GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Sgt. Mike Punsky has been pulling up his motorcycle boots for more than 38 years for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Some of his friends retired from the agency. Others have died. All along, he wondered when he would hang up his helmet, sunglasses and traffic book, and call it quits.

“Others told me I’d just know when it’s time,” he said. “I’ve been working full-time, and I enjoy my job. I enjoy working for the sheriff.”

But after attending the third funeral in nine months for “three close friends at the sheriff’s office,” Punsky suddenly realized it was time.

“One by one, everyone was retiring, and unfortunately, some passed away,” he said. “Then you’re the last man standing. You look around and you realize you’re the last one that was hired under Sheriff Jennings Murrhee. I get to go out on my terms. I realized the one thing you don’t get back is time.”

Punsky joined the reserves in 1986, and he hit the road as a full-time deputy in 1988. His final shift will be on Sept. 23, and he will remain on paid leave until Oct. 30. At the end, he will call in code 10-7 to signify he’s out of service before signaling 10-42 to tell colleagues his tour of duty has ended.

Punsky spent 90% of his career working the traffic detail. He said working official details was his favorite part of his job.

“I got to experience things that you wouldn't normally get to experience,” he said. “I've been on many high-level escort details. The highlight of my career has always been working with the Secret Service on presidential visits, where other agents often asked me to join them on such details. I've seen it all from the front seat of that motorcycle, things you would normally have gotten to do. I'm going to miss that the most: being part of those large-scale escorts and working with multiple agencies. That will always be the highlight of my career.”

The decision to retire came quickly. The deaths of his fellow deputies and a recent marriage made him rearrange his priorities.

“This all came about a month ago,” he said. “I recently got married last Oct. 15 between two hurricanes, and we’re going to take some trips. I’ve already arranged to do some security-related work, including car dealerships and similar establishments. I’ll get it figured out. But we have some places to go. We have people we want to see.

“We’re going to take six months off and check things off our bucket list. We want to do it now while we can and while we can enjoy it. The golden years are now, not 20 years from now, not 30 years from now.”

When Punsky started, deputies used revolvers, and he rode Kawasaki motorcycles with carburetors. Now he rides Harley-Davidsons with fuel injections and high-capacity magazine 9mm handguns.

“I'll always be grateful to Sheriff Jennings Murrhee for giving me my start,” Punsky said. “You know, what I actually said then is, ‘If you give me a chance, you won't regret it. That was 38 years ago, a little over 38 years ago, to be quite honest. So you know, I gave him my word, and I kept it all the way through.”