Sinatra, Lies,and Oinks

This past week was quite an eventful one for Maggie and I. It started with my mother coming to Salt Lake to attend the Utah Treasure's Academy, at the University of Utah's Sandy Campus which is near where I attend the police academy. She arrived on Sunday and joined us for our weekly Sunday Dinner at the Elton's home. The highlight of that evening was watching Kathy trying to introduce her dog Frito to the Pedi-Paws; a device that resembles a rotor-tiller, and is supposed to make it easier to clip your dogs nails...I am sure the infomercial made it sound like this would work.

The rest of the week was pretty standard we went to dinner with my mother after I got out class a couple of times, and I got to watch Monday Night Football at her hotel. This is exciting for me because we have not had cable ,hence no ESPN, since we moved to Salt Lake. I was not sure I would be able live with out Sports Center, but somehow against all odds I have endured. I also had a class from one of my favorite academy teachers Captain Kenny Payne from the Davis County Sheriff's Department. It was a class in Death Investigations so it had lots of gory autopsy and crime scene photos that would make normal people cringe, but being a cop wannabe; I was captivated. The best story of the night(this might be a little gruesome for some, others will laugh) was the story of a plane crash that scattered body parts across the county, a policeman trying to recover these parts comes across two kids trying to steal a ring they found on a missing arm. Capt. Payne said "I know what your thinking...Armed Robbery." Cheesy? A little. Did I laugh? Uproariously.

Thursday we went to the Hale Street Theatre to see a performance of Into the Woods. I am a big Steven Sondheim fan(as much as a fan of musical theatre I am...which isn't much). The performance was good, and the theatre had great special effects. I must say that Dixie High School did a better job, but they had Justin Hansen as their musical director so you would have expect that.

Friday I went to visit the Psychiatrist. I have to as part of the application process for Salt Lake City's Police Department. I was very disappointed I wore my inkblot tie, and was fully prepared to talk about what animal I would be and why(a platypus, because they are kind of like the X-Men of the animal kingdom). It was just a normal little interview, with boring questions. Oh, well Maggie is in an abnormal psych class maybe she will ask me "What historical figure I most envision my father as?"(Thomas Hart Benton, because the shrink will have no idea who that is...He was a Missouri statesman nicknamed "Old Bullion.")

That Afternoon we went the Red Iguana for lunch. I had puerco pibil; one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Maggie and my mother both had mango enchiladas. I drank my weight in horchata. Maggie had a Jarritos Naranja(orange soda), and Mom had a margarita. I then went to POST where that night instead of our normal PT we ran the South Jordan Race For the Cure. It was a lot of fun to run in race for a change, and I was pretty happy about my time. I had wanted to Race for the Cure with Maggie last spring, but had class that day and was unable to do so. That made being able to run this fall particularly nice.

I have my eyes closed to show the excellence of the food;

Maggie is much more interested than I in the camera at this point

Maggie, Mom, and Jose Cuervo

Saturday I went to the shooting range to qualify for the first time(I did so). I then came home went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory(I had Wasabi Crusted Ahi-Tuna YUM, Maggie had a killer Mac-n-Cheese, Mom had Shepard's Pie.) We then went to a performance of the Rat Pack at Kingsbury Hall. It was great. I am a huge Sinatra fan as almost anyone who knows me well knows. I went clad in my Stetson Fedora, top coat and all. I was debating going in my tux to complete the Rat Pack uniform, but decided it was just a little over the top. We had a few extra tickets so we invited Hillary and Shawn, and Holly. They were seated behind us. I was talking over my shoulder to Holly and was telling her about my upcoming CVSA(Computerized Voice Stress Analyzer) Test(Lie detector). The man sitting next to her leans over and says "I am sorry I didn't mean to over hear, but where are you doing this test?" I answered "Salt Lake City P.D." He then replied "I'll see ya Tuesday." It turns out he is a detective working in the office that will be giving me my truth test.

Me doing my best to look like Frank. Ring-a-Ding-Ding!

Holly, Maggie, Colt/Frank, Shawn and Hillary

Sunday we went to church and then had breakfast before my Mom headed home to see her lonely dog(remember when he was our lonely dog? Not so much anymore). I watched my Bears do everything in their power to loose a game they had won. Then off to beef stew at the Elton's.

Monday Maggie got to come to POST with me for a class in Mental Conditioning for Combat(is that not the freaking sweetest title for class ever?) The class went over some the bad things that can happen to you in the line of duty and what a spouse can do to be supportive. It also talked about how to prepare your mind for what to do when bad stuff goes down. Maggie enjoyed the class,(as much as one can about when hearing of the perils of your loved one's impending job) but after having been in class all day herself at Westminster she was ready to be done listening to people.

Tuesday I went in for my CVSA at 7AM. The guy at I met at the Rat Pack walked into the darkened lobby and greeted me with"What's up buddy, come on I'll take you upstairs." He took me up the detective's division and toured me around a little. I went into the homicide division where he worked and where I would be tested. It was awesome. It looked and felt like I was in one of my favorite cops shows ever "Homicide:Life on the Streets." Cases on a board, discussion about the first 48 hours, talk about who would get the next call, it was great. I felt like Frank Pembleton(Andre Braugher's character from Homicide) would walk around the corner at any moment. The CVSAs were double booked, so I had to come back that afternoon. I went home Maggie went for a run, I folded laundry, and then we went to traffic court.

Frank Pembleton from Homicide:Life on the Streets(Note: He has the same gun I do. Pretty sweet I know)

Maggie was given two parking tickets for having an expired registration on her car even though we she had the temporary one in her rear window. I told her to fight it, and was trying to be supportive. This was hard because she called me and yelled "This is why people HATE cops!" I started to say something when she OINKED at me. It was pretty funny. When we got to court the clerk made us pull the car up to show her where the registration was, and then dropped the tickets.

I then went back to the police station for my CVSA. I must say it is one of the most stressful things I have ever done. The detective did a great job of putting me at ease and trying get me through the interview. It was hard, but I got through it. I joked that having spent most of my previous years in politics it is sometimes hard to tell the truth for that long.