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.