Don't Taze Me, Bro!

Dum - da - dum -dum.

The story you are about to read is true.

Dum - da - dum - dum - duuuuum.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Actually, since everyone involved in this story is probably guilty, I think we'll just leave the names the same.

OK, so last Friday night, November 14, 2008, I went on a ride-along with Sergeant David O'Rear of the Huntsville (Texas) Police Department. He has a really cool Ford Explorer for a police car, and I got to ride "shotgun"!

I got to "run emergency traffic" (a little police lingo, there) with Sergeant O'Rear on a call where a guy on PCP had barricaded himself inside a house. The police officers kicked in the doors, just like on TV! When they got inside, they found that the guy had a 10" butcher knife and was about to cut himself. He quickly complied with the officers' commands to drop the knife, thereby avoiding being Tazed. Probably a smart move on his part. It made for a pretty exciting night.

After that, we hung out at the police station. I've got lots of pictures of my adventure in my photo albums. Sergeant O'Rear and his buddies made me a little fake shirt that said "Don't Taze Me, Bro!" It was hilarious. I posed while one of the officers pointed his Taser Gun at my head. He even pulled the trigger just enough to shine the little red aiming light right in the middle of my forehead! It was kind of scary!

Thanks to Sergeant O'Rear and the Huntsville Police Department for a memorable experience.

One Adam Twelve

Just a quick update: I am currently in College Station, Texas -- home of Texas A&M University (whoop!) -- awaiting transportation to nearby Huntsville, Texas, where I will participate in a police ride-along program (hence the title of this blog post). I'm excited!

(It occurs to me that life would be much simpler if I could just drive myself, instead of having to "await transportation". But, I'm pretty sure they don't give driver's licenses to seven-year-old stuffed bears.)

I will post photos and a recap of my experience as a Police Bear in the near future! Stay tuned.

Georgia on My Mind

My first trip out of Texas took me to Georgia. Mandy Poynor (who took me to work at Target in the previous post) took a trip to the Peach State to visit her old high school friend Ginger. Ginger got married earlier this year and moved to the country just outside of the small town of Hillsboro, Georgia, where her husband's family owns a farm.

Mandy and I hung out with Dan and Ginger for a few days doing farm stuff. At one point, Ginger and Mandy and I got stuck in the mud in Ginger's SUV, and Mandy had to get out and dig mud out of the tires with her bare hands, and then put hay and grass under the tires. We finally got unstuck, thanks to Mandy's prowess and ingenuity. I think she would make a pretty good "country girl" herself.

To wrap up the trip, we took a sightseeing jaunt into the big city of Atlanta, Georgia -- home of CNN and the Atlanta Braves, among other things. I helped drive (see photo album). At one point, we got lost and had to refer to Ginger's Tom-Tom GPS to get back on track. (Just for the record, I wasn't driving when we got lost.) One of our sightseeing stops was Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves professional baseball team.

It was a wonderfully enjoyable trip. Thanks to Dan and Ginger for being such gracious hosts. And thanks to Mandy for letting me tag along.

[Fred looks off into the distance, humming "just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind".]

Target Store #1514

On Wednesday, October 15, 2008, Mandy Poynor took me to work with her at the Target Store in North Richland Hills, Texas.

West Texas 6-Man Football

On October 10, Paul and Susan O'Rear (my human family) took me on a road trip back out to west Texas. It was Parents' Weekend at Lubbock Christian University, where their son Justin is a freshman, so they headed out to Lubbock for the weekend.

We didn't go straight to Lubbock, though. Justin does a lot of refereeing for soccer and football. On Friday night, he was on the ref squad for a 6-man Varsity football game between the Motley County Matadors and the Silverton Owls. The game was in Matador, Texas. So we drove from Waxahachie to Matador, arriving about 30 or 40 minutes prior to kick-off. The Silverton Owls won the game 57-12, with the game being called in the third quarter due to a 45-point rule.

After the game, Justin joined us and we headed to Lubbock, stopping at the Dairy Queen in Floydada ("Pumpkin Capital, U.S.A.") to grab a bite to eat.

Saturday was kind of a leisurely day. LCU didn't really have very many activities planned for Parents' Weekend, so we spent most of the day running errands, buying stuff for Justin (college kids are expensive!), and just "chillin'". We ate supper at Tokyo Steak house, a really cool Hibachi Grill restaurant where your meal is cooked right before your eyes. Our weekend hosts, Rob and Sandy Core, joined us for supper, as did Taylor Daugherty, another LCU student from Waxahachie.

Lubbock Christian University

Well, I arrived safely in Lubbock with Justin O'Rear. On Saturday, September 6, I went with Justin and some of his friends to watch the Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaps softball team. The Lady Chaps were the 2008 NAIA Softball National Champions!

The following week, I attended chapel with Justin. Since LCU is a Christian university, the students attend a chapel service every day. It was a great experience.

The Adventure Begins!

I am off, starting the first leg of my Grand Adventure! Justin O'Rear was home from college for the weekend to visit his parents, Paul and Susan (my human family). As he left today to head back to Lubbock, Texas, where he is a Freshman at Lubbock Christian University, he took me with him!

I'm not sure what exciting things lie ahead in Lubbock, but I will post an update as soon as I can. This is going to be fun!