Reasons I like my job...

You never know what you're going to end up doing. Sometimes the surprises you get are... lackluster. Other times, it really brightens your day.

If you would have told me Tuesday that – all in one day – I would wear a bulletproof vest, witness a rehabilitated bald eagle being released into the wild, and meet really honest, humble and honorable bank executives (yes, they do exist!)... I probably wouldn't have believed you.

I've always been interested in law enforcement. Not necessarily to be an officer, but to understand the training and methodology that they use to do their jobs safely. First assignment I got to experience it really close up. So close, I had to wear a vest! Green Bay's police department invited three officers from our sister city in Mexico to train with them, and Tuesday they were doing close-encounter pistol training.

I really should have gotten a picture of myself...

Officer Julio Cesar Alvarez levels his pistol at his target while training with two other law enforcement officers (an assistant chief and a commander) from Green Bay's sister city of Irapuato, Guanajuato, as they trained with Green Bay police at the Multijurisdictional Outdoor Firearms Training Range in Hobart, Wis., Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Juan Carlos Mina, an inter-agency narcotics commander, fires off a round.

It was a great experience to talk with the GBPD guys, and the Mexican guys. The disparity in training and equipment is astounding. Many Mexican police are required to supply their own equipment, weapons, etc. They cannot afford many of the latest in safety equipment (such as dual-action holsters)... which costs lives. The GBPD guys hoped that some of the training they gave would help save a life... Mexico is a dangerous place and these police officers are walking targets in their own communities.

Then it was off to the Oneida reservation where a special ceremony was being held before they helped release a rehabilitated bald eagle back into the wild. The ceremony consisted of tobacco-burning over a fire and a Native American blessing. We were not permitted to photograph either of those aspects of the event... but in hindsight, it really wasn't special photogenically... it was special just to experience it.

Mike Reed, curator from Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, walks with Oneida Nation Elementary School students, faculty, and guests, to the release spot after a special ceremony for the release of a bald eagle from the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary at the school in Oneida, Wis., Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Reed releases the eagle in front of a couple hundred students, faculty, and community guests.

Its first stop as a free bird was in the trees near Oneida High School.