"Line the locals one by one, filling bullets with their guns" Havana Gang Brawl - The Zutons
I still remember the conversation very distinctly standing there in our garage. "You don't wanna be a cop! Be something where you can make some money." My dad was actually talking to me about what I wanted to do with my life. He suggested I go into accountancy because this guy from our church was a 'bean counter' and he made good money. I always thought it was about the money.
On almost a daily basis he would meet some of the lowest 'scum of the Earth'. That kind of daily interaction can really mess with a person. We lived out in the country surrounded by small communities without alot of opportunities for diversification. The only time he met someone different was when he had to come lay down the law. I would figure that doesn't make for good first impressions.
I always found it funny the perception of law enforcement. They are every one's hero until they have a reason to come after you. And when one of them messes up people sure do like to rub it in. Favoritism is a term I've heard alot before. But really someone has to look out for them and all they have is each other.
I know he loves his work, you can hear the pride in his voice when he talks about his record. Yet there is something behind all of it that is probably harder than anything else to deal with. You meet people on their worst day and most others are out to get you thinking you are the enemy. That is something more important than money, it is life with a smoking gun.
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3 comments:
I was sort of waiting for this to come back to you. Maybe with one more paragraph. I am guessing this won't be the last time you touch on this subject. I kept also waiting for the line "My dad counted beans. The worst kind of scum ever dug up from filthiest spots in our little plot of earth." Sounds a little like Dirty Harry, I know.
From a writing standpoint, think about adding small actions and recreate the scene. What was your Dad doing in the garage? Was he just out their for a smoke? How did he hold it? What was he wearing? I know he has a lot of facial expressions and distinctive movements. These things allow you to say things without it being like a term paper. Sometimes also when you really think about how a person moves (then try to describe it) or their actions, it turns on a light bulb on what's going on with them.
I rushed it. I read it through and just for some reason still posted it and felt weird about it. I think i might do another post where i do a revision. It is light and reading it now I see where it could make sense to me or you or anyone who knows my dad but not to someone just reading it. I think I can follow some of your advice and just some of the other ideas that were in my head that i rushed past. Maybe that would be interesting just to see when I take my time how different it will work. I need to learn to slow down a little bit.
i was a little confused, cause i thought I remember your dad wanting you to be a cop and your grandma being really against it. But maybe I dreamt that.
Second, I wouldn't worry too much about revising. But that doesn't mean some other time you can't attack the same issue from a different direction.
I've wrote about the same thing hundreds of times and never got it really right. Heck, I get paid to right about pretty much the same things every day. The only thing that really keeps much interested is trying to find different ways to attack them from a different direction.
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