THE DEATH OF CHARACTERS

One of the joys of coming on the police department, was that not only did the stations have individuality, the officers as well ran the gamut from A to Z. You could always tell who the watch commander was, even tho he very rarely wore a uniform. Without being told, you knew who was the lock-up keeper, the wagon men, and the inside guys who worked the desk. And always that infamous desk Sargent. Even tho they all varied as night and day, there was just something about them that you couldn't put your finger on, that made them unique. Maybe it was the buildings, which were to hot in the summer and to cold in the winter, the sharing of lockers, and the one shower that worked only when it wanted to, that brought on this collection of characters.
Those of you who have seen the TV series Barney Miller, would understand. Each and every person was an individual and a character. You both hated and loved them, for they were the people that made you want to come to work, and to enjoy it.
Then all to fast the 80's appeared and we were over run by the Pepsi guzzling generation. The characters began to retire and the old buildings began to be replaced by antiseptic sameness. The old timers referred to them as cookie cutter policemen since none had a personality and were carbon copies of one another (Xerox copies for the younger generation who do not know of carbon paper).
Then the 90's Robo cop, with their leather fingerless gloves, military haircuts, and the Swiss Army pistol belts, containing every conceivable gadget known to mankind . And we can't forget the rolled up sleeves to show off the muscles. The macho look replaced the characters. They to downed Pepsi like there was no tomorrow.
To the few old timers who still just wore one gun and one pair of handcuffs sufficed, wondered if these drab drones were taking stupid pills by the hand full, and were hatched in mass, rather then conceived.
Being in forensics at the latter part of my career, I discovered the sudden demise of characters. Not only does cola remove rust from nails, but over consumption, in this Big Gulp era, has been know to kill brain cells, and alas the big mystery has been solved.