4 1/2 days now.

Last night was definitely the worst. It started with a radio call, "Code Blue (fight) in lobby." Then the lobby officer/receptionist hit her "man down" button on her radio. Every available officer responded, and since I was already in booking, I got there first.

A kid who had been arrested for drunk and disorderly had just been bonded out by his father. Apparently wanting to set a record for shortest length of freedom ever, he showed his gratitude to his father by assaulting him, and when the officer intervened, he punched her in the face, breaking her nose.

Since I'm too old and too ugly to fight fair, I pepper sprayed the punk, took him to the floor, and used pressure point pain compliance techniques to finally cuff him. A half dozen other officers were right behind me, and we soon had the situation under control. An ambulance was called and the father and the officer were both transported to the hospital. But after it was over, I WANTED A CIGARETTE BAD.

I didn't, but it was a bad moment. I had another awful craving when I sat down to work on the reports, and again after I finally had the reports completed. (The reports took me longer than usual to complete. Usually I can whip them out pretty quickly, but anything requiring thought takes me longer now. I really hope this will pass soon.)

All in all, it was a pretty miserable night. But I figure if I can get through last night without smoking, it's a pretty good bet I can beat this.

Onward and upward,
airforce