With things slowly evolving to a new normal, The Railer was able to pay mother a long overdue visit in The Peoples Republic of Illinois. This trip was particularly special because cisgender middle son, his lovely cisgender wife, and the world’s cutest, smartest, all-boy grandson were in tow. There was a grand feast in rural red America with a sibling’s large and crazy family, proud displays of deer heads, gun talk, bourbon, and lots of outdoor fun. Soy-boy hell is The Railer’s paradise.
One of The Railer’s favorite to-dos on these too-rare visits is a look at the local paper. There is usually an obituary with a familiar name, a warm-hearted column from the Amish enclave, and quaint local news. Threads of connection still exist even though The Railer pulled anchor almost 40 years ago. The Railer never regrets fleeing our most bankrupt and corrupt state, nonetheless the area holds warm reminders of good people and places.
The headline story in this year’s pre-Thanksgiving paper, “Back Where It Belongs,” was especially poignant (The News Gazette, 24 Nov 2021).
More than 50 years ago, second grade classmate, Bob, lost his father. Officer Tatman was a policeman, only 27, husband to Nancy, father to four. He was shot dead with his own gun, alone, after a late-night traffic stop. According to the article, a law enforcement and military memorabilia dealer, himself a retired local officer, recently found Tatman’s badge for sale at a swap show. How it ended up at a table in St. Charles, Illinois, no one knows. But the local veteran always had his eyes open for hometown items. Chance or divine intervention placed the seller at an adjacent table. After some horse trading, Badge Number 80 was returned to the Tatman family and is on honorable display in his former department.
The Railer remembers that day. Bob wasn’t in class. It fell upon our first-year teacher, Miss Sprague, coincidentally a young woman from my parents’ hometown, to explain why. Bob returned several days later but we all knew he had suffered a tremendous loss. We stepped lightly around him for the remainder of that year, an unnatural behavior for seven-year-olds. The Railer doesn’t recall seeing the son after that school year. Not hard to imagine that Tatman’s widow moved closer to family or wherever she could find much needed support. The murder is yet unsolved, but given the years, the perp is suffering eternal justice.
The Railer, father of three sons, three stepchildren, and three grandchildren understands that loss now more than ever. Imagine what it must have been like for that seven-year-old boy to say goodbye. And Officer Tatman missed so much. Who else might he have saved or helped over these stolen years? No doubt his wife, his four children, and their children, never finish a day without some wistful remembrance. Officer Tatman, like every officer, simply wanted to do his usually thankless, underpaid, job and go home to his family. Instead, he was shot by an unknown assailant – lights out.
It’s ironic that The Railer would spot this story on Thanksgiving. It’s a tangible reminder that life is short, and that our blessings should not be taken for granted. The Railer and his family have been richly blessed.
And classmate Bob? He became a priest. Now that’s a miracle.
Epilogue:
Considering this story in a contemporary light, BLM’s and Democrats’ vilification of our community guardians is raw and despicable. Defund the Police, Criminal Justice Reform, Cash Bail Elimination, and all the other commie-lib new-speak, ‘isms, and idiotic utopian ideas leave us at the whim of sociopathic, violent, predators. Ask the Waukesha families of the six dead, three score injured, by a freed career criminal on November 21st. That privileged mass murderer should not have been walking our streets … or mowing down kids and old people in a Christmas parade.
Our world needs more Officer Tatman’s and fewer coddled criminals.