Autumn

This is my favorite season of the year. The heat of summer is gone, replaced by a more comfortable climate for quiet walks, thinking, and just being at home. The more temperate conditions (when it's not raining) have an invigorating quality for me that helps me to focus and get things done. It's also a subtle reminder that all things end, be it summer, youth, a period in your life, or indeed life itself.

Jan will be gone 6 months on Monday. This coincides with what would have been our 19th anniversary. That being said, I feel compelled to reflect on a colleague whose untimely death in a foreign place that I will probably never see is having a profound impact on many in my profession.

Jason Lhotka was tied to my place of employment more than the average Sheriff's Department employee. When I first started working here, his girlfriend was one of my peers. After he graduated from Mesa State, he did an internship at the GJPD that included processing requests for audio tapes. He was quiet, articulate, and driven. We did not always see things the same way, but he was always respectful, even in disagreement. The Lord obviously had a greater calling for him when He called him from the slopes of Kilimanjaro, and I hope that his wife and young son will draw some comfort from knowing that Jason is at peace in His kingdom. He will be missed.

Not much more to add at this point. I've attached a link below to a recent live performance by an icon of my generation, singing a song that was an anthem for young men my age and from the looks of it still is. The Boss has a few more wrinkles, but the fire is still there.

Enjoy your weekend. Maybe see you at Oktoberfest.


Springsteen: The Promised Land