always do the right thing

8/9/2019 Always Do the Right Thing

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Alex Calams March 29, 2010

Always do the right thing.

James Alexander Calams sits at the head of the dinner table in his house, fatigued and

ready to close out another busy Sunday. His heavy head rests on one hand, supporting

his cheek as his elbow connects to the table that lies in front of him. His glazed-over

eyes are the most obvious indicator that he could fall asleep at any moment now-- the

light above the table is capitalizing on their sensitivity and causing them to water a little.

He rubs them from time to time to keep a level conscious. It's not even ten o'clock yet

but his day has been one of constant busywork, meeting obligations to his loved ones in

preparation for another week that lies ahead. Serving 21 consecutive years past as a law

enforcement officer, some time ago he would have had much more to handle, but now

Calams finds himself singularly serving and protecting those closest to him-- his family.

"I give more to my family and others than I give myself," said Calams with a stern glare

toward the corner of the room. "I guess that would be considered a character flaw--

financially I'd like to see that change as all my children grow and begin providing for

themselves."

Calams spends nearly every day and night during the week working to offer his family

literally everything he is worth, bringing no doubt to the fact that he is a very unselfish

man. More often than not, he finds himself with nearly nothing in his wallet once all the

bills have been paid. He nevertheless maintains a sense of positivity in this regard--

never once does his face spot a frown as he divulges his life's pressures. He seems

uncharacteristically proud of the adversities he conquers on a daily basis. Other men

could very likely crumble from such hardships, and Calams knows this.

"I'm always three steps ahead; I anticipate the desired outcome," he confidently said. "I

learned to be so driven from my father-- he always taught me to never give up and


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work toward your goals. Even when others say 'no,' you say yes. Not everyone is cut

out to handle a lifestyle like that, but it's how I was raised."

Just as a strong tree that towers over those below it, all that embodies Calams'

admirable character is traceable to his roots. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, a city with

people he described as humble and giving-- a rare quality seen among those living

along the west coast, he asserts. These personality traits, among many more, were

instilled into his personality at a very young age and still shine through all these years

later. Living the typical lifestyle of a young boy in the early 1960s, Calams spent most of

his time up to early adulthood in a much simpler America, enjoying its favorite pastime,

baseball. He has always been an avid historian, as well. World War II has held his

particular interest throughout his entire life, partly due to his father's involvement

during the conflict as an American pilot. Most of Calams' character is from his father, he

explained.

"My dad always taught me to do the right thing, both morally and ethically, and to go

toward everything you want like you need it," he said. "The core values I learned from

him and my mom growing up have always guided me in everything I do. I strive to do

the right thing-- always. I tell my kids 'if something feels wrong, it likely is' and to re-

evaluate before they put themselves in compromising situations. My wife and I give

clothes and food to those less fortunate and offer our time to help people outside of

our family on a regular basis, as well."

As a young boy, Calams watched a close friend and two of his cousins offer their time to

those in need by working their way through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department.

Paving the road to his eventual career, their experiences piqued his curiosity enough

that he decided at a very early age to follow their lead. After earning a degree in

criminal justice, he left Chicago to make his dream a reality. Calams moved to Arizona


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at 21-years-old to work for the Maricopa County Sherriff's Department. As a jailer for

two years, it was there he began to get his feet wet and commenced a journey in the

field of work that he would eventually devote nearly two more decades of hard work

and dedication toward.

Shortly after his time at Maricopa County Calams earned his break--, he successfully

secured his first position as a law enforcement officer at Phoenix Police Department.

Calams saw himself grow as an individual during these years tremendously. He met his

to-be wife D'Ann during this period of his life, shaping his entire future beyond his own

comprehension at the time. Soon thereafter, the young couple tied the knot and

eventually had three children in Phoenix-- Stephanie, Alexander, and Sarah Calams.

"He was charming and confident. Jim would walk into a room and everyone would

instantly feel his presence. That could have been because he is nearly six foot four, but

I'd like to think it was because he was charming and confident," said D'Ann laughing.

"We were young and in love. He was-- and is --the perfect husband. We had agreed at

the time that I would take care of our children as he worked. I could have done without

some of the nights I stayed up worried about him, but since the beginning he's always

been so dedicated to providing for the family."

After spending nearly five years at Phoenix PD Calams applied for an officer position at

the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He was accepted to their academy and

promptly moved himself and his budding young family to sunny California. With the

support of his family, Calams made the decision based on an increase in pay and the

chance to work at the fourth largest law enforcement agency in the United States. As a

child, he watched television shows based on the well-known police department like

Dragnet and Adam-12 and dreamed of one day working in the towering L.A.

headquarters.


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"LAPD was an adrenaline rush. The work was always changing and no two days were

ever the same," said Calams.

His time with the LAPD presented a multitude of new experiences, including interacting

with celebrities. Perhaps his most memorable is responding to a call early one morning

from Child Protective Services concerning a young boy named Chandler in the early

nineties.

"It was 2 a.m. and I and my partner had received a call from Child Protective Services,"

said Calams. His composure leaked as he paused and held a grin. It is apparent this

particular story holds fond memories. Even though it seemed he could hardly hold thewords back any longer from escaping into his voice, he collected his thoughts carefully

for a split-second before he continued. "Michael Jackson had apparently molested this

kid, Chandler, and I spoke with him about it until 6 a.m. I was the first to write any sort

of police report about Michael Jackson's initial run-in with molestation charges," he

continued. "After I submitted my report I was interviewed by the press a lot. I had to

testify in court multiple times before it was said and done, too."

As an officer with the LAPD, Calams participated in many happenings around Los

Angeles that would eventually become internationally known. To name a few: he

sacrificed his life and well-being while containing angry and violent protesters as a riot

control officer during the Rodney King riots of 1992; held various roles contributing his

time as an officer during the widely publicized O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1994; and

contributed days and nights searching for victims of the 1994 Northridge earthquake,

one of the costliest natural disasters in the United States that left 72 dead and 9,000

injured.

His time in California also saw the birth of his last child, Kirstie. Around 1998 when

coming to the realization that her children could largely take care of themselves without


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her undivided attention, D'Ann decided she wanted to return to school to obtain her

second bachelor's degree in education. Calams left the LAPD to follow his wife's dream

of becoming a teacher after she had followed his for nearly ten years.

"Marriage is about compromise," said D'Ann. "I had received good scholarship money

to attend a small college in Prescott, Arizona. Jim realized it was an opportunity I had to

take and we moved our family back to Arizona."

A friend introduced Calams to a business venture that had shown notable financial

response for him in the field of polygraph science. Thinking three-steps-ahead, Calams

obtained a license from the Arizona School of Polygraph Science in Phoenix beforemoving his family out to Prescott. He became a certified personal and pre-employment

screening polygraph examiner and opened his own business, Calams and Associates

LTD, to ensure his family would have a stable income before moving to a new state. He

spent nearly two years working for himself while D'Ann completed her studies at

Prescott College.

After obtaining her degree, D'Ann wanted to leave Arizona for an environment that felt

more like home to raise her family and start a teaching career. The couple agreed on

Frisco, Texas, a then small suburb outside of Dallas that had been praised as a

wholesome environment for young families.

The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place as D'Ann was hired on as a pre-school

teacher in Frisco and Calams became a fraud analyst for a rising cellular phone company

called Cingular Wireless.

"I remember when we came here pretty well," said Kirstie. "I was still pretty young, but I

consider Texas my home now. I don't remember much from California and Arizona. I


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remember mom and dad both doing their own thing for the first time, though. It was

weird at first, but we all got used to it."

Working to catch criminals that performed fraudulent acts like stealing identities

through cell phone accounts, Cingular introduced Calams to a multitude of new

business contacts, including representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations

(FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

I had to maintain close ties with the FBI and CIA, among other local and state law

enforcement agencies. It was interesting and fun work. From there I eventually found

out that Lowe's was searching for loss prevention people to do pretty much the samething but with a bigger paycheck, so I applied and got it."

After spending two years with Lowe's, Calams once again heard of a new position that

could utilize his experience and offered more money. He soon received a position as

head security supervisor at Grapevine Mills Mall outside of Dallas. After working for the

mall for almost a year, Calams began to notice suspicious activity among his employees.

His previous experience in police work taught him to always take notes and record

details, so he began compiling an investigation and documented the dates and times of

incidents he had observed or been made aware of. He soon discovered that nearly

every employee that worked under him was stealing merchandise and money from the

mall after hours. Upon presenting his findings to his boss, he was promptly stripped of

his duties and fired. It had become painstakingly obvious that Calams had poked his

nose where it should not have belonged. His dismissal communicated that his superiors

were directly involved with the discovery, as well. Calams became determined to clear

his name and find out if criminal activities lead even higher up the Grapevine food chain.

"I sued them. It's called wrongful termination; you cannot fire someone for doing his or

her job. I did nothing wrong and they knew it. I really wanted to stick it to them, but


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they offered me a settlement at a time when I was out of a job and in need of the

money, so I took it," said Calams.

He became a salesperson for Jostens shortly afterward and helped launch a new

program selling departmental rings to law enforcement and fire departments. Calams

spent nearly two years with Jostens traveling the United States, giving presentations,

and selling rings. He had made more money than he had in a very long time, but the

work was letting up.

"I was too good," laughed Calams. "I spent literally every couple of days in a new state

for weeks at a time. I would sometimes rent cars and drive to a lot cities during onebusiness trip. I'd fill orders for hundreds and hundreds of rings. The commission was

becoming really good, and on top of my salary, things were great," he continued. "I had

hit nearly every police and fire department in America by two years, though. At least

nearly all of them except for the no-names with a sheriff and one deputy. The money

eased up big time."

On the hunt for another job, Calams was now faced with a troubled economy and an

unreliable job market, making this time around more difficult when seeking

employment. His time-tested ambitious attitude pressed on regardless and he found

himself on top once again.

I knew the economy was becoming worse every day so I looked at the stock market. I

saw that Wal-Mart was still managing to make tons of money in spite of it all and found

out they were hiring for managers in the area. I got a position in Carrollton and ended

up making a little more money than I had with Jostens."

Calams just recently moved from Wal-Mart to Sam's Club, its warehouse retail chain

bigger brother, doing the same manager work. His switch was more of a decision based


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on preference than anything else this time around, though. Although Calams is making

slightly more money with Sam's Club, overall his decision to work for them was based

on the company's reputation of being a better employer than Wal-Mart.

If there is anything that James Calams can teach us throughout his occupations, it is that

hard work and perseverance do pay off. Throughout indisputably every single instance

of hardship and adversity, Calams has kept his father's spirit well alive by applying his

inspiring words to everyday life-- "Even when others say 'no,' you say 'yes.'"

I just always try to do the right thing. When it is all said and done, I want to buy some

land and build a log cabin on it in Montana or New Mexico with a nice wrap-aroundfence to retire with my wife. Far enough away from the big city to be at peace but close

enough to drive in for supplies."

always do the right thing

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