Taking it all in ….

** Language WARNING for this post **

I guess I’m still absorbing all the information that is surfacing around the death of Osama bin Laden.

There’s a lot to take in and the event has my emotions all over the scale once again.

I’m happy, sad,  thankful and at times even mad … hang with me and I’ll explain.

I, like most every other firefighter in the Country; haven’t forgotten.

See my September 11, 2010 post

Much like the The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster back in January of ’86, that evening  in July of 1969 when  man walked on the moon or that November day in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated, Americans will  remember EXACTLY where they were and what they were doing on on September 11, 2001.

That day, I got a call from my dad (who was still on the job at the time). I rushed over to our shop. Together, we watched in horror as the terrorist attacks played out. We watched the towers come down and knew firemen had died … we just didn’t know how many.

Soon, the names al-Qaida and bin Laden was on every TV channel and news paper to be found. Given the opportunity, I could and would have killed him with a Q-Tip or hand full of cotton balls … whichever would have taken the longest and caused the most pain / suffering.

I’ve waited almost 10 years to hear that this piece of shit is dead!

I was on duty Sunday night when word got out. Rhett (Rhett Fleitz ..aka The Fire Critic) called to tell me to turn the TV on. Minutes after, we caught an EMS run … it was around mid-night. When we cleared from the run, dispatch asked me if I could give her a phone call and I did.

She wanted us to know the news. “If you get back to the station, turn on the TV …the President is going to announce that they’ve killed bin Laden”.  Her thoughts went to FIREFIGHTERS. She knew we would want to know!  I stayed up most of the night watching the coverage.

I was happy … happy, excited and thankful that we finally got him. My thoughts quickly moved to our Brothers and Sisters of the FDNY and the families of those murdered on 9/11. I knew that we would share  in the joy of bin Laden’s death but also knew that the events would have them reliving the pain of that day all over again. I could only hope that the happiness found in his death would trump the pain and sorrow.

Some folks can’t understand how anyone can be happy about killing someone. If you’re one of those folks, maybe you shouldn’t be reading this. “Happy” really doesn’t describe how I feel…. it’s even more than that.

I think Bill Kennedy (and many others) feel the same way. Bill is retired from the FDNY and now lives down here on Smith Mountain Lake. Bills son, Tom; was murdered on 9/11 in the South tower having responded in on Ladder 101. That’s Tom Kennedy pictured on the left.

Mr. Kennedy had 2 good quotes in this morning’s local paper ….

“That son of a bitch is in the right place, and you can quote me on that”

“I know where he’s going, and it’s not up”

Read the entire article from The Roanoke Times  HERE  or more local coverage  HERE . You can visit Firefighter Thomas Kennedy’s Memorial Page   HERE. I’ll also add this local video of an interview with the Kennedys ….

 

 I’ve watched today as more and more details of the events around bin Laden’s death emerged. My emotions turned to wonder and anger. Actually, at one point; I was just plain MAD!

 
 The Roanoke Times is reporting that following his death, bin Laden’s body “was washed in private by two Muslim members of the U.S. military, wrapped in a white sheet, placed in a weighted bag and slid into the water from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson to the recitation of religious remarks by a U.S. officer that were translated into Arabic” .YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

 

How many empty caskets did we bury? How many pieces of clothing, uniform or DNA substituted for the bodies of our fallen and this ass hole (bin Laden) gets a funeral? Washed him .. wrapped him and said words! I gotta say .. that chaps my ass! I would have strung the body up at Ground Zero.

That’s another point .. I WANT TO SEE THE PICTURES. Hell, I want to see the video.  Put all the conspiracy theories to rest now.

Ok… I’m getting wound up here….  let me change directions.

photo from The Radio Patriot

To the U.S. Navy Seals and all of the men and women of our armed forces  THANK YOU !

Thank you for continuing to look, for continuing to fight and for not forgetting.

WELL DONE !

 Keep up the good work because I’m afraid this thing is far from over. All the questions with Pakistan and what they did or didn’t know. Bin Laden was just the leader … his army of terrorist are still out there and without a doubt wanting to avenge his death.

 

 

Teague Kenny has a great article over on  ” The Tail Board “. Check out his post   Gettin’ Ready .

He’s right boys … keep your boots close, pack an extra bag, keep that equipment checked and in top shape. Get your nose in a book .. study procedures etc … plan … study. Be smart, THINK … keep your eyes open. I know you are but … BE READY!

I’m gonna stop here for now. I could go on and on but my mind is working faster than I can type and I’m afraid it wont come out right. I get a 13 day break starting in the morning. I have special dinner plans tomorrow night (that I will post about) and head out to California on Friday. I’ll check in and finish my thoughts on this post as soon as I get the chance.

Thanks for following … Stay Safe and in House!

Captain Wines