BACK IN THE '80s by Joe Haggerty
Two of my fellow vice investigators passed away within a year of each other and I was needed to express my grief and admiration for their service and friendship. I wrote a simple poem, but from the heart, and was shocked by the effect it had on my fellow officers and the families of my deceased friends. It was featured in one of my friend’s funeral program and at the repast, which was at his parent’s home, I found the poem framed and displayed prominently with other pictures of my friend. I wrote many more poems dedicated to fallen officers, about police work or the victims of prostitution. One poem, Tears on the Wall, was included on a CD titled Heroes Unsung. I also wrote a number of short stories. One was written about my mother-in-law’s life in the mountains of North Carolina, The Ways of the Mountains, and published in a book titled, Life in the Good Old Days in Buncombe and Henderson Counties. A number of my poems and short stories were also published in our FOP...