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We find ourselves once again at the end of a season. This caps off Season 6 of Blue Canary and it’s been very interesting. I had been thinking about retirement for a couple of years. Once the greatness of it started to settle and the things you missed started to creep back in past the walls you built telling yourself it was the greatest decision you ever made, reality raised it’s ugly head.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy I am retired. But there are things I miss. I mean really miss.

I miss the people. The officers I got to work with every day. The ones who came to me for guidance. The ones who came to me with problems. And even the ones that came to me when they had screwed up.

I miss the work. Serving the community everyday was fulfilling. I knew what I was doing mattered, even when it didn’t seem like it at the time.

I miss the challenges, having to be sharp, fit, strong, and quick. Pitting yourself against bad guys and trying to solve problems on the fly.

I miss the adrenaline. Sure, that’s the thing you’re not supposed to talk about, but it’s there. They way your heart hammered in your chest when the Oh Shit button got pushed. The feeling you had at the end when you had won.

I miss the identity. I miss being a cop. And everything that comes with that.

When I settled on retirement for this season’s focus it was because I wanted to talk about that thing that had been weighing on me. The lack of support.

I had chatted with fellow retired officers who said they didn’t feel supported. I chatted with my military friends who had vastly different experiences upon retiring. And I did my research, looking for programs, communities, and people to help.

What I found just made it worse.

On a positive note, I am doing the DJ thing every Friday form 8am - Noon on the Thin Line Rock Station. Check it out.

https://www.thethinlinerockstation.com/

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“The Hollow Call” a Halloween Special.

Let’s just add a little more spook to an already spooky tail. 

I received this email from a user who went by Mallory98. The email didn’t have anything in it but this attached story. I tried several times to reach out and get more information, but every time I sent an email it bounced back as an invalid address.

Every time.

Through every email provider

So, I just decided to share it in its entirety.

We will call this one,

"The Hollow Call"

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Jessica Flores served as a police officer and detective in the Kansas City Missouri area, but was forced to retire early due to medical issues. That left her struggling to find purpose and meaning in the post law enforcement world. That all stopped one day when she realized she could help other officers find their purpose after law enforcement.

That’s how Next Shift was founded.

Today Jess runs Next Shift to help coach officers leaving the profession to help them find purpose and community after law enforcement.

Jess was gracious enough to sit down and chat with me for a few minutes about her own experiences and Next Shift.

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When an officer retires, whether it’s after 20, 25, or 30 years, there’s often a handshake, a plaque, maybe a party. Then the uniform goes in the closet, and that’s it. After decades of service—after countless nights on patrol, after seeing humanity at its worst and sometimes at its best—suddenly, you’re just… done.

There’s no transition program. No debrief. No structured counseling. No real roadmap for what comes next.

Contrast that with the military: service members who retire or separate are connected with the VA, with veteran service organizations, with peer support programs. They’re eligible for medical and mental health services for the long term. Whether or not the system is perfect, there is a system. For cops? Not so much.

When it comes to support for retired officers, it’s really a mixed bag.

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Every day’s a Saturday.

That’s one of those great retirement sayings.

What it means is you get to do what you want, when you want.

After thirty years of being told where to be, when to be, and how to be, it’s very liberating.

My wife was at work and I had finished all of the little chores I wanted to get done around the house. I sat down and fired up the streaming services. I was looking for a little movie I could put on and probably take a nap. My search stopped on “The Fastest Woman on Earth”

That put a twist in my afternoon plans.

“The Fastest Woman on Earth” is a 2022 documentary about Jesse Combs, her quest to break the woman’s land speed record, and her ultimate death.

I was familiar with Jesse Combs, I had watched her in a number of television shows over the years, specifically “Overhaulin” and “Mythbusters”. I also enjoy documentaries so clicking play was a no brainer.

I started crying about 5 minutes into the film and couldn’t stop crying the rest of the afternoon.

As cops we get very good at compartmentalizing trauma. When we deal with all of those horrible thing’s day in and day out, we put them behind a door, lock it tight, and throw away the key.

Something in that movie opened one of those doors for me and let it all out.

It was a rough afternoon

But it would have been rougher if I didn’t understand what was going on with me.

[Insert Intro]

Mental Health for Law Enforcement is an issue that we still fight today. Even though we should know better, we still stigmatize getting help. We still want to portray ourselves and our profession as stoic, strong, and above those emotions.

We are not.

I wanted to talk to an officer who had experience dealing with mental health issues, someone who understood the problem and was willing to deal with it head on.

That’s when I connected with Zachary Saenz.

Zachary has over 8 years in law enforcement and has served as a patrol officer, field training officer, and now is a patrol sergeant.  He is an advocate for mental health in law enforcement and his story is an important one to hear.

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When I retired from the Bloomington Police Department, I was done. I knew that, walking out the door. There was no way I was going to go back to the department and work for them again. I was moving on with my life.

But, to be fair, it was easy for me. I had prepared for retirement. I had followed the Dave Ramsey financial plan and was debt free save for my home mortgage. I had a substantial emergency fund and I had a job, teaching.

I started traveling the country and teaching right away, and I have to say being my own boss was a massive benefit.

But most officers when they retire aren’t in the same position. Many of them haven’t prepared for the possibility of retirement. They haven’t put away any money. They have no idea what they are going to do.

And that hurts.

When you combine the challenges of financial needs, the lack of social interaction, boredom and the loss of identity of being a cop, going back to the job is easy to understand.

Let’s take a moment and look at each of those reasons for going back to the job.

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Police Helicopters are quickly becoming a thing of the past. When the helicopters themselves cost anywhere from 500,000 to 3 Million dollars to purchase and have operating costs around 400 bucks per hour to fly nobody can afford them anymore. Not that anyone outside of a handful of major metropolitan police departments ever could. 

But that doesn’t take away the fact that having eyes in the sky can and does offer incredible advantages when it comes to public safety.

In 2025 that means drones.

Over the last decade we have seen drone use increase among police department across the US. Starting with search and rescue functions the use of drones has continued to grow just as the technology has improved and today we have full time drone pilots in agencies all over the US.

I had the pleasure to speak with Matt Rowland. Since 2017 Matt has been a member of the Unmanned Air Support Unit with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently a full-time drone pilot and an advocate of the technology.

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Author Willet Ryder said “Hobbies are both a mystery and a delight. They’re a mystery because many people with hobbies don’t always share them with others. They’re a delight because of the pure joy they provide to the hobbyist, making hours pass like minutes!”

But don’t take my word for it, listen to the experts.

First, hobbies help improve your mental health. Hobbies are a powerful tool to manage stress and improve your mood. Creative hobbies such as writing, painting, and yes roleplaying can substantially reduce depression, anxiety and stress. Studies have linked creative hobbies to lowering Cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and improving mood. 

Second, physical hobbies will keep you alive. Moving everyday is important and taking on physical hobbies such as cycling, skiing, kayaking, running, hiking, or even walking can have significant effect on your retired self. You will be amazed at how fast your physical health can get away from you after retirement. You don’t have to fit into a uniform anymore and since people aren’t trying to kill you everyday you don’t “need” to stay in shape. But never forget that couch is a killer.

Third, mentally stimulating hobbies like learning a foreign language, taking up a musical instrument, or solving puzzles can significantly improve your cognitive function including memory and can reduce the risk of dementia later in life.

Fourth, hobbies can significantly improve our social life. If you’re a cop then most of your friends are cops and I have some bad news for you, the day you retire will be the last day you hear from those friends.

Do not underestimate the importance of social connections after retirement and hobbies are one of the best ways to meet people and interact with them.

And fifth, as a cop we always felt a sense of accomplishment. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. From locking up the bad guy, to changing a lady’s tire, everyday you were able to take something away from that job, something important, what you did mattered.

When you retire do you really matter anymore?

These are just a few of the benefits of having hobbies.

Check out my roleplaying podcast:

https://oddfishgames.com/pages/the-epic-adventure-podcast

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William Osler was a Canadian physician and one of the “Big 4” founders of John Hopkins Hospital. He created the first “residency” program for training physicians and he has been called the father of modern medicine.

I think it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two.

Osler once said “No man is really happy or safe without a hobby.”

That is especially true for law enforcement.

The stress of law enforcement can cause tremendous mental and physical problems if not addressed and hobbies go a long way to help alleviate that stress.

Not only does it help on the job, but once retirement rolls around and you hang up those 12-hour days on the emotional rollercoaster, you better have something to occupy your time.

Otherwise, that couch will be calling your name.

And that couch is a killer.

I wanted to talk to a retired officer that mastered the art of hobbies and one name rose right to the top.

David Rhodes.

Dave started with the Indiana University Police Department in 1980 and spent the next 40 years patrolling, investigating, and training new officers. He retired as the Lieutenant in charge of training at IUPD, and while his law enforcement career is impressive his off-duty life is just as interesting. In my opinion Dave mastered the art of hobbies. From martial arts, to music, to becoming a published author, Dave is never bored.

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Road School.

That’s what my wife calls it.

In 2017 we tuned into Netflix’s new series Mindhunters, based on the book by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. In the premier episode, directed by David Fincher, the FBI agents in the series are traveling across the country and teaching police departments how to identify serious violent offenders. They called it Road School and it stuck with my wife.

By then I had been doing that very same thing, albeit the topic was a little different, for 17 years. She even had “Bye Bye BPD, Hello Road School” put on top of my retirement cake.

My second career since my retirement didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t retire on Monday and then start teaching on Tuesday…well, actually I sort of did just that, but in reality, the ground work had started 20 years earlier.