It looks like, in about 2 hours, I'm going to be a civilian. This will be the first time ever that I've actually been a civilian completely.

I was born in a military hospital in San Diego, California, making me a military dependent. I stayed one till I joined the military myself at age 18. I stayed in the military reserve even after finishing my tour of active duty, and in the meantime, became a police officer and then a sheriff's deputy. I retired from the military reserve as well. So from birth to age 57 I've not been a civilian. At least to my way of thinking about it.

So now I'm actually going to be one, for real. A retired peace officer for certain, but a civilian to boot. I'm pretty sure there's no manual for that, no instruction booklet or list of items to follow as you move from one status to another. I know I won't get half price at the pizza place anymore, but that wasn't something I wanted to do anyway, so that's no big deal. I guess I'll have to be careful out there now to not involve myself in things that don't concern me, except perhaps, as a good witness.

I need to learn how to look at people differently. A few weeks ago, while in the food store, I was in street clothes and shopping for groceries. A couple who were also in there shopping nearby me were looking at some fruit or whatnot. I looked over at them, just glanced really, and the woman turned to the man and said, "That man just looked at me like he's a police officer!"

I have to admit, I was stunned. I had no idea that I had looked at them any differently than I might look at a can of beans sitting on a shelf in front of me, but it appears I was wrong. Police officers do, in fact, have a way of looking at people that is very, very different than most. Police look at you without the discomfort regular folks have when people catch you staring at them, because the Police have every right to stare at whomever they wish, and they know it. Part of what we do is to look at people while trying to determine just what they might be up to, or, to make sure they are not up to anything. So we look. And we stare. And our very look tells you that we know we can look and there's nothing you can do about it, and we are not uncomfortable in the least. This can be quite disconcerting to the general public at large.

So, I'm going to have to learn how to look at people in a whole new way. Any bets I'll be successful?

I certainly wouldn't bet the farm if I were you.....

Mac