Way Back When-endsday: This Morning A Year Ago

As always, for more Way Back fun head over to Cheryl's at Twinfatuation. For the webwide sharing of pictures we just can't stop talking about visit 7 Clown Circus.

A huge event happened in our lives exactly one year ago.

My husband was shot in the leg while on patrol at work.

The truth is, the person who shot him was pretty far away, so really, that bullet could have struck him anywhere.

I sometimes refer to that day as, "The day I almost became a widow." And really, that's not far from the truth.

So today I was thinking about all the events that have happened over the course of the past year. I was thinking about how things would be drastically different if Hubs didn't make it home that day. And I'm so very thankful that he did.



And it really really pisses me off that he and all the people who work as Marine Terminal Security Officers down at the Port of Portland are STILL completely unarmed and defenseless!!

Hubs and I recently worked together to draft a letter to all the local congressmen, to the Department of Homeland Security, to the higher ups at the Port, and finally... just yesterday we sent it out to the local media. The Port of Portland is an international port. There are ships that come and go from all over the world. All the other major ports on the west coast have armed guards, except Portland. Apparently Portland is considered to be low-risk. Well, I don't know about you, but if I were a terrorist, I'd pick the point of least resistance. (Anyone remember the Portland Seven?) And unfortunately there are no laws regulating the equipment used by the various ports, including the use of weapons. So we're hoping that this letter we sent will get to someone who is in a position to change that.

And since it seems like the general public isn't aware that their local port of entry is basically unprotected, I thought I'd do my part here to let people know. This doesn't just matter to me and my family, it should matter to basically everyone.

So lastly, I urge you, contact your congressmen. Let them know that it IS important for marine ports to have regulated armed security. Feel free to tell them our story. Link this blog if you want. In this day and age, no port should remain unprotected. Currently at the Port of Portland if there is an incident the guards call 911, response time is anywhere from 5-15 minutes. That 5-15 minutes could be the difference between life and death for the guards, but also is plenty of time for someone to run and hide on this huge 400+ acre terminal. It's simply unacceptable.

And most of all, pray! I fully believe that God is in the business of changing hearts. Pray that these letters reach their intended audience, who are moved to make wise decisions for not only the officers at the Port of Portland, but for ALL of us!