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It’s Always a Good Time to Go to the Dump

October 1, 2020
Tracy McCray
SFPOA Vice-President

The pandemic has made a mockery of any sense of what a “normal” routine is. During this time people are trying to find all sorts of ways to handle stress. Some meditate, some workout, some play music, others cook. I find going to the dump to be a great way to relieve stress and to handle the negativity that has been thrown towards our chosen profession. I do not wear my heart on my sleeve, and some would say I’m stoic.

This may not work for everyone, and to each their own, but there is something to be said for purging your junk along with whatever stress one may be carrying around. Luckily, I don’t go to the dump all the time but this past week I did. It started off innocently enough. We had gotten a new couch, the COVID couch as we call it, since we purchased it online without having gone to store to see it in person. It turned out to be a good time to upgrade as we needed something bigger so we could lounge. The couch has now become the de facto office, movie theater, and the weekend binge space for all the shows we now have time to watch.

Once we got the couch, we moved the old one into, as I like to say, the room of requirement. You Harry Potter fans will know what that means! Anyway, after some time had passed, we decided to put a desk in the room and now the old couch had to go. I brought it to the dumps the same day the two LA County deputies were ambushed. The act of pushing that couch off the bed of the truck felt good. But it also made me feel a resolve. A resolve to not give in.

The attack on those two deputies was appalling and every law enforcement officer’s nightmare. To be ambushed for no reason other than the uniform you wear, lays bare anxiety and stress beyond what we normally face day to day. To say we live in some strange times is an understatement. The deputies had the wherewithal to seek cover, call it in, and miraculously one deputy applied a tourniquet to her partner while bleeding from her neck. And to make it even worse, the protestor’s vile chanting at the hospital as the deputies were fighting for their lives serves as a reminder that for some, our lives don’t matter. Fortunately, the deputies pulled through and are on the road to recovery! God Bless them for fighting to stay alive and not giving up!

It is this mentality that everyone of us needs right now at this very moment. The spirit and grit to get through the day when everything is seemingly against us. The belief that we stand for something righteous and true, to protect those who cannot protect themselves and to cast out the wicked that would do harm. We have the determination to continue to put on the uniform and go out into the communities we serve. So, please keep the faith and go out and do the great work that we swore an oath to do. Serve and protect.

Find your way to relax and destress. In the meantime, I will destress at the dumps as needed.

One last word….

And what is going on with the daily free for all at your local Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy? Every day that I have been at work, I constantly hear about people going in and taking whatever items they want. Cleaning out entire shelves while the employees look on helplessly. That is not right! People working at these stores are trying to make a living, not to mention all of the people who shop and get their medications at their local store. What happens when the corporate office gets tired of losing money and decides to leave? Or worse yet someone gets hurt because of the reckless disregard that people have for others. I hope that this issue gets under control soon because it’s another black eye for San Francisco!