But then something happened, Ray, something amazing. Something...

"That white cop sitting next to me? He took a long look at my mother when she came in, just like, absorbed her, and then without even turning to me, he just put his hand on my back, up between my neck and shoulder...

"And all he did was squeeze. Give me a little squeeze of sympathy, then rubbed that same spot with his palm for maybe two, three seconds, and that was it.

"But I swear to you, nobody, in my entire life up to that point had ever touched me with that kind of tenderness. I had never experienced a sympathetic hand like that, and Ray, it felt like lightning.

"I mean, the guy did it without thinking, I'm sure. And when dinnertime rolled around he had probably forgotten all about it. Forgot about me, too, for that matter... But I didn't forget.

"I didn't walk around thinking about it nonstop either, but something like seven years later when I was at community college? The recruiting officer for the PD came on campus for Career Day, and I didn't really like college all that much to begin with, so I took the test for the academy, scored high, quit school and never looked back.

"And usually when I tell people why I became a cop I say because it would keep Butchie and Antoine out of my life, and there's some truth in that.

"But I think the real reason was because that recruiting officer on campus that day reminded me, in some way, you know, conscious or not, of that housing cop who had sat on the bench with me when I was thirteen.

"In fact, I don't think it, I know it. As sure as I'm standing here, I know I became a cop because of him. For him. To be like him. God as my witness, Ray. The man put his hand on my back for three seconds and it rerouted my life for the next twenty-nine years.

"It's the enormity of small things... Adults, grown-ups, us, we have so much power... And sometimes when we find ourselves coming into contact with certain kinds of kids? Needy kids? We have to be ever so careful...

Richard Price

Tag: cops destiny thought-provoking



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Let me go: take back thy gift:
Why should a man desire in any way
To vary from the kindly race of men,
Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance
Where all should pause, as is most meet for all?
...Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears,
And make me tremble lest a saying learnt,
In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true?
‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.’
- Tithonus

Alfred Tennyson

Tag: death destiny gifts gods immortality



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the buddhists say there are 149 ways to god. i'm not looking for god, only for myself, and that is far more complicated.

Jeanette Winterson

Tag: fate self-discovery understanding destiny



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A woman's destiny, they say, is not fulfilled until she holds in her arms her own little book.

Caroline Mytinger

Tag: books woman women destiny girl



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Gods prefer simple, vicious games, where you Do Not Achieve Transcendence but Go Straight To Oblivion; a key to the understanding of all religion is that a god's idea of amusement is Snakes and Ladders with greased rungs.

Terry Pratchett

Tag: religion destiny



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It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

William Shakespeare

Tag: destiny



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When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make lemonade.

Andrew Carnegie

Tag: fate destiny



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All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.

Seán O'Casey

Tag: humor life world humanity fate theater drama destiny humankind stage



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Everyman has his own destiny: The only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.

Henry Miller

Tag: destiny



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One love, one heart, one destiny.

Bob Marley

Tag: inspirational love compassion humanity heart destiny bob-marley



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