Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
In a nutshell – I thought of Forrest Gump.
Run Forrest, ruuunnn!
Tbh, there’s a bit of Forrest in all of us.
Here at the West Palm Beach Police Department, our Dispatch center is filled with a variety of people from/with different backgrounds, personalities, likes, dislikes…etc. The one thing that I love the most about us is that we band together and help each other in our times of need.
The song Running on Empty reminds me that even though at times when we’re fatigued, agitated, sad, and want to cry or call off – we have peers that are a support system to help shape our days and help us to simply… Run Along.
Some days we do Karaoke to get through the madness.
The lyrics spoke of a guy that was running along even though he was running on empty, running along though it may be that he’s running blind; running on, as if he’s chasing the sun but running behind.
This was the first song that came to mind because as a Public Safety 911 Telecommunicators, we do a job that not only is stressful from the phones continuously ringing, but our officers having never ending request for us to fulfill. And even with all of the background things that are at play – we still push through and get the job done.
Every Day – We Show Up.
Every Day – We Persevere.
We all have our reasons, whether it be a sense of fulfilment, monetary reasons… the bottom line is we keep running on, empty and all.
We are the thin gold line – the ultimate first responders.
We not only hear the anger, we hear the sadness, the pain, the last breaths, the tears, and the happiness from our citizens and LEOs but continue to hold the line while assuring everyone that that help is coming.
There’s never a dull day of dispatching with my peers – We are the West Palm Beach PD.
