Vacation Did Not Start Out as Planned
July 07, 2013
The night before we left for our vacation in Ocean City, SonnyeBoy called. It was 11:30 pm, and we were in bed, and the phones was downstairs, and we did not hear it. He did not leave a message
The next morning as we drank our coffee before packing to leave, we called him back. He had been forced to resign from the Ocean City Police Department and was sounding very angry and very very depressed, so depressed that he frightened us.
The story is too long to get into here; besides, it's his to tell, not mine. Suffice it to say that he has been butting heads with the higher ups, and they had the power and authority to screw him over. So they did. His choice? Resign or be fired.
This is a man who has wanted to be a cop since he was 12 years old. This is a man who was known as the DUI Cobra because he stung drunk drivers like a cobra, had the highest rate of arrests of drunk drivers for years, had numerous awards from both MADD and the State Highway Administration for arresting drunk drivers, and who was respected by both prosecuters and defense attorneys alike. Personally? I think OCPD is the biggest loser here.
We were supposed to attend party that Saturday afternoon, and then we were going to go from there to the beach. We did not do this. We packed up as quickly as we could and went straight there. I texted him as soon as we got there; he replied that he was at lunch with a friend and would come over afterwards.
Joe and I started breathing easier. When we read his Facebook post explaining what went down and saw the many many many comments of love and support from his friends and colleagues, we breathed even easier. When he came over and told us that he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, we finally exhaled in relief and started our vacation.
He's going to take some time off; he's going to take himself on a trip. Then he's going to get another job where he will continue to do good -- whether in law enforcement or not -- and where his management will respect him.
We spent a lot of time with him this week, and we all went to a Fouth of July party at my niece's, and we had dinner with my other niece, and we visited with my sister and brother-in-law and joked around with various nieces, nephews, their spouses, and a whole passle of kids. We picked crabs and drank beer; we stuck our butts in the sand and our toes in the water. Overall, we had a fine vacation.