A promise to you: this will be the last time I will write about turning 40.
I know there are more pressing things in the world than my 40th birthday. I know you would rather read about other things, such as my disdain for extensive coverage of royal weddings, the newly-signed United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or my list of my favourite winter beers.
(I think I’ve covered the legalization of cannabis enough in recent months).
And I know you don’t want to read more denials from me about being over the hill.
But my 40th birthday did bring about a career highlight, and it’s well worth writing about.
It seems that Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur was among the many who read my column last week about my birthday. And a plan started spinning in his mind.
Tuesday morning, on my 40th birthday, I received a call from the police. Something about a big, important announcement at 11:30 a.m. on the future of the Estevan Police Service.
Naturally, the squared wheels of my mind started spinning, at least as fast as squared wheels can spin.
What could this announcement be? I knew it wasn’t a drug bust; they would have hinted as such. Was it about the future of the building for the EPS? Will they renovate or build new?
Would I have to find a way to redesign the front page of the Mercury at the last minute to get this blockbuster announcement in the paper?
With visions of thousands of website hits dancing through my head, I set out for the press conference.
Perhaps I should have clued that this wasn’t a normal press conference when a few co-workers were there. But I thought it was something of keen interest to them.
Turned out, it was better than an announcement about the future of the EPS. I hope you’ll agree on that assessment.
The press conference began with birthday wishes from the police chief, and a couple comments about my work. Then he called me up for a presentations – a golf shirt, a certificate, a commemorative coin, a bag and a gift card.
And birthday cake. Between that cake and the one served at the office later that day, I think I had more cake on Tuesday than all of this year so far.
I had no idea the recognition from the EPS was coming. If you would have given me a list to jot down 100 possible items that could have been discussed during the “press conference” on Tuesday, a milestone birthday wouldn’t have been on the list.
I take pride in being able to anticipate situations and stories. Surprises, to me, reflect a lack of research and preparation.
Call it experience. Call it imagination. Call it a side-effect of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Regardless, there aren’t many situations that surprise me.
But I never would have imagined this kind of a recognition, no matter how closely I’ve worked with the police over the years.
There aren’t many situations in which I find myself truly humbled, either.
But this one did.
My dad was an RCMP officer for 30 years. My best friend is a member of the Vancouver Police Department. Most of my friends growing up, especially when we lived in northern B.C., were cops’ kids.
Needless to say, I have tremendous respect for law enforcement officials and all they do for communities.
There are times in which you have to hold them accountable. There have been times in which I’ve had arguments and disagreements with local police officers and administration. But at the end, it’s usually ended with a cordial handshake and a desire to move on.
We’re fortunate to have the officers we have in this community, regardless of whether it’s the EPS, the RCMP or other agencies.
And that’s why Tuesday’s recognition meant so much.
