Iron Firemen Wooden Ladders & Iron Firemen
I know … I know. SORRY for the lack in posting. I’ll try to make it up to ya this week. It’s the same old excuse … busy busy!
The weather broke and the Buckaroo and I have been hard at it.
Everyone keeps telling me that I need to hire a new farm manager and I think I have it narrowed down to one of these two.
Of course, it’s a two part interview to get hired on. My part is easy … I’d hire these two without hesitation. The hard part of landing this job is getting past the Buckaroo’s interview. His standards are pretty high. They will have to be able to “spike” a juice pack while in a moving tractor. They must also be highly skilled at making a PB&J sandwich to perfection… crust removed and cut into triangles. LOL
All kidding aside, me and the little fella have been pretty busy. For the most part, we’ve been in the hay fields…. it’s been “square bale HELL” around here!
We’ve also been doing a little PR work.
We abandoned the fields for a quick trip to town. Actually, we went to the library (yea … I can read).
My oldest daughter is a librarian here in the city and she asked me to come spend some time with a group of kids. How could we refuse?
We even took one of our Dalmatians along … “Remington” was a huge success!
The Buckaroo had a BLAST! He doesn’t get to see many kids his age out on the farm.
I made sure Randi (my daughter) picked out some books with BIG writing because I wanted to make sure the kids could see the words…LOL
The teachers were very impressed with my reading abilities …. I heard them say several times how I would fit right in with their class …LOL
I think that I had as much fun as the kids.
I enjoyed the day but also look at these type events as part of the job. I think it’s important for kids to see us in a “positive” or “friendly” way.
When you think about it, odd are that most of the time these kids will get to see me, someone is hurt, injured or something is on fire. Either of which is traumatic to children. Don’t let times like that be the only time children in your area get to see and spend time with you or your company.
Of course you all know that October is “Fire Prevention Month” so most companies here in “The Noke” have full schedules with “PR” events.
My trip to the Library was off duty and personal but last day, we took the Engine up to a local cookout in our 1st due.
Events like this are good for your company / Department as well.
Not only do you get to interact with the kids, you also get the chance to talk with their parents in a non-emergency situation.
This is a great opportunity to talk directly with the citizens you serve. A chance to explain face to face “what we do”. Most folks don’t know or understand the shifts we work. Often, they are uneducated about staffing issues or response times. Why Engines run on medical calls. Make the most of these events … promote your company / department in a positive manner and educate your “customers” on the important issues.
So, moving on to what every woman wants ….. NO … not me ….CHOCOLATE!
We had a visitor drop by today. I have posted about our good friend Roy Lane from the Kazim Temple’s Fire Brigade several times here on the site.
Roy stopped by today to drop off some chocolate bars. The Shriners sell these chocolate bars every year during Fire Prevention month to raise money for the children’s burn center.
What’s really cool about this year’s chocolate bars is the picture on the wrapper. It’s a photo I took several years back (2007) of some of the members from #9-C with the Shriners and their 52 Mack Fire Engine.
You can get a better look at the picture ( and the story behind it ) over in the archives of Roanoke Fire.com by clicking HERE .
You read more about Roy and the Shriner’s by clicking HERE ( be SURE to do so … it’s a GREAT post ) or for more on their Engine, click HERE
Our local Shriners will be out at SAM’S CLUB and the Kroger in Cave Spring this weekend. If you get the chance, drop by and buy a candy bar ( $1 ) … it’s for a great cause and IT’S CHOCOLATE!
Ok … RANDY. Well, Randy aint here. He’s transferred out again. He will be all cycle. For those of you needing your “Randy fix” I do have some video of him “doing it”. Don’t panic Miss Dana .. I’m not talking about footage from the weekend shacked up in Charlotte, I talking about Randy FIGHTING FIRE ! Of course it was just a dumpster but he was out there “doing it” man! Check it out ….
Special thanks to Lynn Eller for our local news station WDBJ7 for getting me the footage.
For those of you who don’t know, this weekend ( October 14-16 ) is the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation Memorial weekend in Emmitsburg, Md.
Read about my first trip to the Memorial Weekend HERE and HERE .
Rhett and I will be joining Firefighter Netcast one more time to work with Fire Hero Radio in recording stories from the survivors.
If you have any chance at all … make plans now to ATTEND! If you can’t don’t worry. Rhett, Dave and I will have live streaming video on our sites but trust me … this is an event that you will want to experience in person!
If you are planning to attend, be sure to look me and Rhett up. Shoot me a comment or e-mail and I’ll give you my cell or Rhett’s info can be found on his Face Book page. We always spend a little time at one of the local watering holes or the staff command center for a few adult beverages. Be sure to have your challenge coin in your pocket or you just may end up buying. If you don’t have a challenge coin, don’t panic…. Rhett and I now have our very own coins for sale. Actually, our are a little different from “traditional” challenge coins in that our’s are ceramic “chips”. We call them “Brotherhood Chips”
Read more about our “Chips” over on Fire Critic.com
Sean over at TheChipSite.com fixed us up perfectly … these chips are AWESOME! All of our readers / followers should have one .. BOTH OF YA!
LOL … all kidding aside, we are very proud of the Chips. I’m sure we will hand out a select few but anyone can purchase one of their own for just $5.00 !
We both have links at the top of our sites or you can just click here to get yours now. The first person to slap one of our chips on the bar in front of us will have their beer paid for!
I’ve got a lot more to tell and catch ya up on but it will have to wait until tomorrow. We’re back to duty on Wednesday before starting our 4 day and heading up to Emmitsburg on Friday. Until I get back to ya … Stay Safe and in House!
Captain Wines