Re: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVIN'?
Well, where do I start?<br /><br />In the beginning:<br />1970-71 Worked at 49'rs Country Club in Tucson shagging golf balls, cleaning carts n clubs, shinning shoes, etc. Was fired when I asked for a raise. I was 13 or so.<br /><br />Drove a Combine on a farm for a summer, worked 12 hours days 6 days a week, I was 15 or so.<br /><br />Worked the next summer landscaping for the development I lived in in Rio Rico, AZ.<br /><br />In high school I worked from 2-10 pm at a local gas station pumping gas, minor repairs, etc. 40 hours a week. I also took college classes while in high school.<br /><br />After high school I went to college in Tucson & Mesa AZ.<br /><br />I worked as a phone solicitor then as Campus Security.<br /><br />I put myself thru the local police academy in Mesa, Az. with the Paradise Valley Marshalls Office.<br /><br />After graduation, I went to work with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Apache Junction, AZ. Those were the wild days, patrolled over 560 sq. miles, often by myself with no back-up. I've held suspects at gunpoint for 30 minutes or more. This was 1980-81 or so.<br /><br />I was seperated from Pinal S.O. because in my background I smoked dope as a kid in High School. Pure bull****.<br /><br />I went to work for Purolator Armored, now Loomis Armored, on the armored trucks. I managed the ATM accounts in the Phx. area the company had. <br />(Have gun, will travel)<br /><br />I worked as a reserve police officer for the Avondale Police Department, <br /><br />Then was hired by the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office in Phx. I worked the Transportation section taking inmates to court appearances. I worked 6 months of the year for Support Services doing Lake Patrol in the lakes around the Phx. area. That was a hot, fun, exciting job. Lots of action on the remote lakes. Back then we had 28 foot Chris Crafts. (1984 or so)<br /><br />After 10 years of law enforcement in the Phx. area I moved the family to central Florida.<br />I applied at 30 plus agencies. Ilene Warnos (sp) and Danny Rollings (sp) blew thru the Gainesville area and no one was hiring. I got a job with the Tavares Police Department, which is 35 miles North of Orlando. TPD was behind the times in 1991, with a 1980 mentality. Like Mayberry RFD. Anyways, 13 years later, the department pays well and is progressing nicely. I am a Detective, with my primary job as Code Enforcement for the City. I am a Traffic Homicide Investigator, Instructor in Defensive Tactics, Firearms, Human Diversity, Juvenile Sex Crimes, and general police topics. I taught myself Autocad and was doing Autocad maps for the Planning & Zoning Department of the City for 4 months or so. I am our Homeland Security Liaison and have acquired thousands of dollars of equipment for our officers from the Government. I can retire in 9 years but will probably work 12-13 more, vesting in the "drop" program when I hit 55 years old.