Officer Brendan O'Smarty

A dummy and his money are soon parted.

Yes, indeed.

I must clarify things here though. Brendan is my brother (we're twins), and, sadly, he was never good with money.

Reyn


Do you also wear checkered shirts and cute red bandanas?

BBB

Well, we are twins, afterall. We have a closet full of checked shirts. we tend to buy in bulk, to cash in on the multiple item savings.

The only difference between us is that I'm the smarter one and good with money.

Well, if your twin brother can find a good part-time job like that, I'm sure you can, too!

Hmmm, I'm afraid Howdy has to go back to working full time to help out his daughter (Heidi) to pay for costs with her new apartment.

That's awfully generous of you!

I have a teenager, so we're just a few years away from this. Things must have changed since I first went out on my own. My folks never offered to pitch in (and they had more than enough if they'd wanted to.) They...AND I...figured if I was old enough to move out, I was old enough to support myself. It was really tough for a few years, but frankly, those were the years when I really grew up. Parents today seem to help a lot more. Some even allow their kids to live at home for years after they've finished school. Why do you think that is? (Honest question here.)

If I was an upset child, a ventriloquists dummy would send me totally over the edge.

Eva, it's a long and complicated story involving an abusive boyfriend.

Self-financing for her is a huge barrier. Mom and dad are only putting a "relatively small" amount to the overall picture.

Bottom line is that she needs to get away from her current situation.

That's Brendan for you!

Ooh. I'm glad she can count on you for support.

I really hate the thought that you have to go back to work, though. Could she stay with you until she's able to save enough to afford a place?

I'm sorry. I know you must've thought through every possible alternative. I'm just trying to think of some way you can continue to enjoy your long-anticipated and well-deserved retirement.

(((HUGS)))

No, I would prefer she has her own place. I'm used to having just my wife and I here by ourselves.

Without going into a lot of details, she has qualified for a 40 year mortgage, no money down. We're paying for some other associated stuff, and a used car.

I was going to go back to work part time anyways, but it will have to be full time for a while, at least. It will actually be easier to get a full time job, rather than part time. Good ones are hard to find here.

Good ones are hard to find EVERYWHERE!

Officer Bob Geary used ventriloquism as a creative form of community policing. He rode in his marked police unit with his ventriloquist figure, Brendan O'Smarty. Together, they provided a bit of comic relief for weary citizens around his assigned patrols for the San Francisco Police Department. Many people suddenly shed their prejudice of police officers as hard-nosed, insulated Robocops, and realized that they might actually have a sense of humor due to Bob's creative form of community policing.

When he retired from the department, a Wells Faro stagecoach with four horses parked in front of the station, drove him on his last tour of North Beach - that was his beat for so long - accompanied by his partner and alter-ego, Brendan O'Smarty.

Mayor Willie Brown, Jr. Declared his retirement day as "Office Geary Day" in San Francisco. Brendan O'Smarty shared in the tribute.