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got your back · by Rafi Kam
A relative of my wife’s passed away recently. He’ll be remembered as a warm and genuine guy, a great father and a friend to his community. He was the type of guy to keep coaching little league even though his own children were now adults, to volunteer all the time at his local church, to play host for both relatives and neighbors every year at summer barbecues and Christmas parties.
It’s not just the cliche that it’s hard to speak poorly of the deceased. This man was truly the definition of a stand-up guy and that he passed suddenly while just in his late fifties will leave a void in many lives.
The funeral home was packed during his two-day wake as was the church at his funeral.
The funny thing is whom the wake was packed with. Along with a large family and many friends were dozens upon dozens of police officers.
This man had never been a cop himself but he came from a family of them. He was the son of a cop, the brother of a cop and most recently the father of a cop. And so when he passed he was actually buried with a folded police uniform and mourned by seemingly countless members of the NYPD.
On the day of his funeral the long procession from the chuch to the cemetary had several police escorts. As we drove, every cross street and highway entrance ramp was blocked off just in time by leapfrogging police cars. Traffic halted everywhere along the way and it felt nice to have that protection.
That was the feeling communicated in those days to me by the police. This man’s family is part of our family and they need us. So we will go in numbers to show our support and this city will stop as needed for the funeral of this man.
And it’s actually kind of a nice feeling especially when the consolation was needed. Look. This life will be remembered by hundreds and hundreds of people. This husband, father, church volunteer, ordinary guy will be treated just as importantly as a slain police officer while we bring him to his resting place. Who would refuse that?
I told my wife that night how nice it is to see what he meant to so many people. How nice it was to have that treatment… cops blocking the cross-streets wherever you went, stopping cars on the highway from even thinking about cutting in.
It is nice. It’s nice to be on the side where the cops have your back instead of on the side where they shoot you in the back.
Membership has its privileges.
Comments for "got your back"
Whoa. I wasn’t expecting this.
Good work, Rafi.
— eauhellzgnaw Dec 20, 05:43 PM
Thanks for sharing that.
— Jay B Dec 21, 03:50 AM
wow, powerful post.
— David Dec 21, 06:57 PM
Haha Man the funny part is I knew that “Come Baby” track. It was in this wierd Japanese movie, and it played everytime these latent homosexuals started staring into each other’s eyes.
— torpid Dec 22, 07:26 PM
hahaha, I think you were looking for Sach’s girly music post. hilarious mistake
— David Dec 22, 11:06 PM
word life to this post, may it live on forever…
— J-Mass Apr 25, 03:08 PM