by Jamie Bessett

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

Whenever I tell this story, people think I am making it up. I look forward to meeting new people with my husband in hopes that they will ask how we met. The story takes place about seven years ago when I fulfilled a career opportunity that I always wanted to do from the time I was a little girl. I completed the police academy in October of 1998 and became an officer on Beach Patrol in a large city in South Carolina. Beach Patrol was a series of stories in itself, but my life became a series of unpredictable events that were both enlightening and tragic.

The morning I returned home after graduating the Police Academy, I found out that my father was having an affair. Although this was one of many, my mother finally decided to kick him out after 27 years and follow through with a divorce. The divorce was final in August of 1999. In September of 1999 my mother came down with a chest cold that just wouldn't go away. After several tests, it was determined that she had cancer in several organs and areas of her body and the outlook was not good. My mother passed away in April of 2003 after she finally broke free from a man that caused her so much pain.

The point of revealing all of these other events that took place prior to meeting my spouse is to let you know what I went through alone. These two life changing events were the hardest things that I had ever been through and I would have given anything to have someone to support me and help me through this difficult time.

On a very hot and humid morning in July of 2000, I responded to a break in of a local ice cream shop along the beach. When I arrived, I could see that the burglars entered the building through one of the panel windows in the front of the store. I checked the front door and it still remained locked, so I entered the store through the broken window. Once I called in to dispatch to verify the break-in, they attempted to contact the "key holder" that they had on file.

Shortly, dispatch called and stated that they could not get in touch with a key holder and requested that I look for someone else to contact. Fortunately by the phone, there was a posted contact. I started to call each person starting from the top and I wasn't having much luck. I finally reached a gentleman that was in the sixth spot on the list. He stated that he was the owner and he would be on his way immediately.

While waiting for him to arrive, I helped myself to some ice cream and gummy worms from behind the counter. In the meantime,

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