A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

  Walking on Sunshine   Back in the eighties there was a song called  Walking on Sunshine . The chorus said “I’m walking on sunshine, wo-oh, And don’t it feel good?”   Despite the poor English, I agree.  Walking on sunshine indeed feels good.    I can’t help but sing these words as I stroll through my neighborhood. I feel good in part, because with the changing of seasons, the leaves are turning from a somewhat monotone green to glorious colors of red, orange, and gold. I feel good because the sun warms my face and touches my soul.    October is one of my favorite months for many reasons. Yes, it is soothing to sit outside and soak in the autumn sun. But there is more.   In October, the apples are ready to be picked. When I was a little girl, we worked together at my grandparent’s farm cleaning the apples, cutting them, and feeding them into the cider press. To tell the truth, I probably did little to help with the making of cider…but gi...

  S.W.A.T.  Not Sweat. Not Sweet. Not even S.W. A. K., for those of you old enough to remember that phrase on the back of an envelope.   S.W.A.T. ... Special Weapons And Tactics. For those of you following my Citizen Police Academy journey, I’m happy to report I survived the S.W.A.T. team adventure this week.    This is a police tactical unit trained to use, as the name indicates, special equipment and employ maneuvers necessary for unique situations. For example, someone may be armed and barricaded in a building. He or she may have hostages to be rescued. We’ve all seen the scenarios on television.    In fact, we watch television and we get a fairly accurate picture of the makeup of a S.W.A.T. team. We understand the team consists of a commander and negotiators. We see armed police officers including those with rifles. And there are members of the team identified as “entry personnel.” Those are those heavily protected guys we watch carry shi...

  Family, Food, and Firewood   It is always good to get together with family. I often think of a family reunion as a houseful of people all talking at the same time, lots of food, and tons of laughter. This year was a bit different.   I chose the date for the reunion at my house because my sweet cousin, Crystal would be in town. She lives in Naples, Florida. Crystal was in Ohio for her niece’s wedding…and before you ask, yes, her home in Naples was untouched by Hurricane Ian. That’s a praise.   As the week for the gathering at my house neared, I heard from various cousins about conflicts with the date or received those “try to get there” messages. In the end, of the dozen or so cousins I have on my father’s side of the family, four of us put our feet under my dining room table. Four cousins, Julie’s husband, Keith and my mom… Six of us all together. Then my daughter, Kendall and her two little girls showed up.   It was perfect.   Crystal, Julie, and my mom ...

  Fitted with a Body Camera     If you’ve followed my blog, you know I am currently enrolled in our local Citizens Police Academy.    Last week offered lessons learned about making decisions. Certainly, our police officers make thousands of split second decisions every shift. My own mistakes in the Firearms Simulator gave me a new appreciation for the power the influence of others can have on decisions we make daily. (If you missed that post you can go back and read it HERE .)   This week, three teams presented information to our class: Force Science, the Body Worn Camera Unit, and the Integrity and Development Unit (think “internal affairs”). These areas offer critical, independent data to assess those decisions officers make in the field on a daily basis.    The underlying theme for each?   ACT: Accountability, Credibility, and Transparency.   I could certainly create a post for each. But not today. For this post, I want to explore the...

Decisions…Decisions   Last week I wrote about using the firearms simulator at the Citizens Police Academy training. I mentioned this training is important because our officers must learn critical decision-making skills.  CLICK HERE  if you missed that post.   I shared with you my overall success. Note I said, “overall,” not total. I joked with a friend that I managed to get a pretty good score…and only killed one civilian. Nothing funny there.   What? Yes it was a simulator, but killing one civilian is one too many.   I’ve been thinking this over all week. I know what happened there, but how it plays out in real life may be a more powerful lesson.   First, let’s go back to the simulator. We were paired with another classmate for the firearms simulator activity. The person with the weapon was to assess the situation alone and choose to fire or not. The other person was to remain quiet.    That worked for the most part. But in this one situatio...

  Train, Serve, Protect...  and Train Some More A couple of weeks ago I shared my first impressions of my local Citizens Police Academy. I have now completed three of my ten-week class sessions and last Saturday participated in a “ride along” experience with officers in the field.   I accompanied one officer Saturday evening from 7:00pm to the end of his shift before tagging along with the second officer until my tour ended at 2:00am on Sunday morning.    The “ride along” experience gave me a new view of my community. I didn’t realize how our roughly thirty-six square mile township fit in the scheme of the Greater Cincinnati area; in ethnicity and socio-economic status as well as in terms of land use.    I’ll admit, there was a part of me that wanted to see a bit of action. And I did. But there was the responsible adult in me hoping for a boring, uneventful evening… unless it of course involved something sweet and innocuous straight out of books of May...

May 1995 When is the Party? As most of my readers know, I was a teacher for many years. I eventually turned in the red pen used for grading and picked up the black one used for writing.     I loved teaching. I loved working with children in the elementary school setting. I have remained close to many of those kiddos through the years. I’ve attended a few graduations and weddings. I’ve watched as they have grown into incredible men and women. This is one such story.   In 1994, I received my class roster for the upcoming school year. It was my practice to complete a home visit with each of my students before the first semester started. I would call ahead and arrange a time to visit the student as well as meet the parents and siblings. Often the child would show me his or her room or introduce me to a beloved pet. One student asked me to climb up in the tree house he and his dad built together. I must admit that was a first, but because I loved to climb trees as a child, I o...