Bad Attitudes And Good Pizza

  This attitude of mine just keeps getting better.  I was explaining to a friend the other day that Its literally like climbing a mountain once you start.  Difficult to do, and one little slip sets you back 50 steps you've already taken.  But once you get used to the ideas, it becomes a little less steep, easier to climb and small mistakes aren't so costly to your progress.

  On duty at the FD yesterday, shift started at 0700 hrs.  "Red phone" rings at 0706 for a lift assist.  Oh, gonna be one of THOSE days.  Next to "I'm 'hurt' and want to go to the hospital instead of jail", lift assists are my absolute least favorite calls.  Nothing against the people that need our help, but these calls are such a pain in our butts.

  So we travel up to 123 Main St, all kinds of angry because we HATE these calls.  Wait for the garbage truck to get out of our way, park in front of the house and make our way up the drive.  A nice elderly (85) lady greets us at the door with a tear in her eye, a smile and a warm Thank You.  Find out the problem is her daughter who lives in the finished basement and is confined to a wheel chair.  Let's call her Agnes.  Agnes tells us that her daughter "Betty" was reaching for some cat food and fell out of her chair. Betty is downstairs sitting on the floor sobbing.  My partner tells her that she's not allowed to cry two days before Christmas, and that we're here to help.  She says she's embarrassed and angry that her F*&^*NG legs don't work anymore.  Move the wheelchair behind her, make sure she's not hurt from the fall, and she's back in her chair literally before she knows what happened.  Agnes starts with the "Oh my! God sent me two angels this morning!  Let me give you money for breakfast." Explain to her we're not allowed to accept gifts, and we're just doing our job. Exchange "Merry Christmases" she demands a hug from each of us, and on our way back to the station.  Great. I wanted to be angry and two NICE people just sucked it right out of me.

  See how that works?  NICE overrules ANGRY each and every time!  Positive vs. Negative!  Oh, but wait!  This one gets even better!

  Back at the station, around 0740, 0751 "red phone" rings again, and I can tell from the tone in my partner's voice, I know exactly where we're going. 123 Main St. Now my partner is really angry.  I ask if she's hurt or wants an ambulance, he says "Nope, she just fell again."  Since I was in charge that day, I made a decision to bring an ambulance with us anyways. No lights or sirens. I'm ANGRY, NOT going to do this all day!

  Pull up in front of 123 Main St. and my partner says "Oh, I saved this little tid-bit for you. She fell off the toilet this time." Now I'm UBER ANGRY.  I felt myself and my anger about to ruin my whole day.

  Decision time Bill.  You gonna let this negative kill your whole day?  Or are you going to do something about it right here, right now?

  Climbed out of the rig, and grabbed Agnes' empty trash can on the way up the drive.  Get to the side door, and Agnes is in tears, yelling down the stairs, Betty is yelling up the stairs, and I can tell my partner is angry.  WHOA!!! I'm putting the brakes on this shit right now.  I pull Agnes aside upstairs, calm her down real quick. She WANTS Betty to go to the hospital, Betty doesn't. Betty is about 35 years old and can make her own decisions.  Agnes informs me that Betty was in a bad car accident in 1988 and has been on Oxy since this past Halloween.  Then she got angry, started drinking heavily, and "gave up."  "Agnes, this is the first step to getting her some help.  I'll be right back, you stay here."  My partner and I get Betty back in her chair, and move her to the bottom of the steps so she can talk to her mother.  Then the fight starts again.  My partner gets on the steps to be in between them and I pull Agnes around the corner into the kitchen.  We both do our own things to diffuse the situation, Paramedics show up and head downstairs to talk to Betty.  After a lengthy conversation about her legs not working because of the edema, we ask Betty if she misses having breakfast with her mom upstairs in the dining room, and that the doctors can fix her legs, but she has to go to the hospital first.  She agrees and we start bringing her up the stairs, at the landing Agnes kisses her on the forehead and they both start crying.  Get Betty loaded up, make sure Agnes is OK. More hugs, and she tells my partner and I "Please be careful of your angel wings today, don't clip them on anything."

  Get back in the rig, proud of not letting a bad situation get worse, and overwhelmed with the help we just provided to this family

  Around 1045 the doorbell rings. A lady hands my partner a Pizza Joe's box, a note that reads "We pray for your safety while you look after ours. THANK YOU for all you do!" and a box of candy.  Another call almost immediately, diabetic emergency.  Meet the Paramedics in the driveway, we all go into a nice family that is very concerned about Grandpa.  Get some D50 on board and Grandpa wakes right up and says he feels great.  Thank Yous and Merry Christmas from the whole family as we leave. Talk to the Paramedics a minute in the driveway, and the conversation turns toward our pizza we have waiting for us at the station.  On it!  Get back to the station, open the pizza box.... COOKIES!!!  Who does that???  Grateful for the homemade cookies, but now my belly wants pizza.  Call our favorite pizza shop to order lunch, they don't open until 1600. DOH!  Thinking about pizza allllllll day, run a couple more uneventful calls, and call back to order pizza at 1700.  2.5 hour wait. Wow. Really?  OK.

  1930 rolls around, and FINALLY my partner goes to get the pizza we've been craving since 1100 this morning.  Now, the owner of said restaurant is a notorious tightwad.  Use 3 sugar packets in your iced tea and he'll charge you a nickel for the third one.  Well maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.  My partner gets back with the long awaited pizza, and informs me that said tightwad didn't charge us a dime for it, and said "Merry Christmas!"  Open the box, and it was cooked to perfection. It was glorious.

  The best pizza I've ever eaten.

Freak On A Leash

  Ok, I know the title is technically wrong, but its my blog and I can capitalize whatever letters I want. LOL!

  Interesting week I've had!!!  But as always, lessons to be learned!

  First, this blog's title "Freak On A Leash"  that is so true right now.  I honestly feel like I'm thinking like a Paramedic already, and I'm not even done with EMT school.  I've embraced the EMS world, I want to know MORE MORE MORE, such a hunger for knowledge that I don't have right now which is the Freak part.  Licensure and protocols are my leash right now, but my mind is going crazy.  It saw something it likes, and a new way to learn to help others. It's ON now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRGrNDV2mKc

  So earlier in the week I had a geriatric Pt that was having some major issues.  He was talking to us.  Then he went south IN A HURRY.  Long story short, long history of medical problems and he was laying on the floor for upwards of 14 hours when we found him.  He died two days after I helped him.  I was one of the last people he talked to.  Circumstances didn't permit, but I'm certain he had stories that I would have been enthralled in listening to.

 Rule #1: People die. Rule #2: Firemen can't change rule #1.

  So, I felt bad. Then I decided nothing I did or didn't do would have changed Rule #1.  But what I can change, is LEARN something from this call.  So I shared with my EMT classmates, and we have had a fantastic discussion about it.

  Fast forward to yesterday.  Find out the above Pt has passed. Snow storm, spend the day on duty shoveling snow. Just tired, and one of those "don't want to do this" type of days.  I normally try to go to bed around 10:00, but something in my gut wouldn't let me.  Then it started.  11:40, car wreck we really didn't need to be at. Four "I need a Bambalance" phone calls. No rest for the wicked, up all night.

  6:00 A.M. get a call for a woman that fell out of bed and hit her head.  Send an ambulance.  15 min later the ambulance company calls back, "Crew on scene is requesting assistance. Pt is 512 pounds." REALLY?  I'm an hour from going home!  So I get out of bed, all kinds of pissed off.  Arrive on scene. She's on the floor, BITCHING. Her husband is pissed, Ambulance crew is pissed, I'm pissed!  And she keeps bitching EVERY time we try to move/help her.

  Then it hit me!!!!  I was UBER nice to her!

  "Barby, My name is Bill. I'm with the Fire Department. I KNOW you're in pain. I KNOW you're embarrassed.  There are SEVEN people here to help you.  We would all rather be somewhere else, and I know you would like us to be somewhere other than in your house.  What we need you to do, is help us.  Its going to hurt, its going to be embarrassing, but if you help us it will go much quicker, and you can get on with your life without all these strangers in your house."

 And whaddayaknow? Badda bing, back in bed she went!

It's ALL about the positive attitude!!!!  EVERYONE including the patient was negative when I walked in.  What would me adding more negative have done to the situation?  Nothing good.  But just a LITTLE positive from me, turned that whole situation around for the better.

BE THE ONE!

Think the right way, do the right thing.

  So last week I had an interesting run in with Karma, God, whatever you choose to call it.  I call it God.

  Part time job took me to Altoona PA.  What a cool town! Typical Pittsburgh type town, mountains on one side, river on the other.  I got into the shady part of town and noticed a few homeless people meandering about.  Felt bad, but really didn't think anything about it as I was more concentrating on my job and what I would be doing a few moments into the future.  Setting myself up so "Future Bill" would be happy with what I'm doing right now.  That's a WHOLE different entity in itself, I'll get more into that part in the near future.
 
  So I get to the salvage yard in Altoona, GREAT people work there! Helped me out a ton and treated me like I owned the place.  Even though I was only there to look at a burned up car.
 
  Got done looking at the car, made my phone calls to clients and office.  Then my mind starts.  I KNOW Andrew Carnegie was in Altoona for a short time in his life, wonder if there is a museum, statue, anything I could stop and look at.  Found a railroad museum but didn't stop for some reason.  The reason would be revealed later in the day.  In case you're wondering, Andrew Carnegie started as a telegraph runner, then migrated to the Pennsylvania Railroad upon his family moving from Scotland to Pittsburgh.
 
  So I drive my butt back home, and need to make a stop for supplies to deep fry my turkey.  On the ride home I start thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving and the homeless guys I saw earlier in the day in Altoona. I'm not getting into specific locations to protect the innocent.  Stop at a Walmart in a plaza.  Run in, get my stuff, he goan!  Homeward bound, 4 days off for both my cute blonde wife and myself! CAN'T WAIT to spend time with her and our dysfunctional family!

  At the traffic light on the way out of the plaza sits a disheveled homeless man holding a sign that read "Homeless. ANYTHING will help. God Bless."  I only had a few moments before the light changed, but I noticed he's huddled up protecting himself from the cold and hasn't shaved in quite some time.  Light changes, and I'm on my way.  About a half mile down the road, I hear myself "You should do something!"

  So I turn around and head to KFC.  Buy a 10 piece meal deal and ask if they have coffee, it's COLD outside.  She says no, so I pay for the meal and head to BP because I know they have coffee.  On the way past the homeless guy (he was in between KFC and BP) I notice he has a dog with him.  DAMMIT!  I get to BP, get a large coffee with all the fixings separate because I don't know how he likes his coffee, buy a bag of Cheez-Its for the dog, my dog LOVES Cheez-Its so that was my best bet.  Tell the lady at BP what I'm up to, she thinks its great.  I go to the check out counter and there is a power ball ticket with a note that reads "I'm a mistake. PLEASE buy me!"  Oh HELL YEAH I bought it for $6!

  Make my way back up to the plaza to drop off my care package.  As soon as he sees me get out of the truck, he gets up and starts walking towards me.  I tell him lunch is on me today, and explain the Cheez-Its.  He says he doesn't know if his dog likes them or not, "But lets find out."

  Ya know what my man did?  He fed his dog first.  Didn't take a sip of coffee, didn't root through the bag to see what I bought him.  He got the dog dish out and filled it with the Cheez-Its.  I get back in my truck, and as I'm pulling away I see the cops pull up.

 With this new way of thinking, I'm trying VERY hard to keep all negative thoughts out of my head.  Its just my brain being bored, and I don't need it.  I very politely use my conscious brain to tell my subconscious brain "Thanks for the input! But you're not needed." and force myself to think something positive instead.  What happened next amazed me.  When I saw the cops pull up, I immediately thought "Aw crap, now I got him in trouble."  And without TRYING my brain went immediately POSITIVE and said "No, now he has a warm place to sleep, and an avenue for help because of you!"

  Think right, do right!  What a lesson I learned from a homeless man that day.  No, I didn't win anything on the powerball. What I did do was restore faith in humanity to the girls at KFC and BP and helped a fellow man.  A man who was more concerned about his dog's hunger than his own.

  With my heart smiling, I drove home. Positive thoughts, and had a wonderful meaningful Thanksgiving with my family and friends.


  The turkey turned out perfect. And all was right with the world.

Ain't No Rest For the Wicked!

  What an INCREDIBLE past few days!  I didn't save any lives, or stuff like that, but learned something I want to share!

  We have to rewind a few days to get the point of this story, so bear with me.  This whole "mess" started a few days ago.  But I'm gonna tell you, it was a mess at first, then I realized it was a learning experience, and OH what I learned!

  This started Sunday. I was on duty at the fire station.  QUIET day, with storms rolling in.  I knew it was coming, just wasn't sure when.  About 2130 we got the call for wires down.  Neighboring Fire Dept was on scene, realized they were on my side of the border, called me.  Gotta go.  Around 0400 the following day, I made a decision and secured the scene and cleared.  7 hours with cat naps in the rig was enough.  Ohio Edison is really busy with the storm, but I'm done babysitting wires.

  Get back to the station, all kinds of tired and angry.  Write my report, back to bed around 0430.  EMS call at 0500. Really?  I have part-time job stuff to do tomorrow!

  Get out of work at 0700, try for a nap. No dice. Tones hit, and I'm off and running again.  Get back home, get my paperwork together, make some phone calls, set up my day for my part time job.  Car fire in Aliquippa PA, and structure in Lowellville OH.  About 150 miles driving, and an all day project. Swell.  "Warren J, you betta go to 7-11. I'm gonna need a Slurpee to figga dis one out!"  That's a different story when I rode along in Fairfax County VA.  So I get some Monster Rehab, and go about my day.  Angry.

  Drive to Aliquippa PA, figure out the car fire.  Stop at the structure fire in Lowellville OH on my way home.  I am SO beat at this point.  Get home, just dragging ass tired. I've had 1.5 hours sleep in 48 hours.  NAP!  Curl up on the couch with my favorite pillows.

  NO!  Dumb ass! Get up!!!!!  EMT class tonight, and a quiz!  OMG!  Let me sleep!

  Where's the lesson?  You have to read deep into this story to see it.  I'll give you a minute to think about it.  Hell, it took me 3 days to realize I was learning something!  In the meantime listen:

 
  Ya ready?

  I was feeling sorry for myself, feeling bad I was so tired.  Then I got to thinking about a good friend of mine that was handed a career death blow, but he didn't stop.  It made him stronger.  I believe he's off to bigger and better things because he always thinks positive!

  Here's my lesson:

I went to school to do this.
THEY depend on me to fix their problems.
I continue my education, so I can help them in other ways.
They ask me to help them in other ways.
I continue to fix those problems as well.
I continue my education.

I will never stop learning how to be a better firefighter.

  So let's go back a bit.  It's all about the positive attitude.  You want a puppy?  You think about puppies!  POSITIVE things about puppies!  You don't think about the food, the accidents on the floor, the problems.  You think about a new best friend, and scratching his belly.

  I was taught a lesson, without even realizing it.  Because I'm making an honest effort to be positive in all aspects of my life.

  YOU wanted this training!
  YOU went to school!
  YOU want to be one of us!
  YOU want to be a Warrior!
 
You want a better world?  You don't have to fight fires for a living, but I do have the answer!  It starts with YOU!!!!

 

Hail to the King

  I've been thinking a lot lately about where this crazy thing called life is leading me.

  A short time ago, I read a book about how to think like a millionaire. GREAT book, but you have to read between the lines.  It's the authors way of becoming a millionaire, literally.  Buy my book, come to my seminars, etc. GOOD FOR HIM! Hell, he's literally a multi-millionaire because of it, got $25 of my money!  But I started to read between the lines, re-read the book several times.  It's about positive thinking on a whole new level.  I'm not going to get into this part of it right now, that's for another blog in the future.  What I will say, is try this for one week.  Zero complaining! ZERO! Not even in your mind!  Tell your mind, thanks for the input, but no thank you.  You want money? Think about money!  You want a parrot? Think about parrots!  Try it, and trust me!

  Now on to the point of this blog.  I'm getting along in years, call me middle aged.  Most of that has been spent in the fire service.  If you take the 43 years I've been on the planet, 23 of them have been spent with fire gear, an understanding family, and a pager.  Longer than without the gear.  I had some really really difficult times with the whole business a few years ago. And the negative thinking that resulted just dug me into a deeper hole, and it kept getting worse.  Then I met the Fire Service Warriors.  About this time, I also read the above mentioned book.  Because of all the negative thinking, my job sucked, my family hated me, my financial situation suffered, life in general was bad.  I realized I was doing it to myself.  The universe, or God if you will, saw all my negative, and figured that's what I wanted, so I got more of it.

  I spoke with Chris Brennan, "founder" of the Warriors. Mark VanOppen, Barry Findlay, and other people in the fire service that I looked up to.  I decided enough was enough.  I embraced the Warrior mentality.  Low and behold, things came around.  Unfortunately it was a little too late in my career to change things for myself.  I laid down a bad road that I have to drive on.  So I focused on teaching new Warriors the right way to do things, and not make the same mistakes I did.  Now all of a sudden, God sees all the positive thinking, and gives me more, because that's what I focus on!

  Somewhere in all of this I stumbled on a quote from a philosopher, Heraclitus.  Born Dec 30, 0534. Died Dec 31, 0474. Yes, that's B.C. Here's the quote, that more or less has become my signature:

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

  With the addition from myself, "BE the ONE!"  In the fire service, in EMS, in LIFE! BE THE ONE!  I try to instill this attitude on all of the new generation firefighters that look to me as a mentor.  Now to the meat of this blog.  I get a text message today from a great friend.  He tells me he heard a new song from Avenge Sevenfold called "Hail to the King!" and immediately thought of me because it says "Hail to the ONE".  I haven't heard the song yet, so I go listen to it.  WOW.  This friend of mine is well on his way to being a Warrior, and I'm so proud of him for that.  The fact that he thought of ME is humbling.

  But, ya know what? (Positive thinking!!!) If I hadn't screwed up in the past, I never would have had this mindset to pass along!!  I'm grateful I met this group of young Warriors, and I'm grateful I can help point them in the right direction!

  There was a long time in my life that I felt worthless, used, unappreciated, and abused.  I did that to myself.  No more.  I can't be "The ONE" in that direction any longer, but I found a new way thanks to these new Warriors!

  I am truly grateful that I have had the opportunity to meet these great men that have already changed the world around them for the better, and will continue to do so.

  And now, I challenge you reading this to "BE the ONE!"  Pay it forward, commit a random act of kindness, be a good person, and earn your place on this planet.

The Country Song played backwards!

  Well, not gonna lie, the positive thinking is really working.  It's actually kind of amazing!

  The "As good as AAA" Insurance Co called today, reimbursing me for as much of the towing as my plan will allow, which is $100.  Fair enough, better than nothing!  Then the customer service rep says she's cutting me an additional check for another $100 to help with my guardrail shaped butt cheeks!

  Been running EMS calls as a First Responder since 1998.  My good friend, and my wonderful wife finally talked me into becoming an EMT, started class recently.  Now quite a few chapters in, the class sort of looks at me as a mentor.  Well, I've been doing this for 15 years, so I've picked up on a few things.  Taught myself how to read an EKG because I was curious. I know what PVC's, PEA's, A-Fib and V-Fib look like. I know what Narcan, Epinephrine, Antropine and Sodium Bicarbonate are used for.  So the EMT class is quite challenging, but just a little easier for me than the rest in the class, simply because I've been around the block. NOT because I'm better!

  I've had this infatuation with Helicopters literally my entire life.  Even took a few pilot lessons in one.  Flying 3,000 ft AGL over Cleveland Ohio with the doors off is absolutely indescribable! I've gone on ride-a-longs with StatMedEvac in the past, but I've HATED EMS calls, and everything to do with them.  Just loved helicopters, so I rode along and figured the EMS end of it was my penance for sky time.

  Well here we are, 20 years down the road.  Sadly, my time as a Fire Service Warrior is coming to an end.  I always said that when I wasn't able to do the job in a Warrior fashion, that I would walk away.  Years of injuries, pushing my body and soul to the limit, and mental stress have taken their toll.  Don't get me wrong, Ole Lucky Dawg has a few years left.  I find enjoyment in teaching the young pups how to do it RIGHT.

  So, let's think positive for a moment.  The ONLY way, and I mean the ONLY way you can learn something new is to step outside of your comfort zone.  The fact that I enrolled in EMT school is way outside my comfort zone, I hate EMS.  But, it's already taught me to be a better First Responder.  It's also taught me that the EMS world isn't so bad.  Might be a good retirement career for an old crusty retired firefighter.  THEN the mind gets to rolling......  What if?

  What if I embraced another way to help people instead of fighting it?  Another way that I used to be afraid of.  What if I took it a step further?  Two steps?  FIVE steps?

  New five year goal is what happens!!!!  Once I pass my EMT, I'm getting a job on a Bambalanze (Pronounced Bam-Ba-Lanze, just like it's spelled).  Letting it sink in for a few months, then off to Paramedic school.

  Picture this: Kids will be out of school, out on their own.  My honey taking care of our new home, and our beach home in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.  I unfortunately still have to work the 24 on 48 off schedule, as a Flight Medic!  On my 48 hours off, look for a fishing boat named "Porky's Revenge".  My little blonde girl will be the Captain, taking us where we need to go, so Lucky Dawg can show you how to fish!

  New career on a helicopter. New home in paradise. New "job" for my girl.  I just can't picture a better way to walk away from the fire service.

The Country Song

  So I've been reading a LOT about how positive thinking can change your life, and trust me it works!  Here's how my Wednesday went. WHAT a day! But kept my cool, didn't go nuclear pissed, didn't kill anyone, and got a nice little reward for my attitude that day.

  Had an assignment for my Part-Time job, a Peterbilt caught on fire.  Truck was in Uniontown PA, about two and a half hours from my house. No biggie, I've driven three times that amount for an assignment. Getting paid for "Windshield Time" so gasser up and let's go!

  About an hour into the trip, I check all the gauges just to make sure my Red Baron Ranger is doing OK.  All is well, except I notice the odometer. 151,080 miles.  I actually heard my father in my head from last summer, "Ya know, we should put a timing belt in your truck."  I hear that EVERY TIME I drive it.  We're good!  This is an awesome little truck, I love it, it loves me.  Look at my PA Turnpike ticket to guestimate how far my exit is, even though I drive this road literally 3 times a week.  Looking for New Stanton, Exit 75.  Tune in 102.5 WDVE, open up my Monster Rehab and settle in for another hour and a half on the road according to my Garmin.

  Get past the Route 30/Irwin exit (I HATE route 30 BTW but that's a different story! LMAO!) and I know New Stanton is the next exit. Coolio, almost there.  As I crest the big hill right before my exit, I feel a "pop" up front in the truck, and the oil pressure went to ZERO.  "Well Billy-Boy, this can't be good."  Immediately get into the right hand lane and start down hill, dump the clutch and coast the Red Baron.  Try to refire it, and oh shit, I KNOW that sound! Timing belt went FO' SHO'!  So I stay in the right lane until I slowed to about 50 MPH, turned the hazards on.  Once I reached 45 MPH I got over on the shoulder and rode that hill for all it was worth.  I was actually impressed with how far I coasted!  For saving of space, pic below is small.  Green Push Pin is where I broke, Red Push Pin is where I ended up:

  It's 10:37, I left my house at 08:37.  Instead of getting all gigantic pissed off at the world, I took a second to think about this.  Hmmmm, 2 hours from home and sitting on the side of the road.  First, text my wife to let her know.  Second?  Hmmmm.  Well I have this giant elephant I have to eat now, so let's start at the tail and cut a chunk off.  Get the Ranger off the road.  Second step, get it back home so I can fix it.

  10:41:  Call Dad.  Dad can fix ANYTHING.  "Hey Pop!  I need a favor.  Not sure what the favor is just yet, but here's the situation."  Explain what happened, took my beating because he literally told me this would happen.  I don't have AAA, but I do have insurance that I was told was better than AAA by the person selling it to me. Sha-DUH!!!  Have used this insurance a few times before for the daughter's car with no issues.  The only stickler is they tow it to the nearest repair facility, not to your home.  Remember that, it's important later.  Dad says find a trailer, and I'll come and get you.  Great Dad's are like that, if you don't have one and weren't aware.
  Now that its all over, and I'm actually typing this out, I can't help but laugh!  Cuz its friggin funny!!!

  10:49:  Pat is on duty at the Fire Department, but I can still count on him to help, regardless of the circumstances.  His big trailer is full of his household stuff (see previous blogs) waiting to close on his new house.  But he calls his Uncle who has a car hauling trailer to get plan B rolling.  I'm CERTAIN my plan A insurance will take care of me, that's what I pay them for.  But just in case...

  10:52: Call my client and explain my situation, not going to look at the Peterbilt today.  This guy doesn't know me from Adam, and offers to send one of his workers a half hour up the road to come and get me, and basically offers me ANY assistance he can give me!  I tell him I'm OK here, I'll have this handled in no time, the "White Guy Mafia" is en route, plans are in place, but THANK YOU!!!

  10:58: Call my "roadside assistance as good as AAA company"  She says "Well CERTAINLY Mr. Kill Devil, we would be glad to offer you assistance!  Let me get some information, your location, I'll find a service provider and call you right back!"  Whoop Whoop!  We got it humming now!

  11:05: "Mr Kill Devil, unfortunately you are on a restricted access highway, and our service providers cannot come and get you, the PA Turnpike has a towing service and our providers will get fined if they enter the Turnpike to assist you.  However if you call *11 you can get PA Turnpike assistance, and they will tow you to a location where we can come and get you."  Alright, I can do that!

  11:06: *11 "Pennsylvania Turnpike. How can I help you?"  Explain my situation.  "This is the PA Turnpike, we don't have tow trucks.  Your insurance company WILL NOT be fined if you call them.  The only fines are if they are driving down the 'Pike, see someone broken down and solicit the business.  That's where the fines are.  If you call them, you are 100% good.  I'll send the State Farm Safety Safari out to you though."  Thank you Sir!

  11:08: Call roadside assistance back, and explain to them what the PA Turnpike just told me.  "OK, I'll relay the information to our service providers, and call you right back."  Giddy Up!

  11:14: Call my client back, explain to him that I have it handled, and I'll be down to look at the Peterbilt tomorrow.  Offers any and all assistance AGAIN.  I've never met this man!  Good people!

  11:17: Call the wife to give her an update.  She's VERY surprised that I haven't set the truck on fire and started walking home at this point.

  11:22: Call Dad and explain the situation.  Texted Pat, no plates on his uncle's trailer, and it'll be an hour or so before he's home, but uncle will meet you.  "OK, Jr. Just let me know what you need."

  Pat from State Farm Safety Safari shows up.  Asks me if I'm OK, If I have help coming.  I tell him I do.  He offers me half of his lunch and a bottle of water.  I respectfully decline.  We kibbitz a bit, and he gets another call for an accident.  I tell him I'm fine, go do your job and help someone that really needs it, not a dumb ass like me!!!!  Pat leaves with a promise to check on me later.

  11:49: I receive a voice mail from my "roadside assistance" explaining that they cannot, will not, come and get me because I am on the PA Turnpike and they will get fined.  I call them back.  I politely explain that I am sitting on the side of the road for over an hour, I understand it is not your fault, you're just a phone operator, but I DO NOT WANT AND OR NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TODAY, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE F@( |< I'M PAYING YOU FOR! Have a good day!

  11:53: Dad calls me back. "F this!  I called Tim's Towing here in Youngstown.  He's on the way.  BUT, he won't be back to his shop for an hour, then travel time to you."  OK Pop, that's my only option at this point!  I decide to make some Lemonade, I have tools. I have a BUNCH of time on my hands!  So, I start taking the timing belt off of the Danger Ranger.  Yes, I renamed it at this point.  Sitting on a bend on an exit ramp is not my favorite place to be.  Here was my view:

Well THAR'S yer problem!!!

   Yes, that's a timing belt all the way out from under it's cover.  So I decide I'm gonna make Lemonade and start working on the truck like I said above.  As I'm getting tools out of the toolbox in the bed, an unmarked PA State Trooper shows up.  I have a LEGALLY loaded weapon on my hip, so I take my hands out of the toolbox in the bed of my truck, and place them in the trooper's view on the tailgate. "What are you doing?" Working on my truck sir. "No, with your hands on the tailgate?" I have a Pennsylvania Concealed Carry Permit, My weapon is on my person and loaded. "OK. What happened to your truck?  Take your hands off the tailgate and talk to me like a real person please."
  So I take my hands off the tailgate, explain my situation.  The PA STATE TROOPER doesn't ask for my ID, doesn't frisk me, nothing like that.  He is genuinely concerned for my well being.  Asks if I have a tow truck on the way, if I need anything etc etc.  Tells me if something goes wrong, call *11 "I know where you are, I'll be en route!"  I ask as long as I'm OK with you guys waiting on a tow truck from Y-Town.  "Yep! You're off the road, you're fine.  I'll stop back and check on you."

 Finished taking the truck apart as far as I could with the tools I had.  Now my butt cheeks are taking the shape of the guardrail.  Pat from State Farm stops back in, apologizes that he ate his whole sammich, but saved me a bottle of water.  He's getting off duty, and going home to his family, but was worried about me!  Really??!!??!! GO HOME Pat, I'm good. THANK YOU!

  So I get bored at this point.  Notice a bunch of trash in the area, and I have trash bags with me.  Get one of them out, started picking up trash in the area.  I'm in front of my truck at this point, not a safe place to be.  A marked PA State Trooper pulls up in front of my truck, rolls down his passenger's side window.  I immediately drop my trash bag, and place both my hands on the passenger's side window/door area in plain view of the Trooper. "I know you're packing!  You're good!  But WTF are you doing?"  Bored and picking up trash Sir.  "Can you just go sit in your truck please?  We have people to pick up trash, you don't need to.  How far away is your help?" About an hour away.

  He leaves on good terms.  I honestly have to say the PA State Troopers, and the State Farm Safety Safari guys are awesome!!!  I sit there for another hour, find the Pittsburgh Pirates game on the radio.  Then Tim's Towing finally shows up!!!!  YAAAAAAYYYY!!!! FOUR and a half hours later, my nightmare is over!!

  Sitting there on an exit ramp for 4.5 hours, there was ONE girl that stopped to ask if I needed help!

  So now I meet "Billy-Ray".  He's a tow truck driver from Tim's Towing.  The world is good!  I'm going HOME.  I just want to be HOME.  Load my truck up, have to turn the key on and put it in neutral.  BR jumps in the tow truck, "Let's go!" Ummmm, I really don't want my fuel pump running for the 2 hour trip home, can I go get my keys?

  THAT should have tipped me off.  Now keep in mind, as stated above I have a legally loaded weapon on my person.

  I called *11 again, apologized for any problems I caused, and thanked them for the help.

  So here's me and Billy-Ray on a two hour trip home.  I try to be friendly, make conversation.  So about an hour into the trip, he mutters under his breath, "I need to find some diesel fuel."  I politely explain that I'm not trying to do his job, but I travel the PA Turnpike frequently.  The only place to get fuel between here and Ohio is Ellwood City, Route 18.

  He actually got into the exit lane for PA 18. Then swerved back onto the Turnpike, because in his mind Route 118 is where the fuel was.  I told him that exit was wilderness and we would have to drill for crude, and then refine it into diesel.  So he get's off at the 118 exit, takes us up PA 376.  We get through the toll booth and the tow truck runs out of fuel!

  I'm about to put a .40 caliber hole in Billy-Ray's head!

  He calls Tim.  Tim is en route with fuel.  Another hour and a half with my ass cheeks meshing with a guardrail.  Fuel the tow truck up, get it running, then Billy-Ray wants to drive the rest of the way home 10 MPH UNDER the speed limit while telling stories.

  So the moral of the story is this:  While I was sitting there talking to Billy-Ray, pondering how to hide the body, I called my Supervisor and explained the situation.

  Supervisor PAID me for all of this!!!!!

  Because I kept my cool, didn't go NUCLEAR even though I should have, Kill Devil Bill got PAID for all that!!!!

  After hearing the story, a friend of mine said "You can write your own country song about that story!"

Go Bucs! Go Bucks!

Well, there's absolutely NO doubt what season it is here in Ohio.  Exactly halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  Hate the Browns, "OK" with the Steelers, but I'm honestly a Miami Dolphins fan.  Larry Czonka lives in Lisbon Ohio, about 40 minutes from here. Google him!  Only player in NFL history to never fumble, and I know why. I've shaken his hand.... up to my elbow!

So I'm sitting here tonight, Pittsburgh Pirates in my ear, Youngstown State Penguins play tonight, and #2 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES play Saturday!  It's all about football season here in Northeast Ohio right now!

I'm gonna rewind a bit.  Way back in the best of my memory, in 1976 My oldest sister was a HUGE Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  At that time, I was just getting into Little League baseball.

She taught me SO much about baseball without even knowing she was doing it.  Dad was the coach, "Susany Construction" on my uniform, Connie showing me what to do.  I played center field, short stop, and pitched a little.  Because SHE was a Pirates fan, so was I.  Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Omar Moreno, Tony Pena, Burt Blyleven, and my favorite Kent Tekulve.  I could never pitch like him, but oh did I have a HELL of a game one day thinking about what he would do.  In my mind's eye today I had 37 strike outs!  But we all know that's bullshit!  But oh my, what a game!  Literally bottom of the 9th, and even though I didn't understand what a "save" was, I guarantee you I go Susany Construction one that day.

So that being said, I've been a Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Dolphins, and of course OSU fan pretty much my whole life.  Then it happened.  The Pirates set a record for ALL professional sports.  The longest "losing season" record in all of professional sports.

WOW

I've spent $7 for a seat 3 rows from first base at 3 Rivers Stadium.  Now PNC park is sold out, I can't afford a ticket to go see them, 4 games away from breaking a 20+ year losing streak.

I can't go to the games, I can't stand the band-wagon "fans".  But I want you to know, there really are die hard, tried and true Pittsburgh Pirates fans out there!  Just go anywhere in downtown Pittsburgh right now!

And if you need any further assurance, ask my sister Connie!

Still Here!

WOW! I didn't leave ya, I'm still here.  Honestly forgot about the blog, so I'll try to do better in the future.

Gettin colder here in NE Ohio, and that can only mean one thing. FOOTBALL!! From the Pee-Wee kids walking to practice, to the preseason NFL games on TV, and of course Buckeye Fever is running rampant,, there's NO doubt what season it is around here.

Busting my hump at work, 18 hours overtime last week in addition to my normal 72 hrs. Not to mention a 14 hour day at the part time job. Drove ALL the way across Pennsylvania, looked at a semi truck fire, then drove ALL the way back home.  We drove an additional 20 min to Scranton PA to see Steamtown National Historic Site.  Been a big fan of steam trains for a long time, and Steamtown has one of 25 Union Pacific "Big Boys" on display, so it was worth the additional 40 minutes drive time to see it.  Really wish we had more time to spend because I could kill an entire day there, WAY cool!

I decided that since my part time job takes me all over the place, that I'm gonna start checking places out on the way home.  Flight 93 Memorial, Steamtown, different museums and historical sites.  Even to just pop in and say hi.  Finding all kinds of wonderful food at local Mom-and-Pop places too.

Anyways, sorry for the delay in posts, but I'll be around!  Stay safe out there gang!

Making Lemonade

Sorry for not updating recently, LOTS of things going on. Life gets in the way sometimes.

  First I'd like to say, Jacob (2 month old from previous blogs) is doing great! Breathing on his own, and we got him away from his evil parents.  I hope he grows up to be President, or at least does something awesome!
  Spent the day yesterday making the front yard look like someone actually lives here.  Had these "satan vines" growing in the bushes. Pretty purple flowers and red berries, no idea what it is, but it was EVERYWHERE!  Including over the entrance to the yellow jacket's nest.  Took 2 to the stomach, one to the chest, one directly on top of my head, and three to the back. OUCH!
  Reading some "self help" books and Andrew Carnegie's autobiography.  It was really cool to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play ball on TV while reading about the Pittsburgh Steel King.  What a fascinating man he was! Books have me on a great road right now, and I can't wait to see where it takes me and my family.  Talking about moving out of the city, looking at houses in the 'burbs.  Making 10 year plans to own 3 houses, one of which will be in Kill Devil Hills.  Andrew Carnegie said "Put all of your eggs in one basket. Then WATCH THAT BASKET!"  I like it!  Another quote from a different book that I'm leaning on right now is "If you have a big problem, you're just being a small person."

  I'm cooking dinner tonight, ribs on the grill and fresh sweet corn from the farm.  Want my baby doll to walk in the door after work to a nice dinner.  Stopping at my friend's BBQ food truck for lunch, getting a few pointers on cooking, and a jar of his homemade sauce.  Have some running around to do this morning, open a new bank account because someone broke into my truck over the weekend and now has my bank account number.  My bad! Don't leave shit like that in your vehicle dummy!

  Right now times are a little difficult, but hey, everyone has problems.  Stay positive, look to the road ahead, and enjoy what life has in store.  Can't wait to see what's down the road for me!

  Ya'll stay safe out there!!!!  Thanks for reading!

EGBAR

  Well, been a rough week for me. Not handling the back-to-back youngsters all that well.  Talking to friends, some that were on scene with me, and a Critical Incident Stress counselor. I don't want to lay this on my family at all. Took a few days off work to go find Fishy Fishy and get my head straight.
  I honestly believe that the universe gives you what you want, or are currently asking for.  Be all negative, and guess what? More negative comes! Have to go to court tomorrow as a witness in the child abuse case, then I'm being POSITIVE. Taking my honey to an Akron Aeros baseball game.  I have season tickets, so why not?
  Couple beers, peanuts, 3 dog night (hot dog inside a bratwurst, inside kielbasa!) and my baby doll. Can't get much better than that. A long time ago Simple Green had a campaign called "EGBAR" which stood for Everything's Gonna Be All Right.
  As rough as this week has been, I find myself wanting to hurt the guy that injured his son. But that won't solve anything at all.  I find myself wondering why Aden was the victim of such a horrible accident.  He didn't do anything wrong. I wonder how the driver of the car is doing, as bad as I feel, I can't even imagine what he's going through.  Not sure why, but I was "chosen" to be there for a reason, now I have to accept it and deal with it.

  So anyways gang, chin up! Face in the sun! It's gonna be whatever kind of day YOU make it!  Mine's gonna be great!

  Thanks for reading!!!!

Rough Weekend!

Well, since it's on the news, I guess I can share now.  Here's what I did Friday at work, I was first on scene:

http://www.wfmj.com/story/22787424/struthers-infant-in-hospital

And then last night at work, again, I was first on scene:

http://www.wkbn.com/2013/07/08/struthers-boy-struck-killed-by-car/

Two shifts in a row with the little ones, enough of that please!

  But in between those days, had a great time hanging out with the family.  Spent Saturday with a plan! I ran around and did some errands and my chores while my honey took care of her errands in the morning.  Taylor brought home a rather large kiddy pool that I blew up and filled. Wife and daughter, in bathing suits in the Kiddy pool! It was so funny. 2 adults sitting in 18" of water and in their glory!
  Johnny and I spent some quality time getting all the kinks out of my "kink-free" big $ garden hose, then putting together our new outdoor dining table.  You would think a firefighter could handle his hose better. No snide comments!! LMAO! Then the rain came, so we took the party indoors.  Some friends stopped by after the rain, so I was back to chores. Namely drying the deck seat cushions and filling tiki torches. All-in-all a pretty stellar day.
  Not much going on Sunday.  Pretty much just hanging out with the family, but much less of a "party" atmosphere.  Then over to a buddy's house to help him move some stuff.  Pretty good weekend other than the Friday-Monday bookends!

Save!

I can't get into details right now for legal reasons. BUT! Starting with me, into my medic friends, ER Docs, and then eventually my friends at the police department.  Not only did we save a 2 month old baby boy yesterday, but possibly his 18 month old sister too!

2 month old is on life support but he's alive because of all of us!

911 call came in, I took care of it. Gave you my best on your worst day.

LOTS of "negative" on this call. But because of me and my colleagues, 2 month old baby boy is alive! And I don't care where you're from, that's GOOD!

WOOO-HOOOO!!!!

Happy 4th!

Under the advice of a friend from OBXconnection, had the camera out tonight on manual.  Getting the hang of it little by little! And having fun with it!

4th of July Parade

This is "MY" rig! Engine 83

4th of July Parade

The entire Struthers FD at the parade today. Well, except for the Chief's rig.

Fishy Fishy!

And so it begins..

Well, here it goes. My blog.  This all started with suggestions from OBXConnection.com where I do an annual "trip report".  Kind folks over there seem to think I have a gift for writing, and suggested I write a book or a blog, so here it is.

Happy Birthday to the greatest country on the planet!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July, and a  SAFE one as well!  Let's not do anything stupid today please.  And also Thank You to all the firefighters, police officers, and paramedics that are working today to keep us safe, and missing yet another holiday with their families.

  Just got back from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. My family's annual vacation.  Getting used to socks and work boots again, and the world doesn't seem to want to let me get gently re acclimated to real life.  It's a full on assault! LOL Rough first day back to work, but that's OK. Off yesterday and today. Looking forward to spending the holiday with my family. Spent some quality time yesterday with a good buddy that's going through some difficult times.  This too, shall pass.

  So for the first blog entry, I'm gonna end this one early.  Can't wait to see where this takes me, well US since you're involved too because you're reading it.

Stay safe! It's a jungle out there!!!