What goes through the minds of Patrol Officers raised on ranches, in deserts, in pine forests or on the edge of canyons, when they leave their own privacy behind each day and move outside their homes to face the problems of their fellow human beings? We can imagine the thoughts. Those who do it can experience the feelings. Few of us can put the real or imagined into words.

Some officers cannot walk away from duty, responsibility, obligation.  Their companions (duty, responsibility, obligation) weigh upon their shoulders. A few pack their gear, polish their shoes, put on their belts and when duty, responsibility and ultimate obligation call, shrug their shoulders and walk away; To walk away could lighten their steps, it's true, but none of them who walked away would ever again walk tall.

Carefully they placed the gear in their cars and closed their eyes for a moment of peace. Then they turn to those they love, to kiss them gently and to hear them say as they've said so many times before, "Have a good day. I love you."

Then they walk to their cars, swing in legs donned with carefully pressed pants, start the engine, close the door, and drive away. They look back at it all — the streets, the houses, the children in their pajamas, the sidewalks and the street lights. They sigh and remember how good it feels to be where they are and to have what they have.

Each day is a new day and it brings its own rewards. Each officer asks him or herself, "Where is it I'm supposed to be today? Oh yes. The orders were:
Be prepared to be away from home awhile. "I wonder what we'll find. I hope whatever it is I'm ready for it." And the officer drives — milepost after milepost, memory after memory.

Each officer brings a commitment, kept carefully inside, unable to be expressed in words. These officers share a silent language and the constant companions of duty, responsibility and obligation. They share the weight; broader shoulders carrying more, but no shoulders carrying too much. They share the moments. They share a recollection too; a sense of having been there before, of having to do it all again.

It isn't pride they share; it can't be communicated in a boast. Nobody needs a dictionary to define the job. The definition is written in the battles of life none of them began.

They come from all backgrounds. They carry their faith with them. They face the desert, the mountains, the canyons, and they look square into the faces of the people. They do our job. And each day work to keep any of us from having to do the job again.

They may fail but through them we come to know triumph. A triumph that sometimes waits, that travels slowly. When it's time their companions, duty responsibility and obligation, rest upon the shoulders of others.

It is the spirit of all these officers that will never desert us. What matters is these are the ones that could not walk away....

To read about their stories go to the narrative section.