Sunny skies were part of our morning - on this Thursday, May 13, 2021. A beautiful day with hardly any wind. There was a solemn feeling I had while watching the clouds roll in. I was standing outside our radio station, looking straight down Memorial Highway. This whole week has been set aside as "National Police Week" - a tribute started way back when President John F. Kennedy declared it in 1962.

Today there was a Memorial Parade: Began at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery -headed north for a bit, then eastbound on 3rd AVE SE in Mandan - took a right and headed straight towards us - on Memorial Highway. My first thought as I saw the lights far away, I'm grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line every day when they patrol our streets of Bismarck/Mandan. To take an oath, serving their community is the most unselfish thing there is - a commitment to protect at all costs. I stood there with visions of police officers all over the country, doing one of the toughest unpredictable jobs there is. Routine traffic stops can end in sudden death - officers running TOWARDS a car that was on fire last month in Atlanta, rescuing an unconscious man who had a seizure - there was not a second to stop and question what they were doing. Police brutality is always a hot topic - there are many people who are quick to point out the very few former officers that have wronged their profession, and the public. Police departments all over the country have to deal with the hate - but they do it with dignity.

While the steady stream of police vehicles from all over North Dakota now was rolling past me, I waved at each and every one of them. I said a silent prayer to myself for those that have lost their lives in the line of duty - the fallen.

 Thank you to Bismarck, Mandan police - I appreciate each and every one of you.   

 

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