Robert 鈥淏ob鈥� Rogalski had a lifetime of memories on his hands; a collection of stories from his 28 years while serving with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Rogalski later served as a Field Training Officer, teaching courses all over western Canada where he not only began to share some of his wisdom, but heard stories from others about their time spent with different police departments.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a project that鈥檚 been hanging around for 30 years,鈥� Rogalski told the 91原创 Advance Times, but finally all those stories have been written down and published as a two-volume book.
What Cops Talk About Over Coffee is a collection of memories from police officers across Canada 鈥� and some outside jurisdictions 鈥� which include firsthand accounts of situations they have encountered in their careers from the 1950s through to 2012.
Rogalski said his own recollections and stories are mixed in with accounts from colleagues and friends, all coming together to pose as a snapshot of the type of conversations or 鈥渟hop talk鈥� two police officers might have during their coffee break.
鈥淭hese accounts are both heartwarming and humorous, some are frightening; others offer some insight into the human spirit鈥hey are real stories told by real heroes,鈥� Rogalski says in the description of the book.
鈥淵ou have to be careful because you are dealing with a crisis that happened in people鈥檚 lives,鈥� he added, noting that privacy was taken into account when he was writing.
The 73-year-old retiree said he has been enjoying his retirement, notably scoring a 鈥減erfect hand鈥� in cribbage late last year with his seniors cribbage group at Glenwood Estates.
READ MORE: A perfect hand: 91原创 man beats the odds in cribbage
Rogalski said the purpose of writing it was to recognize and give credit to those who served their department well.
鈥淚t was a blast in putting it together,鈥� he assured, laughing that he had written so much, the book had to be split into two volumes.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of great feedback from retired members of the force who tell me it鈥檚 a nice, easy read,鈥� Rogalski said.
The retired RCMP officer self published the book through Victoria-based company Tellwell Talent and officially released the books in March.
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy can visit or contact Rogalski directly at rogy1@shaw.ca.
Rogalski has been married for 47 years to his wife, Shirley. They have two sons, Ian and Jason and two grandchildren.
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com
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