Spike Dammer writes a column for the lasdretired.org website .....

April 5, 2009

by Spike Dammer

What do you remember most about the people you worked with?  I think it was different with every person I knew, but something always sticks in your mind when you see them again, and you then know what it was that made you like them the way they were.  The years come, and the years go, and you realize those you went through the academy with for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, may feel like you do, and you just spent some very special days renewing old relationships...

About 800 retirees showed up in Laughlin, NV for the Roundup, and although you didn't get to see them all because they come and they go, we are like ships in the night, but it was well worth the trip.  Some played golf together, some played the slots together, and some just visited together, while others looked for one another, and when they found each other, it was also well worth it.  Time stood still once again...   

I saw 'Pappy' Benton, who taught me how to shoot the right way, and Fred Gustin, who brought me on the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, and Ollie Taylor, who was the main reason for my getting promoted when I did. Then there were those who tell you what you did for them when you

trained them, even if you don't remember, like Everett Moore, and it made you feel good, just knowing he remembers you as someone who helped him in his career. Rank does not have its privilege here because we are all, once again equals, but whatever made us click, is still with us, and we made it all new again...

    

You move around that hospitality room and suddenly somebody nudges you and asks how you are, and you wonder who did that, because you can't remember the names, but the faces you do - and then you see their name tags - and it all comes back. Some you should know, so you study them for a while, from a distance, until they catch you doing so, and then you come to realize you both need help - but you don't need any help after that...

You also remember what might have brought you together in the beginning, like supporting one another to get over that six foot wall at the academy, and then the last day you worked together as partners, when you knew life would never be the same.  It has taught you to be grateful

that you knew one another for all those years, and how you just might have saved each other more than once along the way...

Ollie Taylor put this Roundup together some years ago, and then turned it over to Moon Mullen, and it couldn't have been a better choice, but give most of the credit to Robyn Mullen as she prepares the way.  Those who assist in everything that needs to be done are familiar faces, but rather than try to remember them all, I might overlook somebody, so I will say they help so much to support a program that gets better every year...

Each year I drive there in high anticipation of good fellowship, and each year I drive home feeling completely satisfied, and this year was no exception. I also think the older you get, without getting too maudlin, that it could be the last time, so you cherish what you are feeling.  Each year somebody who was there last year, wasn't there this year, because he/she is a departed soul, or physical restrictions prevent doing so. We remember you too. I think about Jim Austin, and Denny Richards, who were two of my best partners, and others, who were my good friends, and who I socialized with, and I am thankful I am here to enjoy those that are still with us...

I know my column today may be more for those who attended the Roundup than for others, but I hope you will understand my special attention.  I also hope my words will give you the inspiration to put something together in your own part of the country and share the memories you have with those you worked with. Everybody has their own way of remembering. Whatever you did in your working years, and whoever you did it with, enjoy your retirement years together while you can.  Don't say, 'maybe next year' because you know how short and precious life is.  The Roundup is the climax for so many of us each year and it also helps us to remember some that need remembering...

Shut-ins need us more than ever these days, and maybe one day we will need them more than we realize too, so we should never take for granted that life will always be a smooth ride for us. I know many who are quietly holding on to life as it is for them, and when you do see them, they give you a sign that means we all need each other. 

Thank you all for being there at the Roundup...   

Reprinted with permission