My Family.

I was looking here at my Blog and thinking the title I have for it "My life..." might seem a bit self centered to those who don't know me. It may even seem that way to those who do. When I thought it out and titled it I meant for it to encompass my life. By that I mean not just myself but my wife, son, dog, and everything that concerns us and our extended family. It also was meant to include my thoughts on an array of subjects. Anything from the weather here in GA or the current political activity going on around us. So I think after much thought I shall keep it titled "My life...", because after all the reason you check this site out is to find out what is going on in my life.

Now to update what's up. I was out of work for a few months. I injured my shoulder arresting some chuckle head, and was on light-duty (taking reports over the phone) for two months. It was horrible!!! I was bored out of my damn mind. I am a street cop, and I love being a street cop. That is where the fun is. There is no fun sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day 5 days a week for two months. I was ready to eat a bullet!!! Then, just as I was getting released to go back to full-duty status, I had an emergency appendectomy, and viola another month on light-duty!!! However, I'm back at work and loving it!!! Salvation at last!

Another big plus is that my family is back from vacation. They went down to Tybee Island and enjoyed two fun filled weeks at the beach with the in-laws during the first two weeks of June. All the while I was here at home all alone (I did have Bolo to keep me company) and working. I missed them VERY much. It was a great day in Winder when they returned!!!

So now life in the Williams family is back to normal. Winston is back to karate, he's got his brown belt test coming up on July 11, and Jennifer is preparing for next year's homeschooling adventure. In the meantime they spend several days a week a Hurricane Shoals Park in Jackson County. It's a natural slide rock in a small river. Winston loves it. He's a real water bug. We spent father's day at the in-laws. It was a really good time. I have the best in-laws possible. I smoked a beef brisket the day before to take over. It was fantaboulous!!! I cooked it on the smoker for 18 hours!! It was very tender and quite tasty. I think for the 4th of July I will be smoking a Boston Pork Butt. Yummy. I can't wait! Well that's about all for now. I let you know how the pork butt turns out.

Happy Mothers Day!!!

It is Mothers Day today, and I want to tell my wife, my mother, my mother-in-law, and my grandmothers that they have all influenced me in a positive way. i want them to know that I love them all very dearly, and I am thankful for them not just today, but every day. I love you all.

As I write this my beautiful wife is asleep in our bed, and our son is sawing logs on the air mattress in the living room where he fell asleep last night. Thumb in mouth, and snoring. Very cute. We have had a fun filled weekend. Winston's friend came to spend the night on Friday. I set up a tent outside so they could camp, and I built a camp fire for them. We all roasted hot dogs over the fire, and then the boys toasted marshmallows. Once they got in the tent I told Jennifer they wouldn't last all night, and I would be waiting for them to come inside eventually. Well it only took 2 hours before they decided they'd had enough of the backyard wilderness. They came inside and stayed downstairs. I told the boys they could eat whatever food they wanted they just needed to keep the noise down to a dull roar. When I came down yesterday morning around 7:00 I found an empty tray of Jell-o Winston and I had made, and about 8 empty M&M packets. When the boys woke up they indulged themselves with cupcakes for breakfast. Oh to be young again!

Since I last posted a lot has occurred. I was injured trying to arrest some stupid drunk, and was put on light-duty for 2 months!!!! Well, as fate would have it just as I was nearing coming back to full duty I had an emergency appendectomy, and was put on light-duty for another month! I am soooo tired of taking reports over the phone. I can't wait to get back to regular duty status. I was also notified that the DA's office took my shooting case to the grand jury last week, and they ruled it a good shoot. I knew I had done the right thing, but that is a very heavy burden to carry around until the word is handed down.

Aside from those few things all is well here in the Williams household. Winston is finishing up his first year of home school, and Jennifer is preparing herself for what she will be teaching him next year. I have put in for day watch, because after working a normal schedule for a few weeks Jennifer has decided she no longer wants me on the midnight shift. Now I just have to wait for an opening. I will say that it has been very nice being home at night. I've been able to watch Winston at his karate class, and spend more time with the family. That is the most important thing to me. I love my family very much, and want to spend as much time with them as I can. I also like being able to sleep at night in my bed next to my wife. Plus, as I get older, I find it increasingly more difficult to work midnights. I just don't have as much energy as I did when I was in college, and staying up all night was fun. I hate getting old!!!

Politics and the U.S.: "Live Free or Die"

Well it's been forever since I last posted anything. I have no excuse, I've just been lazy. But now I'm here and ready to write. I've been watching "our" new government over the past month and a half, and all I can say is "What the hell is wrong with you America!?!". I was a Bush supporter, but I disagreed with that whole bailout crap. Now Obama is continuing this travesty. When will we, the citizens, stand up and yell "No more!!!!!". It has become quit clear to me that it doesn't matter if it's the Republicans or the Democrats, they are all run by the all mighty dollar. Obama successively sold to the majority of Americans that he was all about change, and that he wouldn't follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. Well in less than two months he has done the exact same crap.

We, the people, can only sit back and watch our country fall apart. How can we fix the problem you may ask? I say let the banks that are failing fail. Let the car companies that are floundering fall flat. It's kind of like the Darwin theory applied to business. The companies will either adapt and live on, or fail and become extinct because they could not live in the changing environment. Survival of the fittest.

A society that tries to sustain itself by supporting the weak and useless by the toil and backbone of the productive will at some point fail. To give the have-nots all they need while taking it from the haves is not productive. I am not a have-not nor am I a have. I fall right in the middle, and I can see the flaw in this theory even if our politicians can't.

I'm tired of hearing the liberal left telling me I'm wrong for believing what I believe, and for being labeled a racist because I don't agree with Obama. I'm also tired of the GOP leaders being a bunch of floundering fish. They flip-flop on everything! They're afraid to take a stand for what they say they believe in. I want to see a candidate, white/black male/female I don't care, who will stand up and say this is what I believe, this is how I will vote. I want a candidate that says to hell with party affiliation, to hell with left or right, I'm running as an American for Americans. I believe in the Bible, Jesus, Patriotism, Prayer, and the ability for people to become independent from their government. That's the type of politician I want. The problem with that is unless a person is independently wealthy there is no way for an individual to make it into government to make changes.

I feel that the U.S. is on a collision course for disaster. The title of this little tirade has four very important words in it: "Live Free, or Die". No words have ever been more true. At the rate we're going you, the average citizen, will have no freedoms because the government wants have as much control over you, your job, your money, and your Rights as you are willing to give them. With every little submission they will take more and more. As Thomas Jefferson said:

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

We are to be feared, We are to be respected, We are to be free. Will we let our government rule us, or are we going to rule our government? You make your own choice. As for me and my family, we've made ours.

Life goes on, and so does Facebook....

Well it's been about a week since my shooting. I was planning on staying out of work until the new year but I'm getting ancy (sp???). I need to get back into the swing of things, so I think I'll head back in tomorrow night (Monday).

On other fronts I signed up on Facebook the other day at the behest of a friend of mine. It's interesting, but I keep getting all these dam invites to be friends with people I don't really know, and don't care to. I know we work at the same place but that doesn't mean I want to hang out on-line with you. I've been very selective as to who I let on. I get about a million damn e-mails from folks to be their friends. No thanks.

A final word, my old college friend Matt Shindell got engaged, and I just want to say: WAY TO GO MATT!!! Y'all can check Matt out on his blog at http://matthewshindell.com/blog/. Matt is writer and poet. You can see his stuff on his site. He's very good. I remember going to one of his readings back in the day. He's got talent. He's also on Facebook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas time is here...

Merry Christmas all!!!! It is 7:30 am on Christmas Eve and I am getting ready to leave and go Christmas shopping for my wife. I know, I know, nothing like waiting til the very last minute. However, I have some very good excuses. I've been working my tail off the last few weeks to make enough money to pay for Christmas, and I haven't had the time to get out and get stuff. Also, I just got paid, and I find that store owners are much more inclined to allow you to leave their establishment after you actually pay for the item as opposed to just taking it. Finally, as some of you may have heard, I was involved in a shooting the other day while on duty. I'm fine but the bad guy wasn't so lucky, or maybe he was. He's still alive, but he's paralyzed in his right leg. Lesson learned? Don't bring a B.B. gun to a gun fight with the police who have REAL guns!!!

Anyway, I've been a bit busy with all that. So, now I've finally got some free time and I'm going to go get my better half some things she needs and wants. I love her very much, and she deserves the best. She's already done the shopping for me and Winston. She also made a bunch of homemade apple butter that I took into work on Sunday night and gave out to my fellow employees. She's become very resourceful lately, and has really gotten into this whole green thing. She has also really gotten into trying to learn how to make homemade canning items like jams, apple butter, dried fruits, etc.... I really like it. The food taste sooooo much better than what you would buy at the store. Maybe it's all the love she puts into each item.

Well as I said I was involved in a shooting. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version of what occurred. While working on Sunday night into Monday morning we had a armed robbery call come out at about 1:30 a.m. As they kept updating the call it turned out it was a home invasion where the suspect, who was armed with a gun, kidnapped one of the victims, and stole his car too (carjacking). They gave a lookout of the vehicle, and I headed over to crack town to see if I could find the car in the hood.

At about 1:46 a.m. I found the truck coming out of the hood. It turned right in front of me. I attempted to pull the truck over but the bad guy had other plans, and the chase was on. I chased him down the road, then into a subdivision. He finally bailed out and turned toward me. I saw that he was wearing all black, had a mask on his face, and gloves on. I thought he was going to start shooting me before I could get out of the car. That really pissed me off, because I felt totally helpless, and vulnerable. However, chuckle head decided to run for it. One of his many mistakes that night.

I had already determined that if he confronted me or ran I would shoot him. For those of you not familiar with policing this is called "the fleeing felon rule". What this means is that if someone commits a violent felony (murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, etc...) then we as police officers have the right/obligation to use deadly force to stop the individual if they run because they pose a significant danger to the rest of the general public, and there is a likelihood he could harm others if not stopped.

Anyway, he turned and ran. As he did so I got out of my car yelled for him to stop, he didn't comply with my orders and continued to run. I then fired two shots. They were high and over his head (not on purpose, just poor aim). I then thought "calm down, relax, breath, and aim". I aimed at the only part of him I could see, his white underwear sticking up, and fired. Apparently I was right on target. The guy dropped right where he stood. My bullet slammed into his lower back on the right side. It smashed his L3 vertebrae, severed some nerves, and tore into his femoral artery. Fortunately for him the bullet stopped in his artery. By doing so it plugged it up and kept him from bleeding to death on scene.

At his feet was what appeared to be a large frame Colt .45 pistol. Closer examination found it to be a B.B. gun. On his belt he had a large Ka-Bar style fighting knife. He was also wearing white latex gloves, the bandanna as a mask, and all black. He had tied six people up at the victim's house, and kidnapped one. He will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison, and if he does ever get out he won't be running from the police again. I was told he currently has some movement in his left leg, but his right leg is paralyzed.

I've retold the story about a hundred times so far. Believe it or not it helps to talk about it. I was really shaken up the night it happened. I've been a cop for almost ten years and have never shot anyone, much less shoot at anyone. It is a flood of emotions, and a huge adrenaline dump. I couldn't sleep until about 8:00 p.m. later that night. It was all very surreal. I think I'm OK now, and I feel that without a doubt I did the right thing. I also think that if confronted with the same situation again I would do the same thing. As a police officer I know that there is always a chance I may have to use my weapon. That's why we have them. And on any day and at any time you be called to use deadly force. You just aren't ready when it actually happens. It was only few days from Christmas, and all I was thinking was that I had one more night to work before I would be off for three days to spend Christmas with my family. It never crossed my mind that I would shoot someone that night.

Well that is my story. If any of you have any questions feel free to ask. Me and my wife are fine. Winston thinks it's cool which the psychiatrist said was normal. Just know that me and my fellow officers are out there during all hours every day making you safe from the evil that lurks around the corner. ---- Focker out.

Our weekend...

This weekend was my weekend off; however, being the parent of a 9 yo we were extremely busy with stuff to do. Friday I took Winston to his sparing class for karate. He loves it. Saturday was really hectic, we had Winston's footbal trophy party at Stars and Strikes (a local bowling alley/game room/laser tag place). I've attached photos of Winston with his trophy. It is HUGE!!! He then bowled, and he and I played some video games. We then had his Karate banquet that night. Mom & Pop (that's Jennifer's parents) came up for that. It was a good time.

Sunday I worked a late notice off duty job sitting on the interstate in my patrol car with my blue lights on following a lane striping truck. I had to be there at 9 am but then wait till 11 am to start because we had to wait for the road to warm up enough before they could start.

Monday was the most fun. We decided to take a family trip to the World of Coke located in downtown Atlanta. It was a really neat place. If you're from Georgia, or have ever visited, then you know how BIG Coke is down here. If you go out to eat and want a drink you ask for a Coke, even if you want a Sprite. It's all Coke. Anyway, it's pretty much just a giant museum with a mini 4-D movie and a tasting area where you can try sodas from all over the world. The 4-D movie was Winston's favorite. And I have to admit Jennifer and I liked it too. after seeing it once we circled back through to see it a second time!!! We also got to see all the different coke products from around the world. Finally we had the opportunity to taste those products. There were some very intersting flavors. Some countries had soda's that were extremely sweet!!! Others had some that only mildly sweetened. The worst was a drink from Italy called "Beverly". It was by far that absolute worst tasting drink I have ever touched to my tounge. I needed water to wash my mouth out afterwards. I don't know what kind of taste buds they have, but if that is any clue than I'll stay away. YUCK!!!

After our wonderful tour of all that is Coke we ate at Jennifer's favorite hole in the wall resturant across from City Hall, "EATS". I have to admit that it is pretty darn good too. They serve jerk chicken, lima beans, collards greens (GROSS), cornbread, and other southern treats. The menu is actually very small. You can choose from either jerk chicken, meat loaf, or pasta. All for a small amount of money. It is actually a really good deal. You can feed a family of 3 (US) for under $25. And you get a lot of food for the money. It was a good day. Well that's about as much as I've written in a LONG time. Now I need to get ready to go to work. I have attached some photos below of our weekend. Enoy.

Jennifer and Winston doing there goofy pose.

My self portrait of us before going to see the Coke 4-D movie "Finding the Secret Formula". Check out the stylish 3-D glasses!!!

Me tasting the Italian drink "Beverly"!!! A picture speaks a thousand words.

We're sitting on a Coke couch. Apparently this couch was used as the sitting area on "American Idol 4". Cariie Underwood sat on it. I'll never wash my butt again!!!

Our photo with the polar bear at the World of Coke.

It's almot as big as he is!!!

Winston and his new football trophy.

I'm Back!!!

Yes yes, it's true. I'm back to writing. My beautiful wonderful wife, whose blog you can read at www.waiting4news99.blogspot.com, has been getting on to me for not writing on my blog since the election. I have no excuses except that I've just been lazy. It is now two days after Thanksgiving, and I am gearing up for working a lot of overtime at the mall for the Christmas holidays.

We had my in-laws (Mom, Pop, and Uncle Bryan) over as well as my brother and sister-in-law (Michael and Amy). My wife made a turkey, green bean casserole, dressing with gravy. I made two buttermilk pies (if you've never had them before they are GREAT), and a sweet potato souffle. It all went off without a hitch, which in it's self was quite surprising. We had a great time. Even Winston told me the next day that he had a really good day. He loves his uncles!!! Bryan is cool because he knows all about video games, whereas Michael is cool because even though he's 44 he act's like he's about 10.

I am looking forward to Christmas especially since I have off Dec. 23, 24, 25, and 26th!!!! I can't wait.

So that's all I have to say for now. I will check back in later to give up dates as to what's going on here. Again you can always go to my wife's blog (see above) because she is much better about writing and updating her blog than I am.