Today, I found “Ally McBeal” on Netflix as I was scanning through the old TV shows section. My kids were sitting there with me and the first words out of my mouth were, “That was the best show.” They weren’t interested and quickly went upstairs. That’s when I hit the play button.

When the theme song started, I was transported back in time to the mid to late 1990s. This show, like others reminded me of those early years in my career  when I was still trying to figure out the world of police work.

It was a time when I thought I knew it all, but in reality, I had so much to learn. It was also a time when my hair line hadn’t retreated and surrendered to father time yet.

It was a time of excitement from working patrol in those first few years.

It was a time when I drove too fast and even got into a couple of car accidents that were my fault. It was back in the day when I was the silly one still doing car stops at 5:30AM on graveyard when we were off at 6:30AM.

For me, police work was go, go,  go. I was invincible and bullet proof at time same time.

It might sound funny, but those were the memories that were triggered by watching Ally McBeal and hearing the theme song.

Today, I’m no longer bullet proof or invincible. I looked back at those days from long ago with a smile  and I laughed at the younger version of myself. The calendar might say it was a long time ago,  but it really was just a blink of the eye.

If you’re a young cop, take the time to look around and enjoy the ride because time really does fly when you’re having fun.

The other night I pulled up to an injury collision and saw two crashed cars still in the intersection. One of the cars had front end damage and was leaking a slippery fluid all over the street. The other car had damage to its passenger side.

The fire truck was already there and blocking traffic, making it safe for us to walk around in the intersection.

Both drivers were at the corner and a passenger was still sitting in the car being treated by fire personnel.

I interviewed one driver and a witness while fire was talking to the other driver. After I was done speaking to the first two guys, I was ready to talk to the other driver, but the paramedics were still talking to him.

It seemed to be taking a long time for the guy to decide what he wanted to do. I overheard the captain ask, “Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“I don’t know. My parents are almost here,” replied the man, who was in his mid-twenties.

The captain was trying his best to be patient at this point. I could tell they wanted to leave because this guy couldn’t make up his mind. I was standing there when the captain asked, “OK. What bothers you the most?”

With a hurt look on his face, the driver said, “The fact that I was in an accident.”

This made all of the fire fighters roll their eyes at me. Some of them even laughed when they heard that. I won’t lie, I did too. Luckily for all of us his mom showed up with a cup of “mamma’s boy” for her son to drink up.

That’s when I said to myself, “This guy didn’t need the paramedics. He needed a hug.”

The other  night an officer stopped a male on a bicycle and asked for a follow up to assist. When I arrived, there was guy with a shaved head and wearing baggy clothes sitting on the curb next to the patrol car. The officer was talking with him and writing down his information.

The officer asked, “What’s your phone number?”

The suspect said, “I have an Obama phone.” He then gave her the number.

“They gave you a free phone?” I asked.

“Yeah. They give you a phone if you’re on welfare or food stamps.”

I asked, “Are you going to get a Trump phone next?”

He turned to me and gave me a confused look. That’s when I said, “If Donald Trump becomes president, does that mean you’ll get a Trump phone next?”

The officer said, “I think Trump would get rid of the Obama phones,” as she laughed.

I had some time to kill and you never know what you’re going to hear when you talk about random stuff, so I asked, “What do you think of Trump?”

Mr. shaved head said, “He’s winning because he’s keeping it real. He tells it like it is.”

That made me laugh because I wasn’t expecting him to say that. “Would you vote for him?” I asked.

“Well, he’s better that the rest and Hilary is full of shit.”

That’s when I asked him if I could take his picture from behind. I knew I was going to write a blog about the stop. He said sure and just sat there as I took my phone out.

After that we talked about all kinds of things like his two Baby Mammas and to his prior arrest record. He had quite the busy life compared to most people and he was entertaining. He ended up having a warrant and was arrested.  As he was put in the police car I told the other officer, “I Wish everyone was as nice as him.”  She agreed.