My nephew M. and his good wife are large, retired Military Police.

M. helps contain two-legged crud in a federal lock-up. This is his vocation. M. is what is commonly referred to as a VERY BIG BRUISER. He smiles a lot (reminesent of a good-natured, large, hungry wolf assessing his next meal) and takes his job very, very seriously. The Second Amendment and MISTER M. allow me to sleep feeling safer at night. Bless his frightening shaved head.

The following are a few of M.'s thoughts addressed to his peers, and to the sociopaths he is determined to contain (as we have no collective courage to eliminate their pointless, costly asses). We can't pay our protectors enough.

"I had an interesting conversation with my Dad this weekend. We were talking about how people interact in general and, more specifically, how bullies and boys work out their differences. I've had a few hours to mull over our conversation, and a few things come to mind that might be significant for those of us in the law enforcement and protective services community.

"And so, here are my thoughts.....

"I was always a big guy. Even as a very young kid, I was larger than the rest of my peers. Dad still relates the story, with an abundance of chuckles, of picking me up from Kinder Garden sometime around Easter. It seems that the teacher had us all make Easter Bunny ears that we could wear on our heads. When class let out, we all ran out to the curb where our respective parents were waiting to drive us home. We came out wearing our bunny ears, skipping and laughing and happy about life as five and six year old kids should be. I, however, was about the size of a ten year old. Head and shoulders above the rest of my peers, I must have looked a bit silly by comparison. Of course my Dad never said anything about it at the time, and many years had passed before he related the story to me. We both had a good chuckle.

"His story is interesting in another way though. One would think that a big kid would be no good choice for bullies, and in many cases that is true. The way it worked out though, and bear with me for a bit, is that I simply attracted much older bullies. So in third grade I had to defend myself against sixth graders. In Junior High, it was High School kids (usually more than one). I learned quick. I learned that there are some people in this world that just LIKE to hurt people that won't, or can't, fight back. I developed a sense of justice, before I even knew what the word meant.

"As I grew, and believe me GREW is the right word, I had fewer bullies to deal with myself. I still remembered what it was like to stand up, or at least try to stand up, to someone older, bigger and meaner than me. It was scary, and I'd had no choice but to try. So when I hit six feet and a few more inches at the tender age of fourteen or so, I felt a certain amount of "Fraternal Protectiveness" toward the wee ones. When I saw the young, weak, or outnumbered I instinctively threw myself into the equation. Maybe in defending those that couldn't help themselves, I was making amends for the times I was helpless. A psychologist might be able to explain it better, might not. Maybe it just felt like the right thing to do. My money is on the latter.

"Every kid, for that matter every adult, has to deal with bullies and predators.

"As I sit here and ponder, though, I wonder why others have chosen this line of work. It's not enough to say, "I don't like bad guys" or "It's a cool job". There is a motivating factor behind your decision to deal with the worst that humanity has to offer. Perhaps you should take a moment and contemplate the REASON you decided to protect those that aren't as strong as you.

"You are paying a price to do this job. Your family is paying that price as well. I would encourage you to think about why the price is worth paying. If it's just the pay check, you should run away. If you have a reason to believe that what you are doing is right, then you can do it right. Within the law, professionally, and with a few tears, maybe an ulcer, and no reservations.

"To all of my brothers and sisters who do the job, God bless you and thanks for having my back.

"To the men, and yes even more so the women, who do this job that are smaller in physical stature than I, you have my undying respect. How much harder it must be to deal with it when the very real tool of physical size has been removed from your box of tools. You are truly courageous.

"Lastly, to those that think that they can take from the weak. Every time you do it, every time you try, you breed the next generation of those that protect. We will hunt you down without fail. We will never quit. We will not fail or flag from our duties. For you it may be an easy buck. For us... a sacred trust. Try to sleep well, we are coming...... "Take care, M."