"Warrior"...a word I've heard a lot lately

Across the country we keep hearing the tragic news of police officers being shot--wounded or fatally wounded--in the line of duty. Never...EVER have I heard of so many horrible happenings. One of these was an officer here in Indianapolis, Officer David Moore. Let me recap the story in my eyes...

I woke up that Monday morning at 5:30 and turned on the tv to let the news play a little, hear the forecast, and wake up a little. First thing I hear is an IMPD officer was shot Sunday, 4 times--2 in the face--and was not stable enough yet for an MRI. I see his picture flash on the screen and think "David Moore? IMPD Officer? Oh my gosh..." and I texted my friend, D, to say "Please tell me the Officer David Moore who was shot is not your husband's friend??" She didn't reply for hours because she was at the hospital, it, indeed, was him.

Now, this all was happening Monday, January 24th. Rewind almost 1 month to December 29th...D and G got married. 50 people invited to the wedding. Guy sits right in front of me during the ceremony, then picks the seat right next to me at the reception. We meet, then get into a heated discussion about Hooters, which left a sour taste in my mouth. This guy: Officer David Moore. I felt crushed just thinking of this sole meeting...I met this man one time, at 2 close friends' wedding, and my only recollection is being kinda b*tchy to him because I was defensive about being an ex-Hooters girl! How awful of me...I hate that that is my memory of him. My friend, D, called me a few days later to say she heard he "offended" me and I said "no! Believe me, I wasn't offended..." so it was just all unnecessary.

So, to present day. Dave was so much I obviously didn't know...a superior athlete, an awesome Christian, a savvy writer, an amazing uncle and son. With the horrendous ice storm we experienced on the day of his funeral, school was canceled and I was able to walk just 2 blocks to attend. I am so glad that I did. This funeral was monumental! To watch the officers file in 2 x 2, all in uniform with their hats in palm...the sight itself was so honorable. The dignity they all displayed was unbelievable...and such a wonderful thing to see. I must give major respect to whomever planned this funeral because it was done so well without any flaws. Towards the end, the 21 gun salute, Taps, Amazing Grace on bagpipes, the horses walked in to pay respect (which they were all soooo well-behaved and were so scared with the gun salute, it hurt my heart too), the all-staff salute....all of the policemen and women were standing with their hats on and arms posed in salute to Officer Moore. There was so much pride in that room it made me cry. Then, the wonderful slideshow of pictures that played perfectly with Vince Gill's "Go Rest High on That Mountain"....oh my, I haven't cried like that at a funeral since probably Adam Wagner's funeral. (Except Adam I knew and those tears were more emotional and personal, and Moore's were more emotional for seeing how everyone supported him and his service...same with Adam, but just there were so many similarities a lot of emotion rushed back.)

I just looked up pictures again tonight and I cried just seeing it all again. Indianapolis lost a good man in such a senseless act of violence. If you wish to see the pictures, here is the link:

http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/11817-funeral-service-for-impd-officer-david-moore