Iron Firemen Wooden Ladders & Iron Firemen
Today is Wednesday the 20th and here in Va. it’s a cool rainy morning which for me is kinda good news. Good in that 1.) we can always use the rain and 2.) this weather will allow me to slow down and take somewhat of a “break” today. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here for the past little bit and fall has been “in the air”. For those of you not from Va. now is the time to visit. The leaves are just beginning to change, our crops are harvested and the views are gorgeous. Here’s a shot from my front yard where you can just start to see some color in the mountain..
In the next few days / weeks, the colors will become much more vibrant and the views even more spectacular. This is my favorite time of the year. One of the best ways for you “out of state folks” to experience the change of season (other than a personal tour through the greater Catawba Valley with me) is to take a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway. What are you waiting for?? Pack up the truck or gas up the bike and head on down … and, don’t forget to look us up while you’re here. Another good thing about this time of year is that Halloween is just around the corner. Fun for me in that the Buckaroo is now at the age where he’s getting excited about it. Excited about dressing up and about all that free candy (except I don’t think he’ll be getting many of his favorite .. Little Debbie Swiss Rolls ). Can any of ya guess what his costume will be? Send in your guess and / or suggestions / ideas. And, you know what; Halloween isn’t just for the kids anymore. It seems as if everyone now a days throw “adult” costume / Halloween parties. Now, for us men, costumes aren’t that big of a deal for for the gals … well that’s another story. You know me.. always looking out for the gals so, I’ve been doing a little shopping and found some great firefighter costumes / ideas for the ladies .. check em out..
WOW !! TRICK OR TREAT ! A “win / win” either way LMAO! I wonder what station they work at? I know Hrdrant Girljust had a big Halloween bash at their place but she really didn’t show or go into much detail of the costumes. I’m wondering how many of you guys are hitting the parties this year and what you will be wearing. Send me the pics (I know Hydrant Gal was early and not a lot of parties are going on yet.. but when they start..send em in) and I’ll get em up on the site. As far as that goes, send me some pics of your little ones on Halloween as well .. you know I’ll have the Buckaroo on so, I may as well post some reader costumes too (just remember to include your name ..blog / site if applicable and the child’s name / relation etc). Speaking of the Buckaroo, much like myself; he’s had one heck of a week. He’s had all is routine / regular chores such as making and moving hay and checking / feeding the cows…
He’s also had some “special” duties this week .. breaking elephants. Yea.. I said breaking ELEPHANTS! A small circus was in town for 2 nights this week and me and the little fella made it out. I had told him that we were going and that they would have tigers, elephants and midgets. That’s all he talked about ALL DAY. At 11 am while hauling hay .. “paw-paw lets go see that circus now”.. at 2pm “paw-paw let me see that elephant now”…. “paw-paw..what’s a midget?” Then it was back to the elephants. Elephants, elephants, elephants and wouldnt ya know it … you can actually RIDE EM! He went “ape sh**” ! And yes, he got his ride .. I just wish he’d have worn his spurs..LOL
I don’t know who the two adults or other kids are but everybody seemed to enjoy the ride. The Buckaroo was a little disappointed in that he wanted to ride “all by myself” but it all worked out just fine. As for me, well; they didn’t have any midgets BUT… they did have some dancing gals ..
Ok, so I mentioned I’ve been busy and it hasn’t been just here on the farm. The “move” to Lucky #13 has kept me running as well. Back to back calls, unpacking, settling in etc. The good news is that last day, we actually had a few EMS calls where the pt actually survived! Yea .. it’s been “THAT” kind of cycle. As I predicted, the new crew and I haven’t missed a beat. Georgie and Boots are a good fit. That said, I will admit again that I miss “the boys”. Especially Coon and Opie. We have been together for so long now that it just doesn’t feel right being at the station without them. I can’t help but think back to our days at #9 as the “Melrose Misfits”. Lt. Bug, Coon, Wheezy, Tyrone and Opie .. man did we have a blast! Had a good time and got the job done .. a great crew that I will always remember as a highlight in my career. And wouldn’t you know it … there I sat thinking about em and in walks Tyrone (ok.. he ran… stumbled in..LOL). And, in honor of me (well, that’s my story anyway) he’s even trying to grow a mustache ….
I think it’s gotten away from him just a bit because it seems to have gotten around his chin and such. Anyway, it was great to see the little sh** and learn that he and the family are doing well. Station #13 also has another old friend, brother and past co-worker of mine in Lt. Barry Ferguson of A-shift. Barry was my Lt. on Ladder #2 when I first got on the job and was one of several who really took me under their wing. There is not a better person in the Department as far as ropes, rappelling or ascending goes (he even held a World’s Record for ascending at one time..and still may). But, what Barry is probably most famous for are his cartoons. Back then, you could just about bet the farm that there would be some type of cartoon on the board or circulating through the fax machines every morning Barry was on. If you screwed up … BAM! .. welcome to the funny pages. I’m sure you guys have figured out by now that I was often the subject for his drawings. Yea .. I have a notebook collection full of his documentation of my screw ups LOL. I’ll have to get / find one of those scanner thingies and try to get a few up on here in the future.. you’ll laugh your butt off. Here’s Barry doing what he does best (photo stolen for Mike “Mikey” Overacker from over at Roanokefirefighters.com)
So, I’m going to get to what I was talking about in the beginning of the post and do a little resting up. There are several “hot topics” in the Fire Service for you guys to follow. Use the links at the top of the page and be sure to check out the great sites under “more partners”. Always be sure to hit my favorites Dave Statter, The Fire Geezer and The FireCritic. Firefighter Netcast also has a great show comming up tomorrow night that you wont want to miss. check it out and get the direct link to the show here. That’s gonna do it for now. Thanks again for following and checking in. If you haven’t or aren’t following on “Picture Book” or “Churp Churp”please do and tell all your friends … things will pic up around here soon enough and I’ll get better at posting a little more regular as well. Until next time, stay safe and in da house!
Captain Wines