The Home Front
David and I married young, had a family, and happily raised our family and managed careers. While I was home raising the children, David was pursuing his career in law enforcement. As a deputy sheriff in Blount County, David worked his way up the ladder from deputy sheriff to supervisor to investigator to captain to Chief Administrator over the county jail, overseeing 25 officers while securing 100 inmates. As a matter of fact, David was the first to complete the rigorous curriculum to attain the rank of certified jail manager in the state of Ala.
We were so proud when David received an invitation to attend the FBI National Academy(FBINA) in Quantico, Va. FBINA is the top law enforcement training in the world. In law enforcement, the FBINA is a big deal. It’s like being selected to go to Harvard. David would be training for three months in Va. I would be home with the children. It was tough being apart, but we knew it was a golden opportunity. David’s training required physical training every day and taking college-level classes with college professors. And if a person was an administrator, like David, the classes were at an even more difficult level. He had not attended college at that time but had taken many hours of continuing education classes required to stay certified in law enforcement, so he was comfortable about most of the classes. Except for one. There was one class for administrators to take, and legends were told about how difficult it was to pass. So, we made it a matter of prayer and study.
In the first class, the professor told the students that it would be a very difficult course. There would be only one test after three months of lectures and work. David looked around the room and realized he was one of the few who had no college training. Then the professor said something that made David take note, “This class is difficult. It’s not going to be easy. This isn’t a class that some backwoods sheriff from Ala. is going to pass.” Well, the line was drawn in the sand. David never said a word about the disparaging remark. He studied. We prayed. He studied some more. Nerves were taut when testing time came. David did his best, then we waited for the results. To obtain the results, each student had to individually visit the professor in his office. David entered the office and stated his name. The professor let him know that it was an extremely hard test, and a high score was rare. There were only two “A’s.” As the professor looked down at the test scores, he said, “Congratulations, Standridge. You passed. You made the second-highest grade in the class, and the only one to score higher is a Constitutional Attorney.” David let out a sigh of relief and quietly said, “Thank you, sir.” He stood there a moment longer and then said, “That’s not too bad for some backwoods sheriff from Alabama.” The professor looked up at him, paused, and said, “Point taken.” David graduated from the FBINA and then went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in justice studies, summa cum laude. Enjoy my Turkey Meatloaf recipe!
-Danna Standridge, Author of Happiness is Homemade Y’all! For speaking engagements and cooking demonstrations, email [email protected]. Join her in the kitchen on Facebook @DannaSwannStandridge and YouTube @dannastandridge8749.
Congratulations to Danna on the release of her latest book, What’s Cooking with Danna, Y’all?: Simple Southern Recipes and Stories from the Standridge Farm. Learn more about it and purchase on Amazon here.
Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey (you can also use ground beef or venison)
- 3-4 pieces of bread
- ½ to ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- Oats (optional)*
Instructions:
Tear bread into pieces and soak in milk till soggy. Gently squeeze milk from bread and add to ground turkey. Add next 4 ingredients. Stir gently and do not overwork. Form into loaf and place in pan. Top with ketchup. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375°F. Remove foil, add more ketchup if desired, cook 15 more minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
*If mixture gets too soggy, add oats. 1 tablespoon at a time until right consistency.
