Available for Preorder Now — “The Adventures of Little Red Bear–The First Holler!”

June 8, 2015 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

Ladies and Gentleman, Girls and Boys, Children of All Ages–

Step right up and be ready to be Amazed– be Enchanted– be Mystified– be Amused!

Here Ye, Here Ye! — The big day is here!

Little Red Bear and I are delighted to announce that the first collection of stories in “The Adventures of Little Red Bear, The First Holler!” is available for Preorder NOW on Amazon!

AVAILABLE NOW! OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!

Calloo-Callay! Oh Frabjous Day!

Red’s book is ready! What’s left to say?

The hard work is finished and the stories are written,

Unfortunately, yes, a few folks were bitten.

But not by Red, who’s quite pleasant, you see.

Come meet him yourself, he’s sweet and gentle like me.

We’ve worked long and hard to bring stories to you,

So join us on an adventure and bring the whole crew!

Please tell all your family, all your friends and your neighbors.

The stories are top notch, just go ask the ‘gators!

We have singing birds, some very worried bunnies,

And lots of bees buzzing, protecting their honeys.

There’s a pair of black bears who sometimes bicker and fuss,

But the stories are “G Rated”, so no one can cuss.

With a fox, and a pig, turtles, beavers and more,

Can’t tell you any others or we’ll spoil what’s in store.

Lots of flowers and trees cover beautiful Honey Hill,

That’s where Red’s cabin is. Oh, you’re in for a thrill.

So grab up your overalls, old boots and straw hat,

Adventures are waiting, there’s no time left to chat.

The announcement’s right here so you’d be the first to know,

Now off to Amazon thru magical links you can go!

Little Red Bear and friends are anxious to meet you,

So hurry, use the link and that’s all you need do!

Order Your Copy Today!

A fun and captivating blend of humor and action/adventure stories featuring Little Red Bear– a new kind of “Action Hero.” This collection of six short stories, the first in a series, features Little Red Bear, an uncommonly special bear living in the scenic Ozarks Mountain Country of Missouri, just a little south of the Sweet Tea Line, with a great number of friends—woodland critters, barnyard animals and human folk alike.

Exciting and heartwarming stories feature colorful, fun and loveable characters with positive themes of friendship, helping others, kindness and overcoming challenges in life; blended with educational information on the ways of nature, the environment, conservation and a love of the outdoors.

Family-friendly reading entertainment told in an old-fashioned, story-telling tradition in a style and pace we just call “Country Comfortable”, the stories are suitable and fun for all age groups.

Younger children will benefit most from having the stories read to them, as they are not written on a beginner reading level and are not picture book type stories. Little Red Bear is a real bear living in the mountains and backwoods with real story character companions and activities. These are not your mother’s cuddly little “Winnie the Pooh” stories. Just sayin’.

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” for Kindle will release on June 23rd and is available for preorder on Amazon. The print version, 302 pages in length, is available on Amazon right now for immediate delivery. Order your Print Copy today!

On behalf of Red and the whole backwoods crew of characters, thanks as always for following along and supporting us on the journey. Little Red Bear can’t wait to meet you! — Jim (and Red!)

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear”– On Amazon for Kindle & Paperback

“Will someone please read me a story about Little Red Bear?”

Springtime in the Ozarks with Little Red Bear!

May 14, 2015May 14, 2015 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Welcome to “Springtime in the Ozarks Mountain Country”, Little Red Bear’s newest video and book trailer for the soon to be released “Adventures of Little Red Bear” short stories collection!

With his first collection of short story adventures to be released very soon, Red couldn’t wait to show everyone springtime in his neck of the woods and all that is going on around. As Creative Director on the video projects, Little Red Bear wanted it to be filled only with beautiful images and music for you, but our esteemed attorney, Brooks the Badger, insisted that he include a few promo texts for the upcoming book as well. They finally agreed on just a couple.

If you enjoy Red’s video, please feel free to share and pass along to friends and family, and consider giving him a “Thumbs Up!” like on youtube. It really makes his day as he watches the numbers go up and gets him out working on the next one even sooner.

Big bear hugs and thank you’s to fellow birder Adele Barger Wilson, author of “Bonding With the Barn Swallows” for permitting us to use some of her images, and to the Missouri Wildflower Guide for making their images available for use.

Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for visiting! — Jim (and Red!)

Introducing “Little Red Bear”– the First Book Trailer Video!

May 4, 2015May 14, 2015 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

Little Red Bear and I are excited to announce the release of the very first video trailer for the upcoming “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” stories!

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” is a collection of six short stories about a bear and his many friends living in the scenic Ozarks Mountain Country, with the initial collection of stories entitled “The First Holler!” available on Amazon soon for Kindle and Paperback. Fun, family-friendly and entertaining for all age groups, the stories have underlying themes of positivity, nature, kindness, and helping others. There is always time to stop along the roadside to smell a wildflower and listen to a songbird. The stories are told at an enjoyably relaxing pace in a style I just call “Country Comfortable.”

Hope you enjoy the video. And if you do, please share with friends and family. Red had so much fun serving as Producer and Creative Director on this first trailer that he has the crew out working on more videos right now. He recommends viewing on full screen with the speakers on, for total immersion in the outdoor experience.

Please keep an eye out for more videos coming soon as we near the book release date, some featuring more information about the book and characters, and some others just for fun. You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks as they say, but perhaps an old man and bear– given enough time and aspirin– can figure out how to make a tolerably presentable video.

Some future videos will feature a number of photos from blog followers and Facebook friends allowing their own images to be shared for the enjoyment of others. As a testament to goodness in the world, every individual approached about sharing photos has agreed enthusiastically without hesitation. As you may expect, while flowers, plants and trees tend to be easier subjects, it’s very difficult sometimes getting a critter to hold still long enough to focus the camera and capture a good likeness, not to mention birds in mid-flight holding their position, not being helicopters as they are.

So Red and I truly appreciate those kindhearted and generous folks permitting us to share their photography work with you as we go along. (And if we unintentionally step on anyone’s copyright toes, please accept our apologies and just drop us a note if there is something not to be shared before showing up on the front porch with a shotgun. Or worse– one of those lawyer fellas.)

We both hope you enjoy these little videos as much as we enjoy making them for you. So here is the first one– “Introducing Little Red Bear.” Thanks as always for reading and following along! – Jim (and Red!)

The Lyric Wood Thrush

April 11, 2015 / jrmilson / 4 Comments

Of one of my favorite birds, Henry David Thoreau wrote–

“This is the only bird whose note affects me like music. It lifts and exhilarates me. It is inspiring. It changes all hours to an eternal morning.”

The wood thrush’s beautiful, lyric songs echo thru deciduous forests in the eastern U.S. in spring and early summer. A bit smaller than an American Robin, the wood thrush will occasionally nest in suburban areas where there are enough large trees.

Numbers have seriously declined in the past decades due both to loss of habitat and Cowbirds laying eggs in the wood thrush nests, with the result of the thrushes raising more cowbirds than their own species. New preservation and protection zones in the Adirondacks, Smoky Mountains and Ozarks National Forest will hopefully help these beautiful singers to rebound.

Check out the BirdNote presentation to learn more and hear the song of this glorious singer→ the Wood Thrush.

Wood Thrush- via National Audubon Society, by Brian E. Small/VIREO

Lost in Quandary Without a Compass

April 1, 2015 / jrmilson / 5 Comments

The dictionary, or at least my handy-dandy little online reference source, defines “Quandary” as – “noun, plural quandaries– a state of perplexity or uncertainty, especially as to what to do; dilemma.”

And there it is. That is where I am with the very soon to be released “Adventures of Little Red Bear” stories. Lost in “Quandary” without a compass. Don’t know the zip code for map finder, but think it’s just on the outskirts of “Perplexed.”

As I write this, magical little helper elves are furiously working to format the finished text of “The Adventures of Little Red Bear– The First Holler!” Preparing the collection of short story adventures for publication, fitting it into all the whatsits and whatnots for Amazon, while also designing a cover. But soon they will be finished and it will be ready to publish.

And there’s the dilemma– What genre to list the book in? What age groups might be interested in reading a novel length collection of short stories about a bear in the woods? How to categorize it? Basically– which virtual shelf to put it on so potentially interested folks may find it?

To be honest, I have no idea at present where to go with this. Apparently my writing muse doesn’t either, because she is being totally silent on the matter.

“The Adventures of Little Bear” stories were not written for or towards any target market or group in particular, probably breaking rule number one of the “Writing for Success” guidelines. But I don’t lose any sleep over that, because I make no secret about not following anyone else’s “rules.” And I’m too old to be overly concerned with building a “long term following and career.” Whatever.

I wrote the stories that were in my head as the characters revealed them to me because it was fun. It’s what I would rather be doing than most anything else right now. Who might be interested in them, what “target markets” or “demographics” never entered into it or influenced anything.

“Ready. Fire! Aim.”

As the stories turned out, they are probably not really wee kiddie type stories, certainly not on a “See Spot run” level. For comparison, Little Red Bear is about as close to Winnie the Pooh as a Grizzly Bear is to a Hedgehog. Not sure middle grade children would be interested, focusing more on becoming teens and such. As for young adults, probably no way to distract from fantasy and paranormal genres, lacking a heavy dose of either in the stories, and having no werewolves, walking dead or dragons either.

Suggested keywords to be included in descriptions in the Children’s Categories include such notable buzzers as sword, sorcery, magic, dragon, quest, adventure, detective, action, sleuth, spy, terrorist (believe it or not), secret agent, superhero, extraterrestrial, and time travel. The closest Little Red Bear comes to any of those is maybe an “Action Adventure Superhero”. In a bearskin. In the backwoods. Is there a category for that?

And that’s just talking about the Children’s age group. How then to also classify it? It’s not exactly a true-to-life “Nature” story book, featuring a fictional bear and characters. It’s much more fiction and made up than “Historical.” It is kind of “Action/Adventure”, but it features a backwoods bear, not Jason Bourne, Indiana Jones or Ironman.

The stories are set roughly in the early 1900’s, but not truly correct enough or concerned with historical details to be considered a “Period” piece. We are working on a story involving petty larceny for the next collection, but there is none of that tomfoolery or goings-on in the first set of stories so they do not fit “Crime Drama”.

The stories are set in the scenic Ozarks Mountain Country, but feature way too many made-up names and locations to be considered for the “Travel” or “Geography” categories. There is a good deal of useful nature information presented, but talking animals immediately kick it out of the “Science” category.

The word “love” is mentioned exactly once in over 65,000 words, so it surely cannot be considered a “Romance” work. And there’s no way a backwoods bear will compete with spicy Romance literature set amidst exotic locales to command attention from the romance seekers, anyway.

“Erotic?” Mmmm — No.

To the best I recall, there is no mention whatever about stars, the universe, aliens or time travel. So “Science Fiction” is off the list as well. There are some weak attempts at humor, but not the main focus or enough to qualify the stories as a “Comedy.”

So you can see the dilemma— where to list “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” when it is ready for release soon? The stories are simply about an uncommonly special bear and his friends in the backwoods mountain country. Boring themes like kindness, sharing, being good neighbors and appreciating the wildflowers, nature and such. Is that the stuff of “Superheroes?”

Maybe we just invented a new genre—“Fun Stories About Nothing In Particular”—but really don’t think I have enough sway with the Amazon folks to bring that about. Perhaps J. R. R. Tolkien or George R. R. Martin could. I am merely James R. Milson. Maybe I should consider adding another “R.” for a bit more literary clout.

But it really doesn’t matter all that much. We don’t measure “Success” in dollar signs. Success for us is if the stories help brighten a few people’s days, and maybe a few kids learn to appreciate nature a little more. Hopefully, we have not set unrealistically high sales expectations for the book– again, sales not being the reason the stories were written in the first place. I went out on a limb a while ago and told Red if we hit a dozen sales or get a five star review, whichever happens first, we’ll celebrate with a pizza, and we’re both good with that.

But now thinking about it, not having a foggy clue where to classify or categorize the book for interested folks to even find it, we may have to peddle them on the street corner and in front of grocery stores to reach that lofty dozen sales number. It’s a good thing warmer spring weather is on the way. I may have overreached with that dozen sales goal, it maybe being an unrealistic, off the top of the head number considering the classification conundrum. Perhaps some kind-hearted person will rescue us with a good review, but not hanging my hat on that one, having only the one middle “R.” in my name as it is.

I suppose if neither happens, if we don’t reach the high one dozen sales goal or receive the generosity of a five star review either, we’re okay with that too, really. Because we both know eventually we’re just going to go out and get a pizza anyway just to celebrate all the work in getting the book prepared to begin with. It’s really just a matter of timing and the accomplishment we’re toasting and lifting our Coke glasses to in the end.

So either way, however we categorize “The Adventures of Little Red Bear”, the writing trail ends at a pizza joint for Little Red Bear and me. And we both know our pizza categories very well.

In the meantime, we’re going to keep trying to figure this all out. Thanks as always for reading and following! – Jim (and Red!)

Hey LEO’s– I’ve Got Your 6!

August 19, 2014August 20, 2014 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

Some days you get up and writing cute stories about squirrels and other furry critters just isn’t foremost in your mind. The events being played out in Ferguson, Missouri right now are troubling on so many levels. I’m just going to talk about one right now. Generational poverty, disenfranchisement, quality educational access, and sundry other issues will wait for another time.

Four more Law Enforcement Officers (LEO’s) were injured in the line of duty last night in the civil unrest going on nightly in Ferguson, Missouri. Did you see that in the national news this morning? I’m guessing not. Here’s a link to a summary of the events from last night from the local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. → St. Louis Post-Dispatch News, 08-19-2014

From the beginning, now entering the 11^th day, law enforcement has stood patiently by while passersby poured water bottles, sodas, slurpies and anything else they were carrying on them. They have been enduring insults and verbal abuse I will not repeat here. They have been pelted nightly with rocks, bricks, bottles and other objects. They have come under gunfire nightly. They are dodging Molotov Cocktails nightly. Each night LEO’s are being injured in the line of duty while protecting those who come to protest and peacefully express their views, an ever-growing sea of journalists and media, neighboring homes and businesses, and themselves. While being spat upon. Their restraint has been remarkable. After eleven (11) nights of civil unrest and disobedience, not one person on either side has been killed. It’s amazing. And yet, the LEO’s are being criticized daily in the media. They have seemingly become “the bad guy” in this. How?

Last night, Monday August 18, 78 people were arrested, 75 for failure to disperse when repeatedly requested. Of those 50 were from the greater St. Louis area, and only four (4) from Ferguson itself. The remainder were from around the country, over 35%. These are not the peaceful protesters, and that needs to be understood. They had all gone home by that time of night. Many clergy and local community leaders are on the front lines with the LEO’s, working hard to maintain peace and whatever is left of the area’s image as it all plays out on national and international television and reporting.

“At least 12 people were arrested in a truck at Canfield. Two pistols were found on those arrested, and a Molotov cocktail was found in the bed of their truck.”– St. Louis Post-Dispatch, linked above

Unfortunately, this situation stopped being about Michael Brown a long time ago, when group after group arrived to hijack the story to further their own agendas. His family pleads daily for peace while trying to keep focus on the loss of their son. Everyone wants justice in the Michael Brown shooting. Everyone. Because what affects one person affects us all. But there should not be a rush to justice, circumventing the process, in order to appease a noisy crowd. Nobody knows what happened that day. Nobody. The most intelligent piece I have read about the situation was in a blog by Matt Walsh. Here is a link to read it for yourself. He says it too well to try to repeat here. → Matt Walsh Blog- “You Don’t Know What Happened”

There is a decidedly criminal element that has arrived upon the scene here. By and large, Ferguson folks are not getting arrested, as shown by last night’s numbers. People from Texas, California, New York, Chicago and other places are, as there are those here now who obviously do not care about the safety of the legitimate peaceful demonstrators, seeking to foment violence and seek retribution from anyone in uniform for their own agendas and reasons. Unfortunately, there are those on both sides who would like to see this turn violent on a large scale to bring attention to their own agendas and messages, and the LEO’s risk their own safety night after night peacefully trying to prevent that from happening. The longer this continues, the less optimistic I become that they will be successful in doing so, while the President seems more concerned with ensuring the rights of peaceful protest than the safety of law enforcement and the right to peace and security for all the families in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Following a night of unrest and disturbance, every morning citizens of Ferguson and surrounding areas assemble early in the morning to clean up the debris and mess left from the night before, help vandalized businesses repair and clean up. Volunteering. Blacks and whites, working hand in hand together to try to preserve their community. Have you seen that on the national news? Have you seen those citizens of Ferguson? Living blocks from all that is going on every night, how do they go about a normal life right now? How do their children sleep at night with gunshots, explosions, fires, shouting, obscenities, looting, vandalism, sirens, tear gas and helicopters flying overhead all thru the night? Local schools, scheduled to open last week, remain closed with the school year yet to start. The Ferguson-Florissant School District, the largest in the area, has now cancelled classes for the remainder of the week. Little kids with new clothes and book bags, looking forward and eager to starting school remain at home. I know of one little girl starting kindergarten that was so excited to be starting school, and then when told she could not go burst into tears, fearing it was her fault. How does a parent explain this to their children? That their neighborhood is no longer safe enough to go to school—in the daylight. The right to peacefully protest seems unaffected by the “right to privacy” or the legal constraints of “peace disturbance” for these citizens it seems.

Living on the outskirts of the area I witness the live local news coverage each night as events unfold. The very first night I witnessed a man walking by a news camera, carrying a sawed-off baseball bat, taped around the handle, in his hands as he approached the police. One normally does not go to a meeting to peacefully discuss an issue armed with a sawed-off baseball bat. Some members of this criminal group wear bullet-proof vests. Now they are showing up in gas masks. They wear bandanas and pull their tee shirts over their heads to hide their faces. Printed instructions were found by a reporter on the street this morning- “How To Make A Gas Mask”. They are armed. There is no good or positive intent in any of that. “Shots fired” is a frequent call on the scene. Numerous people have been shot over the period. All by members in the crowd. None by the police. The LEO’s have not fired a single live round to my knowledge.

Last night a reporter remarked that drugs and alcohol were rampant throughout the crowds, impairing judgment and fueling anger even more. He stated that the marijuana smoke was so thick in the air that it was stinging his eyes and lungs. People were in a drug-fueled rage around him. Have you read that anywhere? These are not the peaceful protesters, several of whom have children with them.

The violent element seeks to mingle and hide among peaceful groups and journalists, launch their attacks at the police and then disappear amongst the crowd. Time and time and time again. Every night. I no longer know the number of police and ambulance vehicles that have been severely damaged, trying to respond to calls. In one instance a police vehicle came under heavy attack by members in a side street crowd from rocks and bricks, smashing its windows with officers inside. Other LEO’s fired smoke and tear gas to rescue the attacked officers. You can listen to one of the interviewed officers in the attacked vehicle talk about it here in a local radio show interview, a side of the “Al Jazeera Reporters” incident you may not have heard, along with other concerns. If the police were really trying to interfere with reporting, wouldn’t they just have quickly smashed the Al Jazeera lights and cameras, instead of taking the time and gently lowering them to the ground? → Officer Radio Interview. On numerous occasions LEO’s have asked TV reporters to turn off their bright lights, not to illuminate either the reporters or officers as targets, only to be questioned about it.

“However, he said (Captain Johnson) some “criminals and agitators” threatened police, threw glass and plastic bottles — some filled with urine — at officers and hid behind members of the media covering the protests.”– St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 08-20-2014

Panic stricken employees of a McDonalds called 911 the other night and locked themselves in the cooler, fearing for their safety from crowds inside the restaurant. A side window was broken out. When the police arrived with guns drawn, not knowing what they might be facing, they were criticized by the press for excessive display of force and over-handed tactics while moving people out of the way to get thru.

Journalists have been requested to stay in designated areas after dark, marked off with yellow police tape. Police remain by these areas to protect them. I have seen LEO’s gather and rush journalists behind vehicles for their safety when shots were being fired in the area. Another time, to move journalists around to another side of a building because of “shots fired”. Some of the media seem more intent to become the story than to report the story while clamoring over each other for the big scoop or most sensational headline for the morning news. Have we not heard this before?

When a situation got dicey last night, the police moved towards a crowd and asked journalists to move to their designated areas, for their own safety. When someone has a gun and shots are being fired or there is danger, there isn’t always time to say “Pretty please, please move”. Last night I purposefully counted over 12 requests over the loud speaker before the LEO’s moved in to make arrests. “You need to disperse immediately. If you are credentialed media, move to your designated area. Do it Now!” Over a dozen times. Yet some members of the media refused to do so, for their own safety. So when they get caught up in the action, smoke or tear gas- who is to blame? The police? The police repeatedly position themselves between the media and shots fired and try to move media away before smoke or tear gas is deployed in an area, putting themselves at risk in the process. The police’s job would be a lot easier if they did not have hundreds of media members to protect in addition to everything else. But we do not read that side in the media because it does not fit the news angle of their story. Instead we read reports of law enforcement infringing on the freedom of the press. Really? The only thing that I have seen noticeably lacking in the media coverage is the LEO’s side. And if, God forbid, something happens to a media member, you know who will be blamed and it won’t be them. The officers will inevitably be accused of not providing enough protection.

One of those removed from the crowd by officers last night was carrying a plastic gallon milk jug, presumably filled with gasoline or an accelerant. It was clearly not milk. Maybe it was diluted pink Kool-Aid in the jug. Maybe it was an accelerant. I don’t know. The police do not know either until they check. But the risk was there. So they moved in, repeatedly asking journalists to get out of the way so they could safely do their job. But which headline will garner the most attention the next morning—“Ferguson or Fergustan- Media Rights Trampled in Missouri” (a real article this morning, not made up) or “Police Move to Protect Journalists”? But when the police lecture the journalists about being in the way of the police doing their job, it’s the police portrayed as in the wrong.

“When protesters defied police orders to leave the parking lot of the burned-out QuikTrip, police fired tear gas Monday night after repeated warnings. (11:55pm)

Just before midnight, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told reporters shots had been fired at Canfield and told the media to go to the command center about a quarter-mile away.

The St. Louis County Police Chief, Jon Belmar, echoed Dotson, telling reporters to move back to the command post because of gunfire.” – St. Louis Post- Dispatch, 08-19-2014, linked above

But yet they continue joining in the crowds placing themselves in danger. Admirable and dedicated. To a point. Risking personal safety and interfering with the duty of LEO’s simply trying to do their jobs is beyond the point.

To my unofficial count, approximately 20 businesses have been looted and vandalized, with the Quick Trip Market burnt to the ground the second night. It is hard to keep track as some who have reopened have been hit a second time. Does that count as one or two? The first night was at least 12, then at least 2 more in South St. Louis the next night, then a few more, then 8 or so the other night. The fire in the barbeque place last night, the second time that poor fellow’s business was hit. (This time they ripped out the security cameras, just in case.) I lose track as the days go by. The majority of the stores victimized have been “mom and pop” establishments, someone’s business and family living. “Civil unrest” losses are not covered by the vast majority of insurance policies. You don’t hear that reported much. These business owners are just stuck with the repairs and losses. And if they close altogether, employees are out of work. More families affected and a further diminished tax base for the community. Since originally posted, it has been reported that Quick-Trip has started pulling gasoline tanks out of the ground. Looks like they are not planning on reopening, a business loss for the city and local neighbors who depended on it for fuel and supplies.

Every night the LEO’s are facing unruly crowds hurling insults at them, along with bottles, rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and gunfire. They respond by wearing shields and helmets, use smoke and tear gas when necessary in order to protect themselves, the peaceful demonstrators, members of the media, businesses and surrounding neighborhood families. Among all the people who have been shot during all this, there has not been one “police involved” shooting that I am aware of. A “gentler, kinder” approach last week was greeted with more bricks, bottles and gunfire the next night when the LEO’s were told to not wear riot gear in a more passive, understanding mode, putting themselves at incredible risk in order to be more “approachable”. Indeed, they were.

Every one of those in law enforcement is someone’s son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother or friend. The LEO families watch and witness this all unfold every night on live TV in their homes, in agony and anguish worrying about the safety of their loved ones while witnessing objects flying thru the air and hearing repeated calls of “shots fired”. Each officer wants to go home safely at the end of the day, just as you or I. They are placing themselves in danger and harm’s way, serving the public, every night.

The LEO’s are doing and enduring all that they do and are being put thru, all while being criticized in the press for being “militarized”, accused of excessive force without a single “police involved” shooting or serious injury to a suspect, suppressing peaceful protests, infringing on journalists’ rights by trying to remove them from danger areas for their own safety, standing thru pouring rain and hot, humid days. They are furnished with equipment by the governments- federal, state and local- and then criticized for putting it into use and seeking to protect themselves from present criminals intent on violence. Most or all have probably not had a day off since this all started, into its second week. They are working long days thru the nights, tired, ill-fed, with no end in sight– and still show up for work. Those LEO’s not directly involved in Ferguson are covering endless shifts in their home precincts for the officer’s who are deployed to Ferguson every day and night. But law enforcement continues to get the heat and scrutiny because no one wants to risk pointing a finger at the protesters, demonstrators, the violent element hurling the bricks, bottles and bullets, or those coming to town to urge them on. The LEO’s are the easy target in all of this- literally and figuratively. And that is not right.

I am constantly amazed at how we are still able to stand upright, while somehow the world has gotten turned so upside down.

And now Amnesty International has arrived on the scene, yet another group with an agenda. Not enough going on in China, North Korea, Nigeria, Ukraine, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan, Gaza, The Sudan and Central America to keep you busy? Ferguson, Missouri. Really? A member of Amnesty was asked by a reporter if he had seen rocks being thrown at police last night. His response- “even if a few rocks were thrown, it wouldn’t have made a difference. The police are in full body armor.” (from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, linked above) Is this the attitude we have towards our police now, the ones we count on for our own protection and safety every day? It doesn’t make a difference—because they are protecting themselves? They are damned for protecting themselves in the presence of clear and present danger? If a crowd of hundreds or a thousand, some armed with bricks, guns, Molotov Cocktails, sawed off baseball bats and the like are marching down the street to your home, do want the police to show up in brightly colored tee shirts with smiley faces or riot gear to protect you and your family?

God forbid, but is it really going to take the death of a police officer in this to refocus the image and debate? How many—2, 3, 6, a dozen? Do we have to repeat a World Trade Center loss of such magnitude to regain respect for those putting their lives on the line every night in service to their communities?

It has been a number of years since the tragedy of 9-11. How appropriate- 911- the number we call without hesitation for LEO help, protection and assistance. Are any of these LEO folks in Ferguson in any less danger and any less deserving of our appreciation and respect than those who rushed into the buildings doing their jobs thirteen years ago? Have we forgotten already? These are the same people, showing up night after night after night to confront obvious and violent danger with immeasurable restraint, to protect and serve– us. As well as the firefighters, paramedics and emergency personnel that show up to every call. Everybody celebrates the coming home of returning military and service personnel, as we should. But are the LEO’s doing their jobs each night any less deserving of our respect and concern?

It’s time to start a support line behind the LEO’s, just to let them know there is someone there. Someone who has their backs. For me, the only thing the LEO’s have been guilty of in all of this is not getting their side of the story out.

“HEY, LEO’s → I’VE GOT YOUR 6!”