JOSH TATE (PART ONE)

Josh originally wrote this biographical introduction for his contributions to the now-defunct Bweinh!, but on the off chance you haven't yet read it, I wanted to share it here too!

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Who am I?

Let me tell you a story.

After I graduated from college, I took a job as a police officer in a small city in northwestern Vermont. I was living by myself in a small apartment, and like a kitten that had been taken away from its mother too soon, I didn’t know how to cook or take care of myself. It was very common for me to become hungry and discover I had no food in the apartment.

One day I received a care package from my folks. My mother had included a large family-sized tub of raisins; no doubt she was trying to promote healthy eating habits in her little kitten. I was hungry, and because I had no food in the house, I sat down in front of a National Geographic special about ants in the Amazon river valley, and proceeded to consume the entire tub of raisins.

Just as the last raisin passed between my lips, and the narrator, in summation, cautioned that if man continued to intrude on the virgin rainforest, it would be destroyed forever, I realized it was time to go to work.

I was very new to the force, so every night I had to ride around on field training with a senior officer, who would evaluate my performance and help as I learned the job. Every week my field training officers would talk to me about how I was doing, and explain the written reports they were submitting to the Chief on my progress. That particular night, my senior officer was Cpl. Couture — a tough cop, built like a bear with a shaved head. Everything about him exuded professionalism and dedication.

--TO BE CONTINUED--