Alive and kickin..

Well, we all know that “the word” travels fast in the fire department and apparently I’m a hot topic for the rumor mill once again so lets set the record straight. I was injured last week. A dislocated shoulder early Monday morning. NO… it was NOT a football injury. NO… it was not from a bar room fight. YES.. a cow ran me over and YES… she was 10 times bigger and meaner than the one that damn near killed Lynn Flora (lol). There is/was good and bad news. The good news is that nothing was torn … the bad news is that its sore….REAL sore. I’m on the road to recovery though.. back to work today and planning on football practice tomorrow. A little black and blue, still sore but alive and kicking (I’m tougher than I look you know). The cow???? Well lets just say she probably hurt a little too… This is not the first time that me and a farm animal have squared off. A few years back, a colt and I had a little misunderstanding and the firehouse cartoons were funny as crap! It used to be posted on the Rumor Mill but I can’t seem to get it to load. I will work on that and get it up here so you all can have something else to laugh at me about… I am here for your entertainment you know..(LOL). Seems my last post drew a few comments and I’ll say this… comments are welcome.. good or bad. Hey, I know I’m a target for some and not the most popular for others. The thing is, if you don’t like what I’m posting on or could care less what I have to say on this or that… DON’T READ THIS BLOG. Easy huh? The title “Wooden Ladders and Iron Firemen” was meant to show respect to the men who fueled my desire and Passion for this job. The men who were tougher than the equipment they had (or equipment they didn’t have). The title in no way was a representation of how I view myself but I will say that I have had the honor to go through a few doors with some “iron firemen” and it seems more and more today that the title has been reversed. Today, it’s more like Iron ladders and wooden firemen. Now that’s not to say that we don’t have some good ones left because we do but a lot has changed. One of my favorite reads is Fire Engineering Magazine. If you don’t take this mag you should really consider doing so. You can check them out online as well. Anyway, the March issue has a good article Firefighter Casualties: when “old school firefighting” doesn’t work. Look it up on page 105. Another good read from their web site is “The new old school“. Just today, Battalion Chief Bobby Slayton stopped in for a visit. He literally sat for hours at the kitchen table telling us stories of the “good ol days”. He had us rolling in the floor! I hope the boys know how lucky they are to have had the chance to sit there and hear Bobby be so open and candid with his stories. In the recent past; we’ve put on a retiree breakfast at our Union Hall and at the last one, Rhett Fleitz (Fire Critic, Roanoke fire.com) was fortunate enough to capture some video of now deceased Retired Captain Pete Price telling some old stories. Guys.. we can’t get moments like these back! This is the passing of our history and traditions. It’s what made us who or what we are. It brings Maranda Lambert’s song to mind.. “The house that build me”. Now she’s not talking about firehouses I know, but there’s also no doubt that houses like #5, #3 and #9 played a huge role in who I am. I’d dare say you have a house that helped mold you as well. Who’ll tell those stories? Think about it. I’ll add the video for the song in case you’re not a country music fan and / or don’t know the song… that sexy little Texas accent don’t hurt none either..
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf6wHW1YKkg]Ok… let me get off this rant..or semi-rant before I get all worked up but before I do..call this a “dog and pony show” if you will. That’s ok but, if you work here it’s part of YOUR history as well. Yea. This site, the Station #9 Blog, Rhett’s sits etc have documented some of the history of our job / department. I guarantee that even now you sit around telling stories like “one time” and “so there I was” and one day you’ll be trying to remember what happened that time so and so did this or that. Well guess what… you can probably scroll through or search some of these sites now and find that story. So.. YOU’RE WELCOME!
Ok ok… on to today. We have a new ride! I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not too excited about E3 and that waste of material bolted on the top but I’m equally not so sure I like the replacement B-shift acquired for us… Yes..that IS what it looks like it is…. The boys said she handles like a dream but will only pump ketchup, mustard or relish. Must work though… they had 4 mulch fires yesterday and I don’t think any of em are still burning so they must have put em out. Might have made the clean up a little more difficult though. How many firemen does it take to wash a “weiner”? JG was so excited he even SANG! Oh yea..the ol weiner song.. Look out American Idol
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
LOL.. le
ave it to a fireman. Good job JG! Of course you all know he was bribed / tricked and had no idea that the camera was rolling. OK, I’ll wrap up with another short explination. Opie’s dad also commented on last days post. He likened me to Festus of “Gunsmoke” fame. I’ve had several people ask me who “Festus” is. You have to be kidding me right??? Well here’s a short clip (and good story) of Ken Curtis as Festus… enjoy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8363Z3V0Es]That’s enough for tonight.. thanks for reading, I hope at least some of you still enjoy the content. Stay safe and in the house.. we’re back on Tuesday.
Captain Wines