Rita Gonzales will be 43 years old next month. She lives in Richardson, Texas and works for the Dallas Police Department. She is a police officer. Her husband is also a law enforcement officer, but he doesn t work in the same department. They have a 15-year old son, Matthew.
Like most law enforcers, Gonzales works shifts. This week she will be on the early shift. She starts work at 07.00a.m and finishes at 3.00p.m. When she is on the early shift she gets up at 5.00.a.m. She spends a few minutes with her family, then puts on her uniform and goes to work. She always drives to work. She doesn t take public transport because it isn t reliable. It usually takes an hour to get to work. When she arrives at Dallas Police Department, she has a briefing. Then she collects her patrol car and drives to her patrol zone. Gonzales loves her job but doesn t like the paperwork.”For everything I do, I fill in three forms,” she says.”It takes a lot of my time”.
Now Rita is at home. She is sitting with her son on the sofa. He is reading a detective story and Rita is knitting a sock. She is fond of knitting. She wears a T-shirt and a long skirt. Matthew wears a sweater and jeans. Their cat Lucky is playing with a clew of wool near the sofa. Lucky likes playing with little soft things.