Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

It is Christmas Day. I don’t feel it at all but I haven’t any of the other years I’ve been down here either. It just isn’t the same without snow and family.

Took Baxter for his morning walk. He chased some squirrels up a tree then exhausted himself trying to climb up after them. It was laughable. He’d go from tree to tree trying to climb up to get at not only the squirrels but some birds he also found sitting up there. When I thought it couldn’t get any funnier, he noticed a fast moving cloud and tried to chase it. He barked and growled at it but to no avail – it still floated away.

I saw, for the first time ever, the family who lives in one of the three bedroom units across from me. They never come out. Today they were sitting on the patio and wanted to pet Baxter so we went over. They are Jamacian and seem very nice. Whatever they were cooking for their Christmas dinner sure smelled good. I didn’t stand there and talk to them because it is Christmas and that is family time.

I’m suppose to work today at 7pm. It was originally 3-11pm but they told me last night they didn’t need me first half. Of course, I’m suppose to call in about 2pm to confirm no one called out sick – I think it would take a lot of balls and disregard for your coworkers to call in sick on Christmas.

We had a lot of domestic disturbances yesterday. We also had one bank robbery and one armed robbery of a person out walking. Those really tied up a lot of officers. We had several suicides attempts but none were successful. There was a couple who lost control of their motorcycle going over 80mph on the interstate – neither was wearing a helmet…neither will live. We had one guy who called about nine times to cuss at the call takers. We finally sent a batch of deputies over to chat with him – he didn’t bother us the rest of the night.

My worst call last night was a man who said his wife suddenly “went nuts” and he didn’t know what to do. This woman was in the background screaming and repeating herself over and over. First it was “Call 911” then “call 119”, then “my hair”, “open the door”, “the clouds” and so forth. I think she sounded strung out on some hallucinate but the man, of course, swore she hadn’t taken anything. This woman was screaming and repeating herself so loudly that the paramedics got there and didn’t want to go in. I sent law too just because it sounded like the paramedics would have their hands full and I didn’t see how anyone could go that nuts “suddenly” like her husband said. I played the tape back for the other call takers to hear – they couldn’t believe I managed to stay on the phone for eight minutes with her screaming like she was. I really can’t do it justice telling it like this, you’d have to hear the tape. Even the deputies that responded wrote me an instant message telling me that my comment “patient is going nuts” on the screen did not adequately describe her mental status…guess “insane” would have been a better word.

What a night!

Wheel of Darkness

Just finished the book “The Wheel of Darkness” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I am sure I have read one of their other books but can’t tell from the title which one.

The book is about a secret box that contains what could be used to end the world through mystical means. The box is guarded by some monks who have never looked inside because it is forbidden. I could compare the box to Pandora’s Box and the movie “The Cradle of Life” but I won’t.

After the box is stolen from the monks, they ask a friend who is has studied the way of the monks and is a private investigator to retrieve it. He follows the box onto a cruise ship that is on it’s maiden voyage and is ripe for greed and evil. Between him and his young charge, they locate and retrieve the box amidst terrifying murders and evil on the ship as it is bound to New York.

The detective opens the box to see what is inside and finds that he has to fight to retrieve his very soul. Anyone who looks in the box becomes evil and hurts others so he struggles to find his way back from that fate.

I give the book two thumbs up – it kept me engrossed and held one surprise that I didn’t see coming. I would recommend it but should say that it is part of an ongoing set to which the author’s recommend reading at least one of the previous ones before reading this one. The others are “Brimstone”, “Dance of Death” and “Book of the Dead.” I had not read any of the others and still found the characters easy to follow in “The Wheel of Darkness.” But I will read them in order now as well.

I do believe the other book I have read of theirs was “Riptide” but I may have also read “Relic”. It is so hard to keep track of all the books I have read.

On a side note – my son informed me that Dean Koontz is not completing the “Frankenstein” series – it is most upsetting news. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in the two he has written so far and am sadden to think there is no conclusion, no closure. Hopefully he will reconsider his decision.

Monday’s book of choice is “The Sinner” by Tess Gerritsen. I expect to finish it during my 12 hr shift tomorrow. Last time I was at the library, I checked out seven books in all – “Blood Lure”, “Wheel of Darkness”, “The Sinner”, “Endangered Species”, “Gravity”, “Last Breath”, and “Flashback”. My sister sent me the last one but it got destroyed when I dropped it in a mud puddle. I will have to replace her copy but figured I’d check it out to read it rather then risk damaging the new one as well.