Ok, you know how "Charlie" always used to say "Good morning Angels" through that groovy 70's style speaker phone to his three lovely ladies before they got their new "assignment" each week? Well, I'm lucky enough to be someone's "angel." Let me explain.
In the news biz, reporters do what we call "beat calls." Every morning when we get in, each reporter makes about a dozen or so calls to police departments around their given "beat" county to see if anything newsworthy happened over night.
I have the Dauphin County beat, which includes Middletown.
Every morning, I'd dial that number...and before I could even say hello, on the other end of the line would be a "Good morning, Angel." It was Bruce. Bruce T. Walter, the communications specialist for Middletown P.D. An all-around awesome guy.
It seemed like evryday he'd flood me with flattering comments. If I said, "Hey, Bruce, how you doing?" His reply would be, "Better, now that I'm talking to you." Just really sweet. Enough to make even this "cynical" reporter smile and start her day off right.
He'd fill me in on what happened overnight in Middletown - whether it was just a few traffic stops, or if an arrest had been made in a case I was working. Always helpful, always polite, always kind. Always Bruce.
And we'd occasionally get into more personal things. He'd say, "I'm off all next week to work on the house with my wife, so I'll talk to you when I get back," or, "I'm tired cause I spent all weekend painting." That kind of stuff.
So, I was a bit surprised this Monday when I called, and another voice answered. Bruce didn't tell me he was taking Monday off. It must've slipped his mind. But when I called again Tuesday morning, and yet another voice picked-up, I made a point to ask - "Where's Bruce?" And then, there it was.
"Bruce died suddenly Sunday of a heart attack."
My eyes swelled, my throat choked-up, and for a moment, I disappeared into "denial land." How could someone I'd just spoken to last week be gone? This isn't supposed to happen. Bruce is supposed to pick-up and say "Good morning, Angel." I wanted to hang-up, redial, and have it all be better. But I couldn't. He was gone.
You never think the last time you hear someone's voice is going to be the last. And then poof. From there on out, it's all past-tense. Odd how quickly it happens.
Everytime we hung up, Bruce had a standard line as well. "Take care, and be safe out there!"
I know I'm safe - cause I've got an Angel of my own looking out for me now. Thanks for being a great friend, Bruce. And for always listening.
