Have ya noticed all my blogs are titled inline with a song?
This blog is entitled "Back In The Saddle" because literally, tomorrow I get to be back on the job. The job I love, what I've been trained to do. Who I am.
The job I love hurt me. I've been off work for just over a month. Well, let me explain.
This job ALWAYS hurts anyone that signs up for it. It's the nature of the beast. A child injured by a car running a stop sign. An elderly person not able to live alone anymore. A teenager heading down the wrong path and overdosing. A family living in a hotel because their house caught on fire. A middle aged father sent to a wheelchair because of a car wreck he didn't cause. Pulling the remains of someone that was alive yesterday out of a fire in front of his family today. Knowing I am the LAST person you will see and talk to on this earth. Literally watching the soul leaving the person in my arms.
I have done ALL of the above. This job HURTS.
About a month ago, The Job literally hurt me. It was a "stupid" injury. But the doctors and the MRI explained that The Job has been causing this since day 1. I haven't been able to go back to it. To be who I am, what I do, what WE do, what I am trained for. According to the Doctors, the MRI, and X-Rays, I wasn't ALLOWED to got back to work. But tomorrow my friends, I AM!
There is an undying spirit among us, YOUR FIREFIGHTERS. It truly is a calling, a need to help those in need.
I truly hope, that I sit there and do NOTHING tomorrow. That means that no one under my care needs help, and I'm OK with that.
But if you need me, US, I'll come running with bells and whistles! It's who I AM.
It's not something we do, IT'S WHO WE ARE.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Pulp Fiction
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you!"
Ezekiel 25:17
We do not make $12.6 Million per year because we're good at football, a game.
We do not make $8.2 Million per year because we're good at basketball, a game.
We do not make $6.3 Million per year because we're good at baseball, a game.
We do not belong to the NFL, the NBA, or the MLB, all of which have striked in the past because of what they felt were unfair terms to their contracts.
We DO belong to the IAFF. The International Association of Fire Fighters. We have never been on strike. We are ALWAYS there when you need us.
We DO make $40,000 per year because we're good at coming up with last minute desperate solutions to impossible problems that are caused by other people. We're good at being a firefighters. We do not do a fancy end zone touch down dance. There are no video cameras on us when we're warming up on the "sidelines." There are definitely no cameras on us when we're at work, because there are no camera men brave enough to follow us.
What we do IS NOT a game!
We truly do find lost children. And ANY Firefighter will tell you
"I AM MY BROTHER'S KEEPER."
If you live in Ohio, PLEASE VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2!
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you!"
Ezekiel 25:17
We do not make $12.6 Million per year because we're good at football, a game.
We do not make $8.2 Million per year because we're good at basketball, a game.
We do not make $6.3 Million per year because we're good at baseball, a game.
We do not belong to the NFL, the NBA, or the MLB, all of which have striked in the past because of what they felt were unfair terms to their contracts.
We DO belong to the IAFF. The International Association of Fire Fighters. We have never been on strike. We are ALWAYS there when you need us.
We DO make $40,000 per year because we're good at coming up with last minute desperate solutions to impossible problems that are caused by other people. We're good at being a firefighters. We do not do a fancy end zone touch down dance. There are no video cameras on us when we're warming up on the "sidelines." There are definitely no cameras on us when we're at work, because there are no camera men brave enough to follow us.
What we do IS NOT a game!
We truly do find lost children. And ANY Firefighter will tell you
"I AM MY BROTHER'S KEEPER."
If you live in Ohio, PLEASE VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2!
Monday, October 3, 2011
KORN "Wake Up!"
Actually the title of the song is "Wake The Fu*K Up."
So much going on with YOUR governor right now, so much with training and little issues on our, and probably your, department right now. WHAT A CONFUSING TIME!!!
So what does The Warrior do?
HE WAKE'S THE FUCK UP! That's what The Warrior does!
We have a governor putting the screws to us, we have State, County, and Local budgets putting the screws to us. But we still get on the rig, and do what we do. There is NOTHING that can keep us from that, no matter how fair or not. We are what we are. When off duty, we hold doors for strangers, we rush in to help at the little league baseball game when someone else's kid is hurt, we don't park in handicapped spaces, we always think of others FIRST, it's not a thought, it's who we are. We fly the flag to honor the true heroes. You call us heroes, but not one of us thinks that way, we're just "Doing what WE do!" We KNOW who the true heroes are!
We're not looking for a handout. We're not looking for money from the State. What we are looking for is a well deserved pension. Gov Kasich compares us to the private sector employees. When was the last time a private employee was sleeping, woke up at 02:17 AM, put on 80 lbs of extra equipment, showed up in 2 minutes, and had Grandma on oxygen within 4 minutes of the time she called 911? Do Gov Kasich's private employees do that? If so, I was unaware.
My whole problem with Gov Kasich being a manipulative liar, deliberately confusing tax payers by changing SB5 to issue 2, rearranging committee members to force his bill to pass, and MANY other things, is that those same actions would get you and I fired from our job, our job to protect the citizens of Ohio from unknown perils.
That IS our job! To protect unknown citizens from unknown perils. I "thought" that's why we hired a governor? To protect us, the tax paying citizens of Ohio from unknown perils.
I guess not!
The MOST HATED GOV IN THE USA belongs to you! The citizen of Ohio! Congrats!
Now on to the purpose of this blog. I have literally 3 pages of mathematical equations for friction loss in nozzles, a bailout class planned, SCBA consumption drills planned, and a host of other things planned to be one step ahead when my, OUR, citizens need us. You deserve the best, and if it was up to me, you shall get the best! And trust me, you will get THE BEST. No Governor will take that from a Warrior, EVER!
But I can't be concerned about that "trivial" stuff right now, because I'm focused on Issue 2, and making sure MY citizens know the truth about it. Do you want the highly trained professionals thinking about YOU, or politics and the Governor?
Is Gov Kasich gonna show up and pull your kid out of the fire? NO! Not only is he trying to get his way, to benefit his corporate cronies, this whole SB5 has a trickle down effect, and is keeping the professionals from training how to save you. YOU, the average citizen. I hope you never call us, but we are just "911" away. Too bad your Governor doesn't see it that way.
In the meantime my brothers and sisters, lets not forget about training! Let's go do what we do!!!!
I would like to get back to the purpose of this blog, TRAINING. But for now, I can't.
Let's keep Ohio safe from the ground up!
VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2!!!
So much going on with YOUR governor right now, so much with training and little issues on our, and probably your, department right now. WHAT A CONFUSING TIME!!!
So what does The Warrior do?
HE WAKE'S THE FUCK UP! That's what The Warrior does!
We have a governor putting the screws to us, we have State, County, and Local budgets putting the screws to us. But we still get on the rig, and do what we do. There is NOTHING that can keep us from that, no matter how fair or not. We are what we are. When off duty, we hold doors for strangers, we rush in to help at the little league baseball game when someone else's kid is hurt, we don't park in handicapped spaces, we always think of others FIRST, it's not a thought, it's who we are. We fly the flag to honor the true heroes. You call us heroes, but not one of us thinks that way, we're just "Doing what WE do!" We KNOW who the true heroes are!
We're not looking for a handout. We're not looking for money from the State. What we are looking for is a well deserved pension. Gov Kasich compares us to the private sector employees. When was the last time a private employee was sleeping, woke up at 02:17 AM, put on 80 lbs of extra equipment, showed up in 2 minutes, and had Grandma on oxygen within 4 minutes of the time she called 911? Do Gov Kasich's private employees do that? If so, I was unaware.
My whole problem with Gov Kasich being a manipulative liar, deliberately confusing tax payers by changing SB5 to issue 2, rearranging committee members to force his bill to pass, and MANY other things, is that those same actions would get you and I fired from our job, our job to protect the citizens of Ohio from unknown perils.
That IS our job! To protect unknown citizens from unknown perils. I "thought" that's why we hired a governor? To protect us, the tax paying citizens of Ohio from unknown perils.
I guess not!
The MOST HATED GOV IN THE USA belongs to you! The citizen of Ohio! Congrats!
Now on to the purpose of this blog. I have literally 3 pages of mathematical equations for friction loss in nozzles, a bailout class planned, SCBA consumption drills planned, and a host of other things planned to be one step ahead when my, OUR, citizens need us. You deserve the best, and if it was up to me, you shall get the best! And trust me, you will get THE BEST. No Governor will take that from a Warrior, EVER!
But I can't be concerned about that "trivial" stuff right now, because I'm focused on Issue 2, and making sure MY citizens know the truth about it. Do you want the highly trained professionals thinking about YOU, or politics and the Governor?
Is Gov Kasich gonna show up and pull your kid out of the fire? NO! Not only is he trying to get his way, to benefit his corporate cronies, this whole SB5 has a trickle down effect, and is keeping the professionals from training how to save you. YOU, the average citizen. I hope you never call us, but we are just "911" away. Too bad your Governor doesn't see it that way.
In the meantime my brothers and sisters, lets not forget about training! Let's go do what we do!!!!
I would like to get back to the purpose of this blog, TRAINING. But for now, I can't.
Let's keep Ohio safe from the ground up!
VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2!!!
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