Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for May 15, 2012

Today is the day for all of youto think of those you never knew.Those brave men and women, wearing blue,who gave their lives protecting you.

The Final Inspection

The policeman stood and faced his God,Which must always come to pass.He hoped his shoes were shining.Just as brightly as his brass.

“Step forward now, policeman.How shall I deal with you?Have you always turned the other cheek?To My church have you been true?”

The policeman squared his shoulders and said,“No, Lord, I guess I ain’t,Because those of us who carry badgescan’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,and at times my talk was rough,and sometimes I’ve been violent,Because the streets are awfully tough.

But I never took a penny,That wasn’t mine to keep….Though I worked a lot of overtimeWhen the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,Though at times I shook with fear.And sometimes, God forgive me,I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a placeAmong the people here.They never wanted me aroundExcept to calm their fear.

If you’ve a place for me here,Lord, It needn’t be so grand.I never expected or had too much,But if you don’t…..I’ll understand.

There was silence all around the throneWhere the saints had often trod.As the policeman waited quietly,For the judgment of his God.

“Step forward now, policeman,You’ve borne your burdens well.Come walk a beat on Heaven’s streets,You’ve done your time in hell.”

Good morning!A creepy strip,today! I`m all goose bumps! And it’s the fish a barracuda,like the one who savoured poor Tonsils?

What is going on in the pool???

Littleface’s gang in the old days did a lot of stealing, right? I have to dig out my old copy of The Celebrated Cases.

Rather than feeding the vine, maybe Mumbles is going to feed the fish.

Yes, let’s remember our fallen heroes in blue. It’s especially poignant around where I am now. Rapid City, SD (about 50 miles from me) lost 2 in a shoot-out earlier this year. I don’t know how large their police force is, but the city’s population is only about 67,500.

Is that a T-bone steak? Tonsils is eating well!

I’ve heard of sleeping with the fishes but this looks worse than that! Alas, poor Mumbles, we knew him well…And I am happy to lift a toast to our brave men and women in blue. Remember that old bumper sticker, “The next time you need help, if you don’t like cops, call a hippie!” (My grandfather was a sheriff’s deputy who was visited at home by someone he put away. He was shot three times in his front yard in front of my father and grandmother. Had a pistol behind him in his belt and got off one shot. He pulled through, the other guy didn’t.) I’ll stick to cops.

Looks like the expectation is that Mumbles will soon either be behind bars or sleeping with the fishes. That’s one down. More to go….

Little Face looks like a mutant Archie Bunker…

Doesn’t look like piranha. Maybe a barracuda.

Panda is a sicko

Good morning all…

Remembering motorcycle patrolman Ferris, murdered in the line of duty by the Mumbles Quartet.I guess crime DOES pay in this case…For now.

The swimming pool with the barracuda is an adaptation of the methods of the original “Mr. Crime,” George Alpha..Alpha’s secret headquarters, an abandoned boys’ clubhouse in the City, was fitted out with all kinds of Sax Rohmer-ish accoutrements, including a swimming pool with a ’cuda, which Alpha used to dispose of the bodies of murder victims..In between meals of corpses (or, occasionally, live victims), Alpha would feed the fish ver little, in order to keep it hungry enough that it would devour entire bodies without delay.

Isn’t it obvious what Mr. Crime should do with Little Face, and maybe B.B. Eyes, too! They can go on tour with The Mumbles Quartet, after all, they’re both cop killers, too! They can hum along like Mumbles does, maybe rap a little. Forget those fake gangsta rappers, these guys are the real deal! The cash will be rolling in, and the best part of all…it’s all legit!

btw i dont like th elook in panda’s eyes in panel 2. he looks almost irritated by little face’s question… maybe L.F. will be fed to the barracuda next? ;)

It is a T Bone steak. It’s more apparent in the black and white version. It sure doesn’t look good for Mumbles. Hopefully he’ll skip town!

Nice to see so many good tributes to the police. I still remember when it was “cool” to call them “pigs”. I knew it was wrong but back then it didn’t seem like anyone else besides me and some old people support them.

“A Policeman was killed last night” .A policeman was killed last night. He died while protecting your rights. His creed was to protect and serve. This fate he didn’t deserve..A mom and dad have lost a son. So many other jobs he could’ve done. His wife and kids are left alone. Their daddy won’t be coming home..His fellow officers are hurt so deep. For a fallen brother they weep. The morning paper will print a story. About a policeman who died in glory..The flags will fly at half mast. Politicians and citizens will seem sad. The funeral is tomorrow at noon. It will all be over very soon..By next week they will have forgot. That a policeman was killed last night.. By Jim ColeAthens, Georgia

Cops wake up different from the rest of us.Our worst nightmare is just their Wednesday…-From an episode of SOUTHLAND 1/17/2012. National Police Week

Call me an arrogantr bully too because I’ve been there.

“Yes Me the Lousy Cop”Well Mr. Citizen, I guess you have me figured out. I seem to fit neatly into the category you place me in. I’m stereotyped, characterized, standardized, classified, grouped, and always typical. I’m the “lousy cop.” Unfortunately, the reverse isn’t true. I can never figure you out.

From birth you teach your children that I am the bogeyman, and then you’re shocked when they identify me with my traditional enemy, the criminal. You accuse me of coddling juveniles, until I catch your kid doing something. You may take an hour for lunch, and have several coffee breaks each day, but point me out as a loafer if you see me having just one cup.

You pride yourself on your polished manners, but think nothing of interrupting my meals at noon with your troubles. You raise hell about the guy who cuts you off in traffic, but let me catch you doing the same thing and I’m picking on you. You know all the traffic laws, but never got a single ticket you deserved. You shout “foul” if you observe me driving fast enroute to an emergency call, but literally raise hell if I take more than ten seconds responding to your call!!!

You call it “part of the job” if someone strikes me, but it’s “police brutality” if I strike back. You wouldn’t think of telling your dentist how to pull a badly decayed tooth, or your doctor how to take out your appendix, but you are always willing to give me a few pointers on law enforcement. You talk to me in a manner and use language that would assure a bloody nose from anyone else, but you expect me to stand and take it without batting an eye.

You cry, “Something has to be done about all the crime!” but you can’t be bothered with getting involved.

You’ve got no use for me at all, but, of course, it’s OK if I change a tire for your wife, or deliver your baby in the back seat of my patrol car on the way to the hospital, or save your son’s life with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or work many hours over-time to find your lost daughter.

So Mr. Citizen, you stand there on your soapbox and rant and rave about the way I do my job, calling me every name in the book, but never stop a minute to think that your property, your family, or maybe your life might depend on one thing, ME, or one if my buddies.

“YES ME THE LOUSY COP”

“Just a Cop”

The funeral line was long,There’s an awful lot of cars,Folks came out of the restaurants,They came out of the bars.

The workers at the construction sitesAll let their hammers drop.Someone asked.“What is this all for?”And they said,“Aw, just a cop.”

Some chuckled at the passing cars.Some shed a silent tearSome people said,“It’s stupid.all these dumb policemen here.”

“How come they’re not out fightn’ crime?Or in a doughnut shop?Sure is a lot of trouble,For someone who’s just a cop.”

They blocked the intersections,They blocked the interstate.People yelled and cursed,“Damn, it’s gonna make me late!”

“This is really ridiculous!”“They’re makin’ us all stop!”“It seems they’re sure wastin’ time,On someone who’s just a cop.”

Into the cemetery now,The slow procession comes,The woeful Taps are slowly played.There’s loud salutes from guns.

The graveyard workers shake their heads“This service is a flop.”“There’s lots of good words wasted,On someone who’s just a cop.”

Yeah, just a cop to most folks.Did his duty every day.Tryin’ to protect us,Till they took his life away.

And when he got to heaven,St. Peter put him at the top.An angel asked him, “Who was that?”And he said, “Aw, just a cop.”

Joe, I just read your bio. Seven years as an undercover narcotics officer, and 30 years serving. What can I say? Thank you, just doesn’t seem to cut it.I just hope you have had a lot of support over the years. That sort of job leaves nightmares that never go away, and invisible wounds that never heal.I have never been the sort to do what you and other officers and soldiers do. I will admit I am a bit of a coward, and a bit of a rebel against authority. Not the type to follow orders blindly or do something suicidal because “Bleep it!” someone has to! But even though I wouldn’t do such things myself, I do understand that they need doing, and I respect those who have the courage to fight the fight nobody else wants to. Whether it be in the military, the police, the fire department, or some other branch of public service. There are people who every day risk their lives protecting us. I think it is great that we have a week to celebrate the police.Like most people I have had my days when I felt that the police were harassing me or unfair. The ticket I got on Christmas day for speeding on an overpass on an empty road (It was a new, to me, car and I wasn’t really aware I was going that fast. Out of habit I accelerated as I approached the hill leading to the overpass. My old car needed me to speed up to take the incline.) The officer radar’d me as i accelerated up the hill then I came to a complete stop on the other side of the hill at the red light he pulled behind me and turned on his lights. That incident still peeves me. What was I going to hit, a low flying plane that flew in front of my car?Or the time a county sheriff tailed me as I returned from a bachelor party, late, on a winding single lane highway. He had his lights on high-beam and was tailgating me to get me to drive over the limit.Or the ticket I got from the meter maid despite the fact I was approaching the meter, coin purse in hand, to add more coins.I’m sure we all have our tales of woe. Some day though, a police officer may save my life, or that of my family or friends. So today, Is my day of introspection. I hope that others are doing the same. Let us all thank our police for the hard and thankless job they do for us. We may not always appreciate what they do, but that doesn’t mean that some day we will. I actually hope no such day ever happens, it would mean something terrible had occurred to wreak my peaceful life. But, I am nor foolish enough to think it never will, and so I thank all of you men in blue for treading that “thin blue line” and protecting the cowards like myself who sit at home behind locked doors and hope that nothing evil ever comes knocking at our door, or more likely a broken window.

I have a great deal of respect for the policemen that report for work every day to protect us and never know if they will finish their work day alive. They put their job ahead of their life and family.

What a wonderful set of posts today!!!!

And I am one of the billions that wouldn’t even consider doing it. Thanks again.

still not convinced…..they are being paid to do this job—just like a janitor or a sewer worker. Do they get their own day too???