Monday, June 29, 2009

Why Ask Why?

From the first day I created this blog, my intent was to post daily. I think it's fairly evident I have failed miserably at that mission --- since my last post was June 2nd.
Fortunately, every day is a new day that offers the possibility for change. That day is mine right now. From this point forward a promise -- daily posts from the Resolute Detective.

Why This Blog?

My purpose for creating this blog is both altruistic and self serving.
Altruistic because I believe I have learned things from my work as a P.I. that can, does and will help other people in innumerable ways. Information is power. And power well-placed is what helps people through life's many and mostly unexpected crises.

Self-serving because my head is so full of information, cases, people, problems, solutions, that an off-load is now necessary. I have too many angels and demons running rampant in my mind. They need to be released here in the sanctity of cyberspace, if only to make room for the next chapter, the next case, the next challenge.

Truth be told, from the moment we are born, we are on the path to our own demise. None of us gets out of here alive.

However, our individual and/or collective demises can be occasionally be delayed via careful navigation through life's turbulent and treacherous waters. I am one of those people, a well seasoned P.I., who has traveled and charted those waters. I still do, on a daily basis.
And contrary to popular opinion, in the sea of life, it isn't who you know, but what you know that keeps you afloat.

Information is power and power well-placed can make or break a person.
There are heroes and villains among us; each wields their own sword of power for their own unique purposes.

Some people are good guys, white hats, heroes, generous of spirit, loving, honest, honorable. Others are self-absorbed, self-motivated, narcissistic, out for themselves. Some are self-destructive, others just destructive.

It's human nature that leads, I believe, to the question most asked in the justice system.
"Why?"
And it's the question that never gets answered to the satisfaction of the asker.

Why Me?

Why do people murder? Why do husbands kill their pregnant wives and children? Why do women kill their husbands and babies? Why does anyone kill anyone?
Why do people lie and steal? Why are some people stalkers? Why do people defraud others? Why do people kill themselves? Why do people get kill or abuse children? Why do people abuse themselves? Why did he cheat on me? Why did she leave me? Why Me?

To me, the answer is evident. It's taken me years to figure it out. It's turned the tears in my eyes to glass, it's made my soft heart hard and turned the butterflies in my stomach into piranhas.

Why? Because they can or choose to.

Why? Because it was an impulse. It was a thrill. It was compulsion. It was drugs.
It was his fault. It was her fault. It was their fault. It was some other dude's fault.
It was passion. It was an accident. I don't remember doing it.
It was fear. It was anger. It was the booze. It was the meth. It was my frucked up childhood.
It was self-defense. It was madness. It wasn't me, I would never do anything like that.

In my opinion, the answer to why is because the forces of nature include human nature which is by nature, two polar opposites engaged in a battle for dominance.

The forces of right and wrong, good and evil, freedom and imprisonment, the rich and the poor, happy and sad, the yins and the yangs. The answer to why lies in the ups and downs, the sky and the ground, attraction and repulsion... natural processes like night and day, mountains and meadows, peaks and valleys, sunbeams and lightening rods. People do bad things because they choose to. And people go good things for the same exact reason. Nature is a powerful force.
Add a bad nurturing and you've got a powder keg.

Why Be A P.I. Blog?

Most people never meet an private investigator in the real world.
When I go to parties, or sit next to someone on a plane, and they ask what I do, I know what the next questions will be.

  • Do you spy on people behind bushes?
  • Do you carry a gun?
  • Is it dangerous?
  • How did you become a PI?

In the beginning I was fairly impressed with myself, becoming a P.I.
I was quite proud of my license, still am. And way back when, I was all too willing to answer questions, tell stories, be one of those guests people want to have at their party.

Then over the years, the stories have become harder to tell. And the images I encounter... the shape shifters, grifters and the cataclysms I am called to deal with over the years...they've receded deep into corners of my brain, only surfacing at night in my dreams.

So the self-serving aspect of this blog is the release of what some might see as demons and angels. Others might see as emotions, experiences, events I have been entrusted with for the purpose of passing on to others who have found their way to this blog.

If you want to know what life of a P.I. is like, look no further. I'll be here now every day. When cases come in, I'll post what I can about those cases. There are privacy laws in place, on both State and Federal levels. So I will respect those laws and ethical boundaries along with my clients' privacy.

What I'm struggling with today is finding a way to open this forum to questions and answers. I am new to blogging and have been told by the tech savvy that message boards are old school. I can't figure out how to post a message board here anyway.

So I'm linking this blog to my Facebook page. Just scroll down to the left side of the blog or friend me, "Susan Ludwig", on Facebook.

I'll use that space to adds friends like you to to our investigation community. Together we can build a collective team of good people... bonding together to fight some of the bad people and hard times that aren't going anywhere.

Questions, comments, reflections, it's all fair game.

All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Re: cell phone spying and daily update.

This is a great article from the "Carolina Investigator" worth reading. With so many houses of cards falling down in the current state of national and international economic collapse, desperation is not only evident, it's running rampant.
Foreclosures, bankruptcies, job losses -- they all add to divorces and family battles - via fistfights, murder or probate.
Knowing how to protect yourself and your privacy is one important key to survival in an age where information is not only power. Information is money. And money is what everyone appears hungry for at the moment.
So take a minute to check out this article I have hopefully... and successfully... linked you to. Just click on the title of this blog entry and that will take you to the link.
Meantime, I am heading off to the ferry to follow up one case and to teach my last class of the year at University of Washington.
Tonight, I will be giving my students the WA State P.I. Operative test. If they pass, and I suspect they will, the state will have a whole new slew of PI's trained by the best facility and instructors in the state. Three of us teach the year-long program and we cover the gamut of the field of private investigation: law, criminal investigation and civil investigation.
It's amazing how many people come to this career later in life. Never a dull moment. Seldom a shortage of business for those willing to think not only outside the box... but sideways.