In the midst of so much deep hurricane news, can I tell you how happy this latest viral silliness made me and my teenage daughter – and apparently millions of other people?
More than 100,000 comments have been posted on a simple selfie by some Gainesville, Florida police officers. The men were getting ready to go about their duties for Hurricane Irma cleanup, and women readers quickly noticed that these were some seriously good-looking officers. Quickly, the Gainesville PD Facebook page was inundated with comments like “Hey, I can commit a crime, can you come arrest ME?!” and “We have crime in Maine too!” And quickly, as the Gainesville PD posted other pictures of first responders going about their business, people began asking “Do you have some sort of model-ready requirement for your officers?!”
What my daughter and I most loved, though, was the Gainesville PD reply to all of this: they entered into the lighthearted spirit of things with a hilarious response:
1. We are dying with the comments. You’ve actually made our chief blush with some of them.
2. MRS. Nordman and MRS. Hamill have also enjoyed knowing how millions of women are going crazy over their husbands.
3. We can confirm that Officer Rengering (far right with the amazing hair) IS SINGLE.
4. On another note, Officer Rengering is being placed into Cougar Prey Protective Care, similar to the witness protection program for his safety.
5. Please do not call 9-1-1 and request this group respond to your “incident”
6. There WILL be a calendar.
In a town filled with flooded roads, downed trees and cars stranded without gas, in a state where half the homes and businesses lack power, in an era of division and taking-ourselves-too-seriously, I absolutely love how this great group of first responders stepped outside themselves and engaged in some much-needed levity.
To all our first responders: thanks for everything you are doing for this unique recovery effort.
To the Gainesville PD: thanks for making us smile. We need that just as much.
Helping people thrive in life and relationships is Shaunti Feldhahn’s driving passion, supported by her research projects and writing. After starting out with a Harvard graduate degree and experience on Wall Street, her life took an unexpected shift into relationship research. She now is a popular speaker around the world and the author of best-selling books about men, women, and relationships. (Including For Women Only, For Men Only, and the groundbreaking The Good News About Marriage).
Her newest book, The Kindness Challenge, demonstrates that kindness is the answer to almost every life problem, and is sparking a much-needed movement of kindness across the country. Visit www.shaunti.com for more.
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