Joseph Cools

Sometimes a Father Joseph Cools

A. J. Goodwin is a 60 year-old man, who is a Chicago Police Sergeant, who has dedicated his professional career working in the West Englewood neighborhood in Chicago's South Side. Englewood is plagued with poverty, unemployment, racial tension, substance addiction, violent crime and...gangs. A. J. works with young gang members who may be prodded into finding a more adaptive life style than the slavery which defines the gang mentality. Occasionally, he is able to connect with one of the young men who are more amenable to considering the alternative to gang membership. A. J. was the product of a troubled childhood, with a father who was abusive to A. J.'s mother and sister, as well as A. J. It was only when a police officer near his high school offered to intervene that A. J. was able to put his trust in an adult. He did well in early adulthood, until a disastrous marriage ends with even more tragic circumstances. His ex-wife will stop at nothing to keep A. J. from having any contact with his young daughter. This awakens the betrayal from childhood, and leads to A. J. being unable to trust anyone. He is able to provide care and concern with the young gang members, and maintain an anonymous relationship with his daughter, but he will not share anything about himself, in an effort to protect himself from further betrayal. He is furious when he is assigned a new partner, Madison Harlow, a young attractive woman who has no experience in police work. Worse, she insists on establishing a two-way relationship with A. J. The story follows the two police officers as they struggle with their own safety in the violent crime area of West Englewood, as well as their struggle to establish a working relationship with each other. The story is told with an effort to describe the current tragedy of dangerous neighborhoods, as well as telling the story of how people deal with their personal demons. In spite of the serious theme, the story is woven with humor and compassion.