Drive
Weekly Update 11/27/2022 to 12/3/2022 #149
Twenty years ago, Alan Jackson released "Drive" as the second single from his album of the same name. As my youngest daughter got her permit this week, I couldn’t help but think of this song as we took a ride in our old rust Jeep. Before I drift off on this thought, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
This past week, we swore in Seymour Police Department's newest officer, Chris Knight. Chris was a former dispatcher for SPD and left to start his career as an officer with North Vernon Police Department. Welcome back, Chris; we look forward to watching as you grow with experience at SPD.
This week saw plenty of training going on around the city departments. I joined Seymour Fire Department B shift as they had Ladder 1 training. It was interesting to me since I don’t know much about the operations of the truck, but it was even more interesting to watch the firefighters share personal knowledge with each other. After being set up, the truck can be leaned five degrees and then re-leveled placing the load on the outriggers and creating a more stable foundation as they work 100 feet up in the air. It also gave me a chance to see the use of the new training room at the new station. The space, along with the technology, made the classroom portion easier before they headed out for hands-on.
Speaking of training, did you notice the extra police cars in Seymour this past week? We had officers from around the state come to town for Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Instructor Development training. I was able to sit in on one of the final speeches on Friday as they were wrapping up. Thank you, Training Coordinator Cooper, for bringing opportunities like this to Seymour. It is not just good for our department, but it raises the level of all departments around the state as they expand their knowledge and skills.
This week, we had our last Pastor Chat for 2022 and met with several pastors from the community. It is always a good time catching up with the happenings at various churches and how they are helping their congregations and the area as a whole. This week, we discussed topics like homelessness, food needs, and even some efforts to bring Chick-fil-A to Seymour.
While embarking on the last round of driver training with my youngest daughter, it does bring a smile to my face thinking of the words of "Drive" by Alan Jackson. For her first permitted drive, we set out for Mamaw and Papaw’s house just south of town in our old rusty Jeep. She didn’t do bad at first with those three pedals. As we got a little farther along though, she had some moments where it wasn’t as pretty. Killing it four or five times getting through an intersection trying to take off. Stress levels increased, which doesn’t help the moment, and I am pretty sure after someone was nice enough to honk because she wasn’t fast enough for their liking she shed a tear or two. I share the happy and the sad parts of this first trip so that I can tell you to remember that not everyone is in the same spot in life. For that matter, many adults I know can’t drive a stick, and who knows, they could be the impatient one honking at a 15 year old on her first drive learning a stick and how to keep it between the lines. All in all, she did pretty well; of course as Dr. Seuss said, "Sometimes you will never know the value of something,until it becomes a memory."