Philadelphia Police Ofc. Sharon Sullivan is a new mom.
She and her husband, Mike Quinn, welcomed Baby Cameron Michael into the world at 2am last Friday at Lower Bucks Hospital. Cameron was a week overdue but healthy and robust: 9.2 pounds and 22 inches long. Sharon is doing well, too, despite labor that, says Mike, "got pretty rough there toward the end."
Cameron's birth is a bright spot in a tough patch for Sharon, whom I wrote about last Thursday. In 2003, she survived catastrophic injuries in an on-the-job car wreck similar to the one that took the life of Police Sgt. Tim Simpson last month.
The Civil Service Commission recommended to the city's Pension Board that Sharon be granted a disability pension, but the city is appealing the commission's finding. The stumbling block is just the latest from a city that has fought Sharon on just about every step of her recovery.
What a Christmas it would be if, in addition to the birth of her son, Sharon finally received the disability pension she earned in service to the city.
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
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