50 things I’ve learned along my 50 year journey, random facts, questions and general nonsense

50 things I’ve learned along my 50 year journey, random facts, questions and general nonsense 

1. Family is your most important asset, period.
2. Time is the best gift you can give your spouse, children, family and friends.
3. The older I get the more I realize I have become my father, which is a good thing.
4. Your sister/brother will always be for there for you anytime, anywhere for the rest of your life time and will help you shovel to cover the bodies.
5. The number of hours of hard work I do now is equitable to the number of days it takes for my body to recover from that work.
6. True love, takes your breath away and warms your heart.
7. No matter how old you are, you need your mom sometimes.
8. New experiences are needed to grow.
9. When someone lies to you you never really get over it.
10. You always remember that first teacher who made it click in your head. Mine was Mrs. Ritchie at Chawanakee School - Go Warriors!
11. We all know someone that’s died in a DUI crash.
12. My first job I cleaned bathrooms and kitchens. I was a janitorial engineer. People are really gross in bathrooms.
13. I’ve never started a fight in my life, but I have finished many. 
14. Being a police officer is scary, depressing and nerve-racking but I wouldn’t change a thing about my career.
15. Being a police officer is one of the most noble professions one can endeavor to become. 
16. Being a parent is scary, sometimes depressing, did I mention scary and the best experience I’ve ever had in my life
17. My wife is my best friend she’s also my conscience and she’s also really really honest on how I dress, speak and generally appear to the public.
18. Math is hard but is the most valuable tool and skill set you can have as an adult besides manners and communication skills.
19. Physical fitness is the best gift you can give yourself
20. Ketchup, barbecue sauce and mustard are probably the best foods ever invented because they make food taste better
21. Friends, there’s always that one that knows you like their family. That person will be at your funeral or you will be at their’s - do the right thing and erase their browser history
22. If you are an animal lover you will have many dogs or cats in your lifetime take solace in the fact that you gave them all a full life, joy and happiness for their short time here
23. For me, Christmas is still the greatest holiday
24. Make sure you say something on someone’s birthday wish them well
25. A life spent outside in the woods is a life well spent
26. You’re never too old to watch a really good Bugs Bunny cartoon
27. There should be a law that requires You too enjoy good warm popcorn when you go to the movies
28. Some people age gracefully, some people don’t. The graceful ones are probably using very expensive products, just saying
29. There’s nothing better than a good pair of old jeans
30. When I was young I wanted to fly to the moon. Now that I am not young I just want to get up from bed without my back hurting
31. Never underestimate the power of a good meal together as a family
32. Always say please, thank you, sir and ma’am
33. Men always open the door for women
34. Men when going to a special occasion always remember to tack up or at least wear a tie and jacket you can always take the tie/jacket off
35. Men always make a big deal out of the ladies fingernails when they get them done, hair when she gets them done or she buys new shoes. Bonus points for noticing the new outfit as well
36. When on a long walk/hike in the mountains, the mountains you see in the distance is probably still 20 miles away
37. Fishing stories that discuss actually catching fish.....are always fishy.
38. Everybody you know is going to eventually die, it’s depressing but that’s the way life works
39. Greatest gift you can give the world is your example and your kids been awesome carrying on that example.
40. Who is in charge of the shape of a stick of butter? 
41. In Star Trek in all of the series, pretty much Klingons are all different shapes and sizes depending on of course on the years of the series. I know with the explosion of Praxis, Klingons changed somewhat but......it’s weird. 
42. The Dodgers suck and so do burpees.
43. Treat people like you want to be treated. Don’t be that guy.
44. When I was a kid I watched Gilligans Island, Bonanza, Bugs Bunny cartoons and really cool Godzilla movies on Sundays after church.
45. I own way too many ties 
46. One of my favorite country songs is Seminole Wind by John Anderson and I don’t care who knows 
47. You can never have to many/much iTunes music, ball caps or tools
48. The McRib sandwich is amazing but it only lasts like 37 seconds in your digestive tract until it wants to leave.
49. I have zero musical talent, but I wish I did
50. It would be cool to have another 50 years....

Hate for Hates Sake

In the wake of the horrific event in Las Vegas this week, I found of few nuggets of wisdom, truth and looked within.

First off I must say, Las Vegas Metro Police Department and their public safety partners did an excellent job managing this enormous crime scene. They were better than textbook and credit should go to the Sheriff directly and those managing the incident in its infancy. Amazingly brave, solid and steady work by those heroes. 

Here in Hollister we have a large public gathering once or twice a year. We plan, discuss, go over possible scenario’s and train almost all year for the rally. It is a huge undvertaking by our staff to handle this event and keep it as safe as we possibly can. I am barely able sleep for the week prior and during the rally. I age like 6 years each rally I work as the Chief (last year was my 5th rally as Chief). In Las Vegas, a large event, is a Sunday in autumn....perspective.....

I often talk about my love for people, community and always struggling and trying to be a good example. I try to see the good in every person, situation and to truly learn from the experience. 

With what happened on October 1st in Las Vegas. I don’t have much of anything. We did see tremendous acts of heroism. We saw destruction. We saw our worst fears. We saw death.

Ambassador Sarek in Star Trek IV surmised it was difficult to come up with an answer if one did not understand what the question was.

I believe we are there. We are seeing these atrocities and terrible things that are occurring all over the world. We ask ourselves why, but we don’t know the answer because we’ve never asked the right questions.

Questions like causality. How do we come up with answers if we do not know what causes people to do these things. Is it ideology? is it because we listen to heavy-metal music? Is it because we have been desensitized as a nation and really as human beings in general because we’ve allowed violence to permeate our lives through video games,the media, through movies, through books and other sources? In the last 25 or 30 years what breakthroughs have we made in mental health? What have we done for these folks that suffer so long hard? How much funding is there for the study and treatment for folks with mental health problems? I don’t know the answers to these questions. I do know that we are suffering. Our hearts are hurting and many families out there tonight are in a state of unrest because they’re missing their loved one(s). 

We must study Causes. We must ask the right questions. We must be smarter than a problem. That is the battle and the war we must wage.

The low hanging fruit in this is of course guns. Many folks will argue that if guns were not there then this tragedy would’ve not of occurred. That’s correct, the person in Las Vegas use firearms to commit these horrific acts. I would ask what about IED’s? what about Timothy McVeigh using fertilizer? What about the knife attacks in 2014 in China that left 29 dead and over 130 injured. How about a group of men wielding box cutters that together took down four airliners, killing 3000+ people. Moral to the story is, killers will always find a way. 

Endless possibilities; It’s about motive, it’s about hate, it’s about ideology, it’s about mental illness. it’s about a lot of things.

 I think, like Aristotle said “true knowledge begins when you realize you know absolutely nothing.” We actually do not know much about causality in this arena. If we did, we could start addressing the problem. 

I’m not gonna say that instrumentation in these attacks doesn’t matter. Firearms, knives, fertilizer and other materials for IED’s were used in attacks in recent years. To me the important question is “How did we arrive here?”

Once again we grieve for the losses. We pray for the victims, the families and friends. We pray that someday we can make sense of this and reduce or eliminate these acts of violence. 

I hope I live long enough to see the day that those in my chosen career are no longer needed in the world. I hope we can live in peace someday. But for now I’ll stay prepared, I’ll be ready, I’ll stay vigilant, train more heroes and WE will run towards the threat, towards gunfire every single time.

Be good to each other,

Chief 

Protesting protests

 You know I’ve given this one thought over the last few years; of course I’m talking about protests that are in the NFL and other professional leagues and minor leagues as well. I mean I guess if you want to start, it would be with Colin Kaepernick when he was with the 49ers last year. This year it’s taken on a different theme, last year we saw a few members of the NFL to start to emulate Mr. Kaepernick but we didn’t see the mass protests that there are today.

 Last year it was about police brutality, an unfair justice system, general mistreatment and racism. I still think some of those issues are prevalent in belief this year. It appears that there is a whole other thing going on here now when we talk about this latest protest. Now I’m not gonna get into the politics of this action because it is some of it, politics. I choose to focus on the human side of it.

Your neighbors, some of your family and your coworkers they all have different opinions on the subject. It’s my belief that our founding fathers were wise people. The Bill of Rights is an amazing document and when I was sworn to a uphold the U.S. Constitution it was a very solemn  and serious act for me. It was something that I took very seriously and still do to this day.

 The First Amendment is one of the most powerful laws that exist in our world today. Yes I said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is one the most powerful laws that there is in the world. It is one of the cornerstones of our republic and the reason why so many countries and their people envy us here in the United States. You see, in other  countries they don’t have the freedom to say what’s on their mind, they don’t have the freedom to write in their newspapers how they feel about a particular subject, law or government official. In some countries voicing an opinion that is contrary to those in the mainstream is punishable by death.

 Here in the United States we can say what we want about anybody, any subject, any law and be free to say those things. Some would argue that standing or kneeling for the national anthem is a disrespect to those that have fought, bled and died for our country. I felt this way at one time. But then I looked deeper and realized that those brave and mighty American heroes fought, bled and died for our freedom’s.  It was actually a veteran who fought in Vietnam who spoke with me on the subject that brought me to this way of thinking. Now that’s not to say that I agree with kneeling during our national anthem because I don’t. But I agree with and individuals right to protest and do the thing that he or she needs to do to get their point across just as long as it does not hurt anybody.

 Does racism and mistreatment exist in our justice system and in our country? Yes of course it does. Just as was quoted in Star Treks Undiscovered Country, “if we are to live in a brave new world our generation will have the hardest time living in it”. Changing minds takes work. It takes caring. But mostly it takes responsible people both sharing their thoughts and listening to each other for this change to occur.

I am a Caucasian male in law-enforcement. I have not experienced racism. But I’m not so arrogant and blind to realize that there are not racist people. There are people in power that have these thoughts I’m sure. I have never seen any of these folks in action myself personally but I do know that they exist in our world. I would be the first one to say something and then do something if I saw something out of line. We have a long ways to go still I think, but in my line of work I believe we are on the leading edge of true equality in this country.

 The First Amendment is about freedom.  It’s about respecting the sacrifices the brave men and women of our military both past and present have made for us.  It’s about our strength as a nation. It’s about that melting pot that comes together for these United States.  Sometimes it’s about saying something or doing something when you don’t agree with a particular thing. It’s about celebrating our differences but all having one goal.  It is what makes our country great. It is also about disagreeing as well. We can have different beliefs systems, come from different backgrounds, have different educational standards, we can be wealthy or poor, we can be doctors or farmers, we can be police officers or a member of the clergy, all of these things together but primarily we are all Americans and all human beings.

Some people say: but Dave you like watching football and I know you watch football on Sundays. Well it’s true I do enjoy football. Football should be for entertainment in my opinion.  Football is a game it’s not real life, it’s not life or death and it’s a place where professional athletes go to work. I won’t be watching football this week, not because I’m not protesting another’s protest, it is because I want to actually have a Sunday where I get something accomplished during the football season. My wife, my kids and my animals deserve my time and I’m going to give it to them.

I love this country I love it’s people, I love the way that we come together in times of crisis, but mostly I love and enjoy serving all of you.

Anyway today let’s work on ourselves, let’s lift each other up, let’s try to do something for our fellow man that’s unexpected, and let’s try to be good in our hearts and by example.

Chief

Am I Still Cool?

It's a question I ask myself often. I realized that at my age, almost 50 years old, most likely there are more days behind me then there are ahead of me statistically speaking of course.

If you grew up and graduated high school in the 80s, most likely you have kids and maybe even have grandkids by now. Heck you might even be contemplating retirement in a few years.

Our generation we grew up in an era identified by great advancements in science and technology. Most of us grew up in the time before cell phones. We have probably gone through 30 or 40 different iterations of cell phones and now we have what we have today which is basically miniature computers in our pockets.

Really?

Our generation saw the advent of hip-hop, we saw the birth of rap, we lived during hair metal's hey day. Truly our generation is the defined somewhat by outrageous music and clothing. Parachute pants really? Who thought this was a good idea? Flock of Seagulls hair guy what was your deal bro? How many people didn't go to the Car’s concert or the Bon Jovi concert? I believe it was required back then. If you're wondering I actually went to both.

We saw the Challenger explosion. We saw President Reagan do all of his amazing speeches. We saw him get shot on live TV on the news. We saw desert shield in Kuwait and Iraq. Many of us deployed while in the military to these conflicts and wars.

Many of us 80’s kids are now taking care of their parents. You should be taking care of your parents if you're not, by the way. Remember the example you set now, taking care of your parents is the exact same example your kids are looking at when they are faced with the question of being a caretaker for their parents. Do a good job, be nice.

But as the title of this blog is I'm contemplating "am I still cool?" Well are we still cool?

Well I guess we need to define what cool is. Cool to me is having a great wife, having great kids, but still being able to go to the concert or do stuff outside. Cool to my standards is frankly being alive. Cool to me is knowing that thank goodness you didn't have social media when you were teenager because well I couldn't imagine the trouble I'd be in still.

I mean what is cool to all of you? A lot of coolness is being a responsible parent been able to provide for your family knowing and knowing that you have a roof over your head.

Can I have a question please just a small question? How many of you have gone to see like one of the bands from our childhood like say for example Def Leppard or foreigner or cheap trick or whatever? It was totally cool to go see these guys go play those songs but what I noticed is they look really old and well son can still sing it sound really sort of played to me. Rock stars I think have a rough life.

Rolling Stones - Keith Richards

You know the other day when I was posting about this, I said something about millennial's. if you graduated in the 80s and you have kids, your kid’s are millennial’s; straight up. If you complain about millennials then go look in the mirror and blame yourself.

I'll say this about millennials there are a lot of them they're actually really good, smart, caring ultra giving people. A small minority though of these people or what I like to call 60%’ers, they don't like hard stuff, scary stuff or stuff that requires them to exert themselves where possibly sweat droplets come from there brow. Most of these kids are good kids I have hired them. I work with them. I have no issue with him. I know there's people out there that have issues with millennial's, I am not one of those guys.

All righty so I digressed a little bit about millennial's. But the topic is "Am I still cool?" I think for the most part if you're an engaged adult / parent, care about the world around, work hard each day and want the best for your family kids / friends. I think you're super cool.


Editorial note: does anybody still have any 80s clothing? Who has actually worn their own clothing to an 80s party? I know I don't have any except for maybe a few concert T-shirts. I actually fit into my letterman's jacket the other day. That's from the 80s and I thought that was pretty cool. Maybe we should throw a big 80’s party and listen to Men Without Hats, Loverboy, Billy Idol and Depeche Mode all while wearing penny loafers, parachute pants and two Izod polo shirts with the collars flipped up.

That's all I have for now…….be good to each other

Chief

Free speech vs. Hate speech

Freedom of speech - is the right to articulate one's opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship, or societal sanction.

Hate speech - is speech which attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.

I post these two definitions as examples to refer back too.

Free speech is guaranteed by and contained in the Bill of Rights. We don't get to choose what we like or get offended by before someone speaks. There is a line though. Threats, obscenities or words likely to produce a negative reaction as defined by section 415 of the Penal Code are not allowed (well at least without possible consequences).

I think most all people get this.

I understand that current politics permeates this issue. I don't ignore that at all. Political choice is one of the great freedoms we enjoy in this country. 

The issue of free speech vs. hate speech, supersedes politics.

Every time.....

It is impossible for some people / groups to differentiate from the concept of individual thought and groupthink. Notice I don't mention any specific groups or people. The reason? Because it doesn't matter what side or the political spectrum you sit on, religion, orientation, race or the size of your paycheck, we are all susceptible to the phenomenon of groupthink. 

But I don't blame all of society's wrongs on groupthink. There are folks out there that definitely have some strong feelings and voice them. Sometimes these folks cross the line into hate speech vs free speech. 

Here is the thing and my simple prayer. 

In the USA we have the guaranteed right of free speech. 

Use it to:

• Speak out against tyranny
• Speak out against the ills of the world
• Express yourself, your loves, your concerns
• Criticize government or related issue
• Sing your favorite song

Please do not use it to:

• Threaten people / groups 
• Spread hate to any group or individuals 

My advice -

Be a good person,
live by the golden rule,
listen more than speak,
be patient and tolerant,
be an example to others,
Loving is less work than hating,
If you see something, say something,
Always look both ways before crossing the street,
Please no man buns.

That's all I have for now,

Chief 

Tedx - Ideas for Tomorrow

If you have been paying attention to my social media feeds, you know I recently did a TEDx talk.

What is TEDx you ask?

The TEDx Program is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences.

Oh wait Chief what is TED?

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

I did my TEDx talk at TEDxSalinas. My particular talk was about - Loving Your Fellow Man - A Police Officers Perspective. I theorized that when an officer dons his/her uniform before their shift, it is a act of love for humanity. But you can watch it for yourself, right here and draw your own conclusions.

My friend Michelle Serna was the curator of TEDxSalinas. She has a lot of experience with TEDx talks. She was a fantastic curator for TEDxSalinas.

I would do it again in 2 seconds. I've already thought about what I would talk about (I've narrowed it down to "Cowgirls are dangerous" and "The New Paradigm in Law Enforcement Communication with the Public").

We are but five weeks about from the San Benito Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo. I am excited for this years show. New clown, improved vendor area but also all of the traditional stuff is still intact. The only thing this year is no parade on Thursday of the week of the show. That will come back next year bigger, better and really way more fun ( I know because I am on the committee and we met yesterday afternoon).

Ticket and other info on the San Benito Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo can be found right here

I'll talk to you all soon,

Be good to each other,

Chief

Is Loving Your Fellow Man Still a Thing?

I see hate, despair, evil and intolerance each and every day. I have lived, worked and survived (some may say even flourished) in this environment over 26 years. Exposure to all of that can forge a bitter, depressed and angry person.

Long ago, I made the conscious decision to not let any of that change me or affect me in a negative way. I chose not to hate, but to instead be tolerant, be happy and be positive. I chose to love my fellow humans (and animals) and everything this great world has to offer. I chose to be an example of love as much as I can in life.  As anyone knows, love is something that can be easily transferred to others, with very little effort. Love is a choice.

Love is an important concept for us. Love is an emotion, it’s a verb, and it can be a noun and can describe so many different shades of our lives. For me, it’s a choice. I choose to love, rather than hate. In my world, love/tolerance always wins.

Take the example from my work the other day. Four years ago I found out there was a need for food and warm clothing for a local migrant family. I learned they had two small children. It was the beginning of fall and I knew it would be getting cold at night. I turned to social media and quickly organized an effort for food and clothing. I quickly realized that this family also had no furniture, pots & pans or dinnerware. I again went to social media and organized assistance. My little cadre of social media friends and a few fellow employees delivered food, clothing, and bicycles for the kids, pots & pans, dinner and $200 in gift cards for a local grocery store right in time for the holidays. We helped this little family and tears of joy flowed from our group and this little family.

It got me thinking about needing to be more proactive with the needs of our community. After all there could be many more families that have needs. In thinking about it, I realized I needed to focus my efforts on the kids of our community. There was a local food bank that could help with food and there was a local Salvation Army that could help with clothing. There wasn’t a group though, that was helping with kid’s holiday gifts and other needs. I had something to focus on! I have long held a belief that once a child has the opportunity to fall in love with something; be it sports, reading, music or maybe even riding a bicycle, that they will have currency in life that they can use to gain friends, experience and have a destination and dreams as they grow up.

Again leading with the concept of love and being an example of that I was able to connect with like-minded community folks. This lead me to an organization called Turning Wheels 4 Kids (http://turningwheelsforkids.org/). I wrote a grant request and Turning Wheels provided 70 bicycle’s and helmets, friends and fellow employees purchased about 10 more bicycles and helmets. My fellow employees and I volunteered our time and found local deserving and in need children in our area through a nomination process and delivered the bicycles right before the holidays. Again tears of joy by those that volunteered and those receiving. Love is easily transferred with very little effort.

My fellow employees have continued to volunteer and continued our relationship with Turning Wheels 4 Kids. As each year passes, love for one another grows in our community. We get as much out of our experience with this project as the kids receiving the bicycles, maybe even more. Our little group does many other things in our community as we have diversified our efforts to help our children in need, but that is another story, for another day.

Remember, love is something that can be easily transferred to others, with very little effort. Love is after all, a choice.

Go out and lead by example. Do something good, even when somebody isn’t watching you or posting about it on social media. Most of all tell and show people, every day, how much they mean to you and how much you love them, it might be something they need to see and hear that day.

This blog was also included in this Huffington Post piece.

Dave Westrick,  fellow human being