Home At Last- Jeff

I’m back. Well what can I say? Going to Washington D.C. to be a part of the Presidential Inauguration was a great experience for me. Granted I could have dealt without the bone-chilling (and numbing) temperatures. I, along with about 100 fellow officers from Savannah Chatham Metro Police stood in the 1400 block of Pennsylvania Ave, just down the road from the White House. We stood our post from about 4:30am until about 8:00pm. Everyone was ready to get back to the hotel to warm up and relax. I felt like it was an honor to be selected to go to DC. We even received a few commemorative items to remember our time in D.C. (A D.C. badge set, commemorative plate, and scarf). While I was working, I got to see a bit of the parade. And yes, the Best Damn Band in the Land, The Ohio State University marching band was in it. It was their first time ever in the parade. It was nice to see a bit of home.

The trip down on Sunday was a long a quiet one. We sat on the tour bus and watched movies the whole way. It made time go by quickly. It was about a 10 hour ride from Savannah to DC. After arriving at the hotel in the late evening, everyone was ready to eat. Everyone went their separate ways to the fine dining establishments in the hotel. And they were not cheap. On Monday, we went to get the briefing. We sat in the arena of American University. Boy, what comfy seats…a line of B.S. After the briefing we went to Golden Corral, a command decision. What a poor decision that turned out to be. Everyone wanted to go back to the hotel to relax and try to sleep before getting up at 1:00am on Tuesday. After getting back to the hotel, everyone collapsed in their rooms. I didn’t get that much sleep because the Texas delegation was having a Black Tie & Boot party in the atrium. There is nothing like trying to sleep to “THE STARS AT NIGHT, ARE BIG AND BRIGHT, (BAM, BAM, BAM) DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!!!!” When we got up and out the door, the Texans were still partying. So Tuesday arrives and we go to work. We take turns going to the warming area DC Metro Police set up. While waiting for the shindig to start, I talked to a few Secret Service agents, officers from Montgomery County, MD Police, and a few fellows from Multnomah County, OR Sheriffs. They gave me a patch (so any other officers that want to patch trade, let me know. I’m starting a collection). The parade starts, a little late, but everyone is in high spirits. Our area had no criminal issues. We only had to deal with children who were out there for so long they started getting hypothermia. Just to show people that police care and help those in need, every SCMPD officer handed over the hand warmers that were given to us in the morning. We could deal with the cold; we didn’t want to see the kids hurting. We did the best we could for them. So Tuesday goes by and now it’s Wednesday. We get up at 5am to leave by 6. So at 7am when we leave, we are glad to be going home. We stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Yum. Back on the road. We stop for lunch and fuel in Kenly, NC. It had snowed pretty well apparently. It was hilarious to see Good Ol’ Southern Boys playing the snow. Me, being from Ohio, was just like “yea, white powdery stuff that isn’t cocaine”. There were snowball fights. I and another officer decided to make a snowman before we left. He was sworn in and handed his sidearm. We boarded the buses and left for home. We arrived in Savannah around 6pm, and everyone grabbed their stuff and ran to their cars. I got of the bus to see my beautiful wife and baby boy, I was glad to be home.

I did come away from this experience with some useful knowledge and memories. I can say that “I was there and a part of history”.