At 16 years of age I quit school and moved to Alaska. I was a kid in a man’s world and for the next 15 years I took on a myriad of jobs to survive. I had some harrowing experiences and I lived a very exciting life during that time period. Being born on a farm, I was introduced to the operation of equipment at a very young age and I found myself working in jobs that involved machinery and its operation. In 1979 I became a Police Officer and my career lasted nearly 32 years. The seven short stories in Before The Badge outline many of my life’s experiences between 1964 and 1979. It tells of a young man’s life as he is becoming a man and, when doing so, gets involved in many things which are educational, exciting and at times, life threatening. The seven stories are all true.