Showing results by author "Vinny Green" in All Categories

Nikki was a few days away from graduating from the police academy. Through arduous work, her naval training, perseverance, and the skills poured into her by Papa and Mama Armstrong, Nikki was number two in her class academically.

Mark Twain once wrote: “Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on Earth.” This is what each of us should strive for in this God-ordained life. It does not require anything extra or cost all that you have. It does not bring about the daily emergence of new levels of pain or the forming of lies just to get by.

Upon graduation from high school, Nikki was awarded a full four-year scholarship to a prestigious university in New England. Her initial response was to decline the offer. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of being so far away from family and friends.

Summers in Bayview was an awesome time for myself and my good friend Stan. He and I had an unshakable habit of taking the short walk down to the Canarsie Pier every Tuesday and spending the day fishing and talking about anything that came to mind.

Nikki Armstrong continued to work hard at making a difference in her precinct, and anywhere else where she thought she could help. Much of her efforts were met with resistance from the powers that be, but she never saw any of it as a significant obstacle. Unlike the hordes of naysayers who saw law enforcement as a job, Nikki embraced it as not only her profession but also a calling. They were welcome to spend their careers punching the proverbial clock while in Nikki’s calling there was no punching out or standing down, and absolutely never, ever, any thought of backing down.

Nikki was three months away from completing another roller coaster ride of a year fighting crime and working hard to change lives for the better. She was tired, mostly because of having to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit that came with her commitment to the cause of making life better, whenever, and however, she could.

In this sharing from the heart, I attempt to explore love and, in some instances, hate in their many forms and sources. I have loved and been in love for more than half a century. I have endured broken hearts and might have even broken one or two, although as I look in the mirror, I seriously doubt it. I have foolishly thought I had it all figured out, only to come to the realization that when it comes to love and being in love, I have but scratched the surface, and my vision remains severely trammelled.