, “Enjoy your ride!”

(It’s little things like this that make me happy.)

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I actually slept in this morning. Kristie came and woke me up, reminding me that I was to take Laura to the airport. I had also volunteered to return the tuxedos. When I got back, Pete had already packed my bags for me, and everyone was getting ready to leave. Matt’s friend and coworker Adam arrived shortly afterwards to pick up Pete, Andrew, and myself to take us to the airport. After driving for about ten minutes, we realized we had missed our turn. We got back on the right path and he dropped us off at the airport.

I’m now back at 30,000 feet and heading east. My sister and her family are on the same flight as us, and are sitting behind us. It’s a beautiful day in Phoenix, but thunderstorms and tornado watches will be waiting for us when we arrive in Atlanta. Hopefully, Michelle will be at the airport to pick up the three of us.

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I actually slept in this morning. Kristie came and woke me up, reminding me that I was to take Laura to the airport. I had also volunteered to return the tuxedos. When I got back, Pete had already packed my bags for me, and everyone was getting ready to leave. Matt’s friend and coworker Adam arrived shortly afterwards to pick up Pete, Andrew, and myself to take us to the airport. After driving for about ten minutes, we realized we had missed our turn. We got back on the right path and he dropped us off at the airport.

I’m now back at 30,000 feet and heading east. My sister and her family are on the same flight as us, and are sitting behind us. It’s a beautiful day in Phoenix, but thunderstorms and tornado watches will be waiting for us when we arrive in Atlanta. Hopefully, Michelle will be at the airport to pick up the three of us.

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