George Carlin's "7 words", Vinton lashback, Santa and day 15 of his "Sexy Helpers"

Ok, last night; I mentioned that I have been “elevated” to a new level of “blogdom” but, I’m not real sure if I’ve been elevated or drop kicked! You see, I have now joined the company of the likes of Dave Statter. In many of his previous posts, and as early as in his December 10th “Quick Takes”  Dave has mentioned the dislike some readers have expressed of his opinions and views. He has also mentioned on several occasions how this “distaste” is often expressed in the comment section of his site. Just 3 days ago (December 7th) Dave received 130 comments on a single post! View the post and comments HERE.
Well, I haven’t received anywhere near 130 hits on a single post but I have received several on the “Vinton” related posts. If you haven’t been following, read “Vinton home burns …” and “Vinton Fire Update…”to get up to speed. Now, the reason I’m now comparing myself to Statter is that a lot of the comments have been just like what he gets … HATE COMMENTS! 

I have a comment policy. I publish most all of them. Even the ones directed toward me … positive or negative. You can call me a skinny, blah, blah, blah. You can say that I am the the dumbest, most arogant piece of whatever that you know. I will publish it. What I will NOT publish is comments containing certain words or phrases .. kinda like George Carlin’s “seven words”. 

I will NOT publish comments containing the words “mother****** “,  “God**** ”  ”  **** ” , ” **** ” , ” **** “, ” **** ” or, any variations of those words. I have received several of these type comments and understand that it’s just part of the job.  Again, this is NOT why I’m being placed on the same level as Statter. What does give me that distinction is a recent comment naming me the “Fox News” of Fire Blogs! The comment  alleges  “fluff” in my postings …. “fluff” ?? from ME? LOL   Here’s the comment…

“Also City E6 is recomended by cad for any “comerical” structure the house was a duplex which was considered a “comerical” structural. Calls also roll over to second due after 5 minutes and continue to in those 5 min increments. I feel that Ironfiremen.com is the Fox News of fire blogs. there is so much fluff to the stories”

 

“The Fox News of fire Blogs” … eat your heart out Statter. I LOVE IT !  I think a lot of folks  (the local ones anyway)  still haven’t gotten “the point” I was trying to make in the original post. I stated several times that I wasn’t looking for a “he said / she said” or “us against them” issue. I’m still not. There were several of what I considered to be “Safety” issues on the incident and THOSE were the points I wanted to bring out. I could care less how long it takes Vinton to get out … I don’t live or work there. I do care about City units responding into Vinton “alone” or with no backup. There were / are other issues that I pointed out in the post as well. Issues that affect our Auto and Mutual-Aid agreements regardless of who’s giving or receiving it. My sources were and ARE solid but the facts being nit-picked are not the main issues. There was communication failures / issues. There were and are SOP / SOG issues. There were issues with IMS etc. Who cares why so and so was there and how long it was before they were dispatched? Obviously, they were dispatched because sooner or later, they were on scene (some sooner than later and vise versa).

For some reason, there seems to be a small group finger pointers who are passing blame and making lite of these issues. It has even spilled over to sites such as Face Book in a manner that could be concidered less than professional. Here’s a patch someone posted earlier this week..

Are you kidding me?  Any idea how many ways this could be turned around and thrown back? The good news is that it hasn’t been. It’s beneath most involved. I know that Roanoke City and County have sat down to discuss the issues. They are committed to identifying the current and / or potential issues and will work together to find a solution beneficial for all involved. I also know that on Monday, Vinton will have a seat at that table. I only hope they can take that chair with the same commitment towards firefighter and public safety as those they will sit with. Enough with the “patch work”, finger pointing etc. Let’s iron out these issues and make the job safer for all 3 departments!  That was my “watered down” rant for the night.

 

Ok, moving on …. I’ve lost the stone from my ring!  When I got hired, my dad gave me a “class ring” type “Professional Firefighter” ring. I’ve worn it everyday for almost 20 years now. (maybe a great Christmas gift for your firefighter??)

 

I’m not sure where or when but I’ve lost the stone. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of. I’m almost SICK.

If any of you Brothers or Sisters out there are jewelers on your days off, give me a shout. I’m gonna keep looking either way. Who knows… I may get lucky. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then…

LMAO !   I guess I could have just asked Santa for a new one today but it wouldn’t be the one my Pop gave me. Yea… I got to see old Saint Nick today. My oldest Daughter (Randi-Jo) is a librarian. Her branch is here in the City and today, Santa came by to see the kids and read a Christmas story or two. Well, the Buckaroo has been wound up all week waiting for the chance to talk to “that Sanna Clause”.  His week has been planned / scheduled around a trip to town to have a face to face with the “big guy”. NO WAY I was gonna miss this. We worked things out so I was able to drop in for a brief visit and see my little fella sit on Santa’s lap for the first time. Santa looked a little puzzled when the Buckaroo began explaining all the implements etc he wanted to go along with the new “John Deer” tractor he asked for  LOL.

There’s that “signature wave”.  He even got to stop by the station for a short visit afterwards….

Could it be another FOOL  in the making? 

Ok, I know it’s getting late so I had better start winding it down. Have you folks ever listened to any of Grace Potter’s stuff? She is AWESOME! I can’t get enough. Easy on the ear and eyes…OOH La La !  Speaking of “Ooh la la” …. she sings it … here’s the video…

See what I mean? I’ll be heading up to DC to see her live in March … I CAN’T WAIT!   Speaking of waiting… you guys have been waiting long enough … here  she is ….. Santa’s Sexy Helper, Day 15

Gonna shut her down for now. We start 4 day break tomorrow … I’ll check back in with whatever is happening or on my mind. Until then, Stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines