I could never be a cop

Me hopelessly handling a pistol

While we were in Utah, my brother Earl took us to the SLC Police Academy training simulator where they put their new recruits through real-life/intense scenarios to prepare them for life in the field.

I have never touched a gun.  I am terrified of guns.  I don't even like squirt guns.  So to hold a real hand gun was extremely scary for me. I know it wasn't loaded.  I know it was just for the simulator.  But I've watched enough movies to know that accidents can still happen.

I was the first one up.  I had no idea what was coming.  I knew Earl had taken my brother Mike a few days before and he was shot in the thumb which was still throbbing and discolored.  With this knowledge in mind, I begged Earl not to shoot me. 

Earl prepped me for my scenario.  I was shown a polaroid of my suspect.  I studied it as hard as I could.  We had a warrant for his arrest.  My partner and I went in the house with our guns drawn.  Two people were standing with their hands in the air.  A third man entered the room and looked possibly like he could be the man in the photo.

Earl encouraged me to talk.  My idea of talking?  "Hi, um.  Are you the one I'm looking for?"

Suddenly the familiar looking man grabs a gun off the table and starts firing at me.  I'm screaming and jumping up and down.  Squeezing my trigger over and over pointing it who knows where.  Bullets are flying in all directions and amidst my screaming and dancing and careless shooting, I get hit.  "Ow!  Ow!  Ow!  He got me!  Owie!  My ear!"

Tears are streaming down my face and filling the goggles I'm wearing with puddles of water. Earl replays the scene showing me where my bullets hit, my reaction time, where the gun was pointed at all times, etc.  Yeah, I didn't hit my target.

Meanwhile, my earring back has been blown off my earring, the earring itself has been bent and my ear is throbbing.  Trust me, I'm embarrassed and I don't want to cry in front of my older brothers and sisters and husband.  But oh, how it hurt.  And the excitement of the situation didn't help with the overflow of emotions.

Once they all figured out that I was actually crying (I know, so humiliating), Earl felt so badly for letting the marble wander so close to my face.  He usually only shoots at your legs but apparently I was so entertaining, he was watching me instead of his aim.  Really, can you blame him?

Needless to say, I took a break from the simulator for a while.  I watched Karen shoot all her bad guys and an innocent bystander, April aggressively shout at all her suspects before taking them out, Rhett hiding behind me while everyone else took their turns (apparently, he didn't want to take a marble either), Conway calmly shooting the guys that were shooting at him and Earl, my awesome and talented hero of a brother who has actually been in situations like these in real life, showed us how it was done like the pro he is.

I'm so impressed with people who can handle themselves in situations like these.  I'm so grateful we have police officers whose job it is each day to serve and protect us.  I have such a better appreciation now for what they have to deal with.  And I'm so proud of my big brother Earl.  He's been doing this for over ten years now.  And he's my hero.  Yes, Earl.  I forgive you and my ear doesn't hurt anymore.

Karen using the shotgun