Poetry
Memoir: My perspective, thoughts and feelings during this past year since getting sick with COVID-19
Sunday, March 14, is the first anniversary of when I got sick with COVID-19. It has been a little more than a year that all of humanity has faced the unprecedented challenges of this pandemic. I considered writing about what I believe many people have been going through and what feelings they have been having,…
Read MoreMy dear friend, Mrs. Irene Cox, returns to her daughter Jacqueline on the same day of the year she passed away.
Sharing some sad news, Mrs. Irene Cox, a friend of mine, passing away today. In 2008, I was in McDonald’s on Flatbush Avenue, off Avenue R. A woman who I had seen there before, with the warmest smile and such beautiful eyes, saw the stars on my white shirt under my windbreaker. She asked me…
Read MoreA Person of Service
We remember Chief Steve Bonano, who died six years ago today, from 9/11 cancer. Steve was my Executive Officer in Brooklyn South. A great man, with a strong background in policing, including assignments in Aviation (Steve was a pilot) and Emergency Service. He was also a United States Navy veteran and a Harvard graduate. He…
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My “Other” Birthday
On January 8, 2018 – a day I call my “other” birthday – I retired from the NYPD after 37 years of service. My career was amazing, a true journey, emotionally and spiritually. I experienced the greatest honors, and inspirations and joy, as well as some of the deepest pain, that many cannot imagine. In…
Read MoreA Gift, Like No Other
In 2016 and 2017 I would listen to the audiobook by Wayne Dyer, “Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life”, over and over again, when I walked on the boardwalk in Rockaway. The book is a collection of his interpretations of the “Tao Te Ching”, written by Lao Tzu in the 4th Century BC. It…
Read MoreA True Sample of Service, Caring and Bravery
Moments like this remind me that I am not a tall man! đđŚđ¤ˇđťââď¸. Meet Ed Fernandez, Tom Binstock and Travis Warfield, Kings Transit Task Force. After a nice chat in downtown Brooklyn I checked my email history because I knew I had spoken to each of them a few times to thank them for their…
Read MoreRemembering Two of our Heroes
We remember two of our heroes, who sacrificed their life for us six years ago today. In the wave of anti-police rhetoric NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were assassinated in Brooklyn. At Woodhull Hospital that day I looked at the faces of the elected officials, the same ones who are vilifying police officers…
Read MoreThomas âTJâ Curly
I live in an apartment on the beach in Rockaway and every window faces the ocean. At about 4:00 AM on December 3, 2017, having fallen asleep on my recliner, I woke and saw emergency lights flashing onto the otherwise dark boardwalk. I went to my terrace, leaned over and saw fire trucks and police…
Read MoreThe Sentencing
November 8, 2007 – While we await the arrival of the judge from his chambers, there is small talk to my left, someone telling another of renovations on his home, and small talk to my right, possible upcoming indictment of an elected official. Often, we fill painful moments with small talk. As I wait, I…
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