Portents
16 Jun 2008 
in the late afternoon 
Matt Winckler
This blog has been very quiet lately. So quiet, in fact, that it is almost dead. I’ve tried to kickstart it a few times, but the creative juices inevitably peter out, leaving an empty shell of what it once was. Even so, do not fear: I have called emergency services and an ambulance is on the way.
The time at last has come to reveal the reason for silence to the two or so people who do not already know. The reason is that I tend to blog about that which I think about, and lately I’ve been thinking about things that were not public knowledge. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about careers. I have decided to seek out an alternative to my well-paid, comfortable job as a software developer at Battelle. Indeed, I have decided to seek an alternative to the entire software development industry.
On 25 April, by taking a physical test, video-based test, and reading/writing test, I began the process of becoming an officer with the Kennewick Police Department. I subsequently advanced through the process past the first oral board interview, a background investigation, and a polygraph test. Next up is an interview with the chief of police and command staff, followed by a medical examination and a psychological examination. Lord willing, following that I will begin 18 weeks of training at police academy.
There are several reasons why I am choosing to take a fair-sized pay cut in order to go work days, nights, weekends, and holidays getting beat up, spit on, shot at, cussed at, and generally abused by the ungodly. Firstly, I believe that law enforcement is my calling. I’ve thought about it for years, and it was actually my original intent to pursue it after college. (However, graduating at 20 years old meant finding other employment until I turned 21, and God provided a great and comfortable job right off the bat, which set me down the road to law enforcement.) Secondly, police work is a unique mixture of justice, mercy, and compassion: justice for evildoers, mercy and compassion for the helpless and needy. Of course, in between these admirable extremes there is anyone’s fill of day-to-day crap (angry drivers, irascible neighbors, reams of paperwork, etc.) to deal with, but I am convinced that the good will outweigh the bad and that I will be working at an occupation where, on the whole, my day’s work has meaning. (Every occupation, of course, has meaning if you are doing it as unto God and not unto men. But while I do think that means we ought to be content no matter what our position, I don’t think that means that, given the opportunity, we are to intentionally avoid increasing our mortal job satisfaction.) I am eager to make a positive difference in the community, for many of the same reasons I was eager to start a classical Christian school several years ago. Thirdly (and most importantly!), I have always wanted a job where I can drive fast with the lights and sirens on and carry a gun. It seems to me that there’s nothing quite like barreling down Columbia Drive past Fruitland going 75mph at a quarter to midnight, lights flashing and siren wailing, screaming across the city en route to a “shots fired” call at an apartment complex. (Which is exactly what I got to experience a few weeks ago while riding along with a KPD sergeant.)
The upshot is that if all goes as planned, this blog is eventually going to become more interesting to read. Much more interesting.