MARY LAMPHERE AUTHOR

At the Writers’ Police Academy, which I wrote about a few weeks ago, one of my sessions was on Handcuffs. As previously mentioned, the class itself was interesting, informational, and delivered in an engaging way. But what truly stuck with me was the instructors use of teaching tools based on his own personal experiences (aka mess-ups) which he attributed to his “inner idiot”. He basically said that no matter how prepared, how well-trained or experienced you are, sometimes circumstances get away from you and your inner idiot steps in.

I can relate to that.

He called his inner idiot Clint. I call mine, Dammit Mary Frances.

I believe his point was to take responsibility for your actions. To learn that you always have more to learn and to know that there is always more you can know. Occasionally we get indolent, try and take a shortcut, commit half-heartedly, or are just too lazy to do what we know is right. Sometimes we need to mess-up to fully understand why rules, repetition, and procedure are vital. Sometimes, your inner idiot can be your best training tool.

I must be super-trained by now, lol.
Thanks, Dammit Mary Frances.