Honoring Nick Polizzotto

Cpl. Nick Polizzotto was killed in the line of duty last week. His funeral was this morning. The homeless shelter happened to be on the route of the funeral procession - as we were last year for Scott Severns, last year's fallen police officer - and we all stood on the sidewalk and waved small flags and watched 250 police cars go by, in addition to the hearse.

I don't think about police officers much. I ought to - I see Eldon, Ron and PJ at work all the time. They take turns doing the evening shift at the shelter and I often have them walk me to my car if I'm working late. Their work at the shelter is, for the most part, mercifully mundane. They monitor the north doors where people come in for the NA meeting, they help us out when we're calling an ambulance for a sick or injured guest, they have good sit-down talks with unruly teenage boys ... but I don't think much about what else they encounter in their job. Of course any one of us could encounter violence in our everyday lives ... but to put on that uniform and put on the responsibility for facing whatever might happen, for protecting ... me ...

thank you.