In a career spanning thirty-seven years both as a beach lifeguard and police officer, Mark Cleavenger gives us a look at true accounts of dealing with the public, many times on the worst day of their lives. Majoring in Western philosophy, he kept a personal journal since 1980. He chose to impart his extraordinary career through selected verses that provide the lessons and raw emotions of police work. Mark was an accomplished swimmer and flat water kayak athlete, making it as far as the 1992 Olympic trials. He has two adult children and currently lives in Camarillo, California, where he continues to supervise beaches in Malibu, California. "There is no genius without a mixture of madness" (Aristotle).