Writers Police Academy 2018

Another Writers’ Police Academy is over.  Every time I go, I get something different.  A lot of the attendees seem most interested in the opportunities to shoot, and drive police cars.  Not me.  I am more interested in people. I’m curious about the personalities of first responders and killers.  This year I got insight on both along with learning how to put a tourniquet on me, how spaghetti can be deadly, how a prosecutor thinks, how to tell is a suspect is lying, and how to save some one with Narcan.

I also met a lot of great writers who do interesting things and who I may turn to for information.  I won a super raffle basket with NYPD stuff and some books by one of the presenters Marco Conelli.  He was an undercover detective and has fascinating stories.

This year the hotel was in downtown Green Bay which was nice.   There was a lot of excitement in town because the Green Bay Packers were playing a pre season game with the Titans. I think they come from Nashville, but not sure.  I also think they were staying at our hotel because I saw some guys who looked like football players and there were a lot of cops there protecting somebody.

And then it was on to Chicago where I was looking forward to a peaceful time to work on some ideas I have.  Wrong.  The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that the phone and Internet didn’t work.  Luckily I had my cell phone, but trying to get service on the phone was crazy.  I would get a message saying that any time I could speak to a human if I asked to speak to a live agent.  I asked for that service and got another recording telling me their office was closed and to call back when it was open and then I was cut off.  I did finally put in a request for service using their automated system and I was told they couldn’t come until Thursday from 4:00- 8:00.  It was silly but I felt like I was abandoned on a desert island.  Really silly because I did have my cell phone and this device that can get me online and even my cell phone can be a hotspot, though I have a feeling it costs a bunch.

My building is over 100 years old and they’re rehabbing the windows.  So I had people coming in to take out the storm windows and then men on ladders working on the windows making noise similar to fingernails on a chalkboard.   They have been very nice, but still…  They come early too, so no sitting around in my nightgown drinking coffee.

But the good news is the AT & T guy came four hours early and I’m back online with a functioning landline.  The window guys are close to finished and I have managed to work on stuff anyway.  I think the most important thing I noticed in all of it was not to let any of it get to me.  The older I get, the more of a “whatever” person I’ve become.