By the time you read this, an important anniversary will have passed. December 9 was the 26th anniversary of the murder of Danny Faulkner by Mumia Abu-Jamal. Most Americans have probably heard the murderer's name, as in "Free Mumia!" However, there's a pretty good chance that many do not know the name of Jamal's victim, Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, Badge Number 4699. That is both a very real pity and an unfortunate sign of the times we live in, where bad guys are almost always more famous than their victims.
Recently, I attended a management seminar on the inclusion of Generation X and Y in our departments. One chief brought up an issue that struck home with many of us older folk. His point was we are constantly trying to find ways to include these groups in our departments, but what are we doing for our older officers?
A pair of aces, and a pair of eights – four simple cards known simply as the Dead Man’s Hand. For years, the symbolic meaning of these cards has been misconstrued and demonized. 
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.
"Go ahead, shoot me!" Over the last ten years, one would be hard pressed to find an officer that has not heard this emanating from a suspect that is taunting him or her, confident that the officer will not pull the trigger. Lately there has been some scrutiny in what appears to be a growing trend by officers not to use force, even when they are completely justified in doing so.
This is a poem dedicated to a very difficult job and the people who do it. Often those not involved in public safety don't fully understand the sacrifices given on their behalf each day.
