It's been 5 Years ago today that my sweet Grandmother (MeMa) passed away. It hasn't gotten any easier over the years. The more time has gone on, the more I wish I could talk with her. I know she would have been proud of me just having my 23rd Anniversary with the Fire Department.
It was about this time in the evening when I got the phone call from my Dad that she has passed. One phone call that I will remember for the rest of my life. I had been at the Hospital that day and had been sick that week and finally felt good enough that day to go to see her. I'm glad I did.... One of the hardest things I've done in my life was to say goodbye. I've always hated goodbye's, So from now.... I will just say "I'll see you when I see you"
So many things have happen over the last 5 years that I wish I could just get some advice from her just one more time. Just wish I had one more day that I could hear her voice, touch her hand and tell her How much she was loved by everyone she had ever met. She was a true inspiration and touched so many lives for the short time she was with us.
I know she is in a better place and not suffering anymore.
This song here was one of her favorites and I wanted to share it....
I LOVE YOU MEMA!!
Mar 10, 2012
Mar 4, 2012
Sunset . . . . . . .
Feb 5, 2012
Feb 1, 2012
Catching Up. . . . . . .
Haven't really been blogging at all lately.. A few post here and there, just trying to figure life out at 42 and where I'm headed! Can't really complain about much. Still have my days that I miss my grandmother. Saw a posting on Facebook the other day and I Re-Posted it.... It said - Wants to go back to the time where Me Ma's (My Grandmother) band-aids and ice cream could fix anything. Missing her A LOT these days! ~ ~ Really wish I could pick up a phone and just talk to her one more time. I've been trying to make it to church more often. My parents became members of a local church in my hometown. On the weekends I'm off I try to make it. Sometimes I just cant roll myself out of bed in time to make it. I do plan on going this weekend.
No SUPERBOWL plans yet... Not really sure if I want to do anything. May just sit at home at watch for the commercials. WooHoo! We will see what happens...
I finally got fit tested so I can get back to being a Volunteer again. Just trying to find the time to spend at the H.V.F.D. Looking forward to running some calls back in the old stomping grounds. It's been awhile since I've actually ridden there. The annual banquet is coming up real soon, That's always a good time. Looking forward to having a night I cant let loose and have a few drinks. Don't have to worry about driving home. We're all getting rooms! ;-)
Work has been going great. With everyone under one roof since Walter Reed closed it isn't that bad. We have a few people that complain but that is in any firehouse. I ran for Union President and lost by only a few votes. Kinda glad I didn't win because the president we have now is doing a remarkable job... I could have never did it. Just had my 23rd Anniversary on the JOB on the 23rd of January. 2 more years and I'm eligible to retire... I'm not going anywhere yet. I'm having way too much fun!
Checking out the Apparatus first thing in the morning and had to grab a Picture...
So the Captain takes the seats out of the utility truck to install some lights and I could resist the opportunity to sit down and play on Facebook.
New Tattoo on my Left Arm...
:-)
So until next post..... Adios and Vaya Con Dios
No SUPERBOWL plans yet... Not really sure if I want to do anything. May just sit at home at watch for the commercials. WooHoo! We will see what happens...
I finally got fit tested so I can get back to being a Volunteer again. Just trying to find the time to spend at the H.V.F.D. Looking forward to running some calls back in the old stomping grounds. It's been awhile since I've actually ridden there. The annual banquet is coming up real soon, That's always a good time. Looking forward to having a night I cant let loose and have a few drinks. Don't have to worry about driving home. We're all getting rooms! ;-)
Work has been going great. With everyone under one roof since Walter Reed closed it isn't that bad. We have a few people that complain but that is in any firehouse. I ran for Union President and lost by only a few votes. Kinda glad I didn't win because the president we have now is doing a remarkable job... I could have never did it. Just had my 23rd Anniversary on the JOB on the 23rd of January. 2 more years and I'm eligible to retire... I'm not going anywhere yet. I'm having way too much fun!
So until next post..... Adios and Vaya Con Dios
Jan 27, 2012
Dec 24, 2011
A Firefighter Meets God
The firefighter stood and faced his God, which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, just as brightly as his brass. “Step forward now, you firefighter, how shall I deal with you? Have you always turned the other cheek? To my commandments have you been true?”
The firefighter squared his shoulders and said, “No, Lord, I guess I ain’t, Because those of us who fight fire can’t always be a saint. I’ve had to work on Sunday’s, and at times my talk was tough. Sometimes I’ve been violent, because the streets are awfully rough. But I never took a penny that wasn’t mine to keep… Though I had to work a lot of overtime when the bills just got too steep.
I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear, And sometimes, God forgive me, I’ve wept unmanly tears. If you’ve a place here for me, Lord, it needn’t be so grand, I’ve never expected or had too much, and I will understand.” There was a silence all around the throne where the saints had often trod, As the firefighter waited quietly, for the judgement of his God.
“Step forward now you firefighter, you’ve borne your burdens well, Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets, you’ve done your time in hell.” -Author Unknown
The firefighter squared his shoulders and said, “No, Lord, I guess I ain’t, Because those of us who fight fire can’t always be a saint. I’ve had to work on Sunday’s, and at times my talk was tough. Sometimes I’ve been violent, because the streets are awfully rough. But I never took a penny that wasn’t mine to keep… Though I had to work a lot of overtime when the bills just got too steep.
I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear, And sometimes, God forgive me, I’ve wept unmanly tears. If you’ve a place here for me, Lord, it needn’t be so grand, I’ve never expected or had too much, and I will understand.” There was a silence all around the throne where the saints had often trod, As the firefighter waited quietly, for the judgement of his God.
“Step forward now you firefighter, you’ve borne your burdens well, Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets, you’ve done your time in hell.” -Author Unknown
Oct 30, 2011
I wish You Could
I know I posted this awhile back but wanted to post it again.
I wish you could see the sadness of a business-man as his livelihood goes up in flames, or that family returning home, only to find their house and belongings damaged or destroyed.
I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns.
I wish you could comprehend a wife’s horror at 3 a.m. as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively that it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done.
I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke ~ sensations that I have become too familiar with.
I wish you could understand how it feels to go to work in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.
I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire. “Is this a false alarm or a working, breathing fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped? Or to an EMS call, “What is wrong with the patient?” Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he or she waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?
I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year-old girl that I tried to save during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say the words “I love you, Mommy” again.
I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab engine, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right of way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, “It took you forever to get here!”
I wish you could know my thoughts a s I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled remains of her automobile. “What if this was my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What were her parents’ reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?
I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call I was on. I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally and sometime physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes or “It will never happen to me.”
I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life, or preserving someone’s property, of being there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.
I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking. "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to hold back a long-time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on ~ Sensations I am too familiar with.
Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will probably never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us
I WISH YOU COULD
I wish you could see the sadness of a business-man as his livelihood goes up in flames, or that family returning home, only to find their house and belongings damaged or destroyed.
I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen beneath you burns.
I wish you could comprehend a wife’s horror at 3 a.m. as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively that it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done.
I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke ~ sensations that I have become too familiar with.
I wish you could understand how it feels to go to work in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.
I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire. “Is this a false alarm or a working, breathing fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped? Or to an EMS call, “What is wrong with the patient?” Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he or she waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?
I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year-old girl that I tried to save during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say the words “I love you, Mommy” again.
I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab engine, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right of way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us, however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, “It took you forever to get here!”
I wish you could know my thoughts a s I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the mangled remains of her automobile. “What if this was my sister, my girlfriend, or a friend? What were her parents’ reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?
I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call I was on. I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally and sometime physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes or “It will never happen to me.”
I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life, or preserving someone’s property, of being there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.
I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking. "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to hold back a long-time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on ~ Sensations I am too familiar with.
Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will probably never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us
I WISH YOU COULD
Oct 21, 2011
Fall in love with me!!
My favorite line in this entire song is..... I don't want to settle for good not great. I miss the way that it felt back then, I wanna feel that way again
Oct 11, 2011
What do I Make ?
So you're a firefighter? I wanted to do that when I was a kid. "What do you make?"
What do I make? I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when I am cutting you out of your car. I can make 5 minutes feel like a lifetime when I go into a burning house to save your family. I make those annoying sirens sound like angels singing when you need them. I make your wife's head turn when I walk by in uniform. I make your children breathe after they have stopped. I can make you survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to go risk my life for people I have never met, and have never asked for thanks. I make a difference.
What do you make ? ? ? ?
What do I make? I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when I am cutting you out of your car. I can make 5 minutes feel like a lifetime when I go into a burning house to save your family. I make those annoying sirens sound like angels singing when you need them. I make your wife's head turn when I walk by in uniform. I make your children breathe after they have stopped. I can make you survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to go risk my life for people I have never met, and have never asked for thanks. I make a difference.
What do you make ? ? ? ?
Oct 7, 2011
Its been awhile......
Where do I even start?
Work:
Well it is now official. Walter Reed Hospital is closed. Spent 22 wonderful years as a firefighter there and going to miss that place! All the patents have been moved over to Bethesda Naval which is now carrying the name - Walter Reed National Medical Center - (It will never be Walter Reed)
Forest Glen (The Walter Reed Annex) is still open and falls under Ft. Detrick now. That's where we're all working now. 2 Engine's, Ambulance & The Haz-Mat Unit.. No more Tower... Long Story and I don't even want to get into that!
The Old Hospital - Bldg. 1
Don't know the date of this picture.. Love it Though!!
Ceremony at Walter Reed Lowering the LAST American Flag flown on Post. September 15th 2011
Truck 50 & Tower 54
My Dad & I at Engine 13 - Truck 10 DCFD. Dad did 20+ years there. Went down with him to visit!! :)
Well other things are going ok. Enjoying life and spending time out and about. Looking forward to Fall. Plan on getting tons of Pictures this year. Stay Tuned for more Updates... I think I'm going to start Blogging again.
Work:
Well it is now official. Walter Reed Hospital is closed. Spent 22 wonderful years as a firefighter there and going to miss that place! All the patents have been moved over to Bethesda Naval which is now carrying the name - Walter Reed National Medical Center - (It will never be Walter Reed)
Forest Glen (The Walter Reed Annex) is still open and falls under Ft. Detrick now. That's where we're all working now. 2 Engine's, Ambulance & The Haz-Mat Unit.. No more Tower... Long Story and I don't even want to get into that!
Well other things are going ok. Enjoying life and spending time out and about. Looking forward to Fall. Plan on getting tons of Pictures this year. Stay Tuned for more Updates... I think I'm going to start Blogging again.
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