Retirement Day

Prelude

Recently, I celebrated 3 years of retirement. It almost seems a life time ago that I carried a badge. I was feeling a bit nostalgic today and decided to share my personal observations of the day I stopped working for the city.

Are you one of the fortunate souls to still be employed? Whether you are at the beginning of your career, in the middle or nearing retirement, you have probably given some thought as to what you will do when the day arrives when you no longer punch a clock or get up every morning to go to work. Before my day arrived, I heard the folks who went before me talking about their plans for traveling, fishing, hunting, moving out of state or starting a second job. But what about the actual day; the very last day of work?

My retirement day occurred on a Friday during Christmas break, which meant most everyone was home enjoying the holidays. For me, there would be no fanfare or saying goodbye to friends and colleagues. No cakes or ice cream while sitting around sharing stories and reminiscing of past exploits or "war stories." I sat at my desk in quiet solitude and recorded my thoughts. Here is a portion of what I wrote, December 29, 2006.
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My Last Day at Work
Friday, December 29, 2006
Retirement Day

I woke up this morning at approximately 5:15 am to the alarm clocks greeting. I worked my legs over the side of the bed and sat up with the stark realization that this was my last day at work as a sergeant with the Garden Grove Police Department. It seems like a different lifetime ago that I was scurrying to get to the reserve academy at the Huntington Beach Police Department. Being yelled and screamed at during inspections and trying to stay awake during the drone voice of the instructor teaching criminal law.

I shuffled to the main house and shaved, showered and brushed my teeth and went back to my room behind the garage to get dressed. I lifted some weights to get the blood pumping and then sat down in front of the computer to play a game of Spider Solitaire or two while my hair dried. When it was time, I walked to the closet to decide what to wear on this final day. Instead of the traditional dress pants, shirt and tie, I opted for blue jeans, sweatshirt and tennis shoes.

My daughter, Meghan knocked on the door and said she had to leave for work. I had parked my car behind her in the driveway and so she was waiting for me to move my car. At 6:45 am, I walked out into the cool morning air and started the engine, backed out of the driveway and headed to work. Even though work was a mere two or three blocks away, I drove to work because I used my car to do my errands or assignments. There was one car in the office to share among four sergeants. Although two sergeants were on vacation, I guess I just got into the habit of driving. The forecast was for a beautiful, California winter day with a high of 72 degrees. A far cry from the temperature in Minnesota where my parents lived. For them, it was cloudy with a high of 35 degrees, but because of wind chill factor it would feel as if it were 29 degrees

I arrived at work and Lieutenants Paul Prince and Steve Sanders and Sergeant Bill Eriksen informed me that we were all going out to breakfast. We drove to Yabba Jabba on Main Street and Paul, ever the gracious host, bought my coffee and scone. We talked of old times and future times. Paul asked what my plans were for next week and after a silent pause of thought, I replied, “I have no plans.” I was going to take it easy and let it all soak in. Ling had projects around her house that she wanted me to work on and that seemed like a good start to stay busy. After a time together, we headed back to the department.

I grabbed the Orange County Register from the Lieutenants desk to see what was occurring today. President Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States passed away Tuesday, December 26th, 2006 at age 93. The first portion of his burial ceremony will take place in Palm Desert, CA. The paper had an article on the rehearsal of this solemn event.

There was a follow up article on the shooting of a suspect who shot and wounded two Long Beach Police officers. They found the suspect in Santa Ana at a strip mall on Warner Avenue. When the suspect saw the uniformed cops, he shot at them at which time they returned fire and killed him. An appropriate ending. I thought of Mink, the man convicted of the death of Garden Grove Officer Don Reed at the Cripple Creek Bar (1980). He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 and still sits on Death Row at San Quentin. He will likely outlive the parents of Don Reed. Shame.

It is quiet as I sit in my cubicle and type this entry. Most of the administrators are off for the holidays. The second floor has detectives and a skeleton crew of cadets staffing the phones for the secretaries. Two sergeants, Bob Bowers and Jim Fischer, are enjoying the Christmas break with their families, but Paul Prince, Steve Sanders, Bill Eriksen and Chuck Boyd are here. I was alone in my thoughts.

My thoughts drifted to yesterday, December 28, 2006, when at approximately 9:30 am, Scott Jordan, Chief of Police for Tustin, California came by to say goodbye and gave me a retirement card. He wrote a very touching note and I was moved that he thought enough of me to drive all the way over just to shake my hand and say goodbye. Such a wonderful gesture. Scott and I attended the academy together.

Captain Bruce Prince came in from his Christmas break to take a group of us out to lunch. Usually, when one retires, we throw a big, formal roast. Friends, family, and foes are invited and the retiree is presented with gifts and accolades. I opted to have none of that. I came here very quietly and chose to leave in the same manner. Life does indeed go on.

Steve LaFond – Steve LaFond was a gentleman and an irreplaceable component of the annual police memorial. He developed cancer of the tongue and had radical surgery to remove the tumors. He recovered and after a mere two weeks, returned to work to spread his joy and cheerful personality. Sunday, December 17, 2006, he collapsed while at home and died. His funeral was Thursday, December 21 and was the largest non-police funeral I have seen in a very long time. It was a testament to his influence and how much he touched the lives of so many people. God Bless you, Steve.

Back to retirement day. Today, for lunch, Paul Prince went to Costco and bought 3 large pizzas for the office. It was nice to sit around with Bill, Steve, Chuck and Paul and just talk. In about five hours I will no longer be a police officer or Sergeant McInerny. I will simply be Paul McInerny. A transition, so they say, but still…after nearly 30-years it seems more than just a simple transition. Our existence is spent working toward goals or attempting to achieve something. Go from 1st grade to second to graduate from high school to graduate from college. Go to job interviews and pursue the dream. Work toward job knowledge, competency, excellence, and expertise. Promote and rise through the ranks. Eventually work toward retirement, but what then? What is the goal except to keep busy and healthy? It is more than a transition. It is a metamorphosis of thought, purpose and existence. It will have its own challenges, but the pursuit or goal has changed if not deleted all together. Others have gone before me and others will follow, so I will not make too much of this metamorphosis.

The day was spent watching the clock and sending a department wide e-mail that said goodbye. I included a copy of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as a means of expressing, somewhat, how I felt. A few people responded; Ron Doscher from P/E, Joni from Records, John Reynolds from Patrol and Courtney from Communications. Some people were shocked that today was actually the final day. I came quietly and I will leave quietly.

I downloaded some personal files onto a flash drive and closed out my “H” drive at the department. I made idle chat with Paul Prince. Usually, another sergeant would approve my timesheet, but today for the final one, I asked Paul to sign it. He asked me to sign his; another unusual occurrence. I made a copy of my timesheet to keep for prosperity and turned the original into Records. What now?.

Finally, at about 4:00-4:15 pm (I forgot to look) Paul called to me from his cubicle and told me I was finished and to go home. I stood up and walked over to Paul, Steve and Bill and shook their hands. I gave Paul and Steve a hug and with that, I headed to the hallway.

As I stepped into the hallway, I looked to the east and saw it was completely empty. The hallway runs the entire length of the building and the various offices are off to either side. Because this was Christmas break, the Command Staff upstairs, with the exception of Paul, was on vacation. Department secretaries were either staffed by cadets or CSO’s or simply closed during the Christmas break. I began my walk down the hallway. Bill and Paul stood outside the door and I walked in between them and began the final journey. I walked somewhat quickly and with purpose, yet felt like a condemned man. I was tempted to turn around and look to see if Paul and Bill were still standing in the hallway. Maybe give a final salute or wave goodbye. I kept walking.

I reached the end of the hallway and turned left and down the stairs. I walked to the rear lot to see the patrol cars one last time. I made my way to the east lot to my car and felt my eyes fill with tears. I unlocked the car, got in, started the engine and then drove out of the lot. As I drove past the police memorial, I said a silent goodbye and thanked God for allowing me to live my dream and survive to retire. And just like that…I was gone and my career was over.