I've been reading the papers a lot lately since my letter to the editor. I love them, the writing is not always so great, but they are so REAL.

There was a story recently about a barn fire. A police officer that was just pulling into the parking lot to end his shift got the call. He decided to go because he was nearby and thought that someone's life might be in danger and he knew he'd be able to get there before the fire department. It turned out to be a barn fire and the life in danger was that of a little girl's calf that was locked in a pen next to the barn. The girl's father asked the police officer to shoot the calf so that he wouldn't have such an agonizing death. The police officer thought that he could get the calf out and attempted to approach the gate or a part of a fence to kick an opening. Several times he was stopped by the intense heat and had to fall to the ground and bury his face and hands in the snow. The calf began to smoke. At one point he made contact with the fence but was not successful in opening it. Then the fire department arrived and were able to get closer with their fire gear and free the calf. The police officer had to go to the hospital with first degree burns. He said it felt like a sunburn. I keep imagining the other cops making fun of him at work the next day.