Passing Friends!

Okay, what is up with the cycle of the world right now?

I was gonna write about how much I love riding with my Ipod, but.......................

Last year, prior to my leaving for the "Muck", a good friend that decided to isolate himself from those of us whom cared a great deal for him, Davy Gilchrest, died. I had read his obituary in the paper, then received calls from a couple of old ambulance buddies. We cried, we laughed. Then, we thought about all the shit we all got into, and wondered where time and our youth went...........

So, I get a call on Sunday night from one of those old friends. She told me that another good friend from the ambulance hall passed. Denny Whittington. She told me that his niece Carol, whom is a nurse at Washington County Hospital (and also used to run with us at the ambulance!) was on duty when the event happened.

What I did not know was that her mother, Vicki, passed last month. What is up with the world?

Well, then, since I live in the desert, and cell coverage is spotty at my house, I get another message at 6:14 this morning.......The son of another good ambulance friend whom I miss, passed. He too, spent time with us on the ambulance, and he was even one of my "probies"!

I miss these people. Its like being a junkie. But I have learned to keep them in my thoughts often.

I spoke with another friend from Halfway Ambulance this morning, and she asked if I was gonna come home for the services. I told her that I cannot. I told her I would be home next week, and that I would make time to stop and pay my respects.

So, thats four friends that helped save others lives, that have passed in the last year.

Not to mention, Frank and Noelle Murray, probably the two next most influential people in my life, next to mom and dad!

Just crazy!

Charli

Well, its about a week before I make the trek back east for my daughters wedding.

I am really looking forward to this!

Here is let my short list as to why (Of course, the wedding is the main reason) in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Cleveland!!!!!!!!!!! (I am flying there as my base)
The people closest to my heart are going to be there! Yes, I cannot wait to see my "Little Tick" Lisa!
Perogies in Pittsburgh!!!!
I get to wear my new suit! (more on this later.....)

Again, that is a short list, so please, nobody get upset if I did not mention you by name! (Its tough being in demand) :)

I mention Perogies in Pittsburgh, cause here in the desert, there are no Perogies! Lots of Basque Food (which is the only ethnic food, and since they use lots of garlic, I am all about it!), Mexican food, fast food and frozen perogies at the supermarket. No other ethnic food!

Now, even though I have your typical Cleveland attitude about Pittsburgh (Especially after last nights game!), I am going into town with "Eyes Wide Open". Hell, if my inclinations are right, my brother in law Matt and I may be able to find a "neighborhood" bowling alley to find some "Iron City" beer!

I think my other brother in law Ward will be up to this challenge also!

Did I mention that there was to be alcohol at the reception?

Somehow, I have turned this into a "me" thing....

Its not. Its my daughters wedding.

I am proud of her. She has a better attitude about life and the future, than I did when I was her age. I am proud of the plans that her and Craig have laid out for their lives! She knows what she wants, and is on her way to get it!

I will be there watching, so proud!

Now, about the suit......Everyone knows that I am a jeans and t-shirt guy. I mean, maybe some Kaki pants and a polo now and then.....But I usually have on my Harley Boots (or tennis shoes), jeans and a Harley t-shirt!

Well, for this special occasion, I went out and bought a suit. Not only did I get the suit, but I also purchased a sport jacket with it....I think I got a hell of a deal on it....Oh, and by the way, except for the excess around the middle that seems to never want to come off, I LOOK DAMN GOOD in a suit!

Just wait and see!

Picture

Since I was feeling so down in the dumps, I posted a picture from 1989 of me on a job in Fairbanks......Boy, has time flown!

Gustav

Well, here I sit, at dispatch, watching everything going on with Gustav.

My boss turned down an assignment to pre-stage in Atlanta. I told him he should go, but he feels he needs to stay here. It would be good for him to get away, cause I think he needs time away from Winnemucca, and I can handle everything that needs handling while he would be away, but I think he does not trust me with the "keys to the house".

I sit here wishing I was there (New Orleans). Kinda like when I watched the 9/11 shit on TV. I was an ice rink manager then. Wishing I was back "on the job"!

Being a Forest Service/BLM employee, I have learned that these people are in their own little world, and oblivious to the outside world of emergency services.

Yes, the work we do is important, cause homes, some lives, forest and other wildland should not burn or be destroyed.

Since my trip to the Plumas, I have realized how "Clickish" the BLM/Forest Service is, and how much they will only do things their way. Makes me wonder why so many of them support Obama, cause "Change" is not in their volcabulary.

Anyway, I really do not think my bosses realize my potential, because they are judging me by the BLM/Forest Service standards...

Just yesterday I read where the Elko Interagency Dispatch Center brought on a new assistant center manager, he is a "Broke Dick Firefighter" that had no where else to go, but dispatch.....

While I believe we should take care of "our own", the BLM/Forest Service makes it MANDATORY that if you want any position of leadership in dispatch, you must have been on the line for at least one season. What a crock!

That policy alienates 85% of the dispatch community that would do great in these positions, but like I said earlier, these agencies are "Clickish"!

I feel that I am a great supervisor, I am a great dispatcher, I was a great firefighter, I was a great EMT, and I feel that I am a great person.

I have been doing some extra training, so that I can pass the "Pack" test they give to firefighters every year. I am going to get out next season, and prove to the "click" that they have someone special, do what you can to keep him!

I think back on all the jobs I have been on, the lives I helped save, the wrecks I helped rescue people from, the advice I gave young "fire pissers" whom have turned out to be upstanding adults, the soldiers/firefighters under my command that I treated better than my family and I wonder, did I make a difference? Did I do everything I could? Does anyone care?

I know that I do not think or do in the terms of "I", its always "we" or "us", but right now, I feel a little useless.

My apologies to anyone whom thinks I am a "downer", I just want to help the little guys in N.O.