MY Top 10 of ‘11

1. The people I have met in 2011 This should go without saying. I finally got the privilege to meet the folks behind the keyboards and @ signs that I have spoken to in 140 character blocks. It was worth being called an “ass” when I met Ted Setla, as much as it was worth watching @THEGrinderMedic order someone a drink called “uh…” in Vegas. Hope to meet more next year.

2. EMS Today 2011 Well, yeah, the first real conference I went to would make the #2 spot. It had its own set of adventures (to include a missed flight). When is the pre-party for next year’s at Pratt St.?

3. EMSWorld Expo 2011  Wow…the one thing I bitched the loudest about getting my travel approved for only made #3. The strip and the Las Vegas Convention Center will never be the same after the #CoEMS crew was done with it. Will NOLA be the same?

4. FDIC 2011 The biggest Fire Department conference of the year made the Number 4 spot on this year’s top 10. Finally meeting The Fire Critic, Capt. Willie Wines, and a few others.  Same place in 2012—the week before my 41st celebration of being alive.

5. My unit returning home from Iraq The 801st Combat Support Hospital (Detachment 10) was in Iraq for 10 months providing Detainee Health Care. All but two of my Soldiers are now home.

6. 21 seconds at FDIC The Globe Firefighter Challenge only took me 21 seconds to complete at FDIC in Indianapolis.  It would have been faster if I had known that the “rescue dummy” weighed about three pounds (I was expecting much heavier).

just crawl between the cones to take less time

7. Participating in #KiltedtoKickCancer The idea of a couple of friends not only increased awareness for the male specific cancers, but also ended up with a pretty penny being donated to LiveStrong and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. It also got the biggest reading from this headquarters while trying to make my kilt (which is now hanging in the closet and a 3rd one is being planned on for purchase eventually). I will say, though, that they’re nice in the summer…but one wintertime word:  SHRINKAGE. (Though they make life easier with the TSA)
 

8. Making the “Medic’s Mecca” The only reason this is not higher in the countdown is because 1) the LACoFD Museum was closed and 2) the crew from LACoFD Station 127 were out on a run when I arrived. It was still a nice retirement present from my unit given to me the day before Thanksgiving.
 

9. Attending the 9th Annual US Army EMS Conference I wasn’t expecting to go, but I got my first glimpse of the Alamo and Durty Nelly’s in San Antonio. This trip was much better than phase 2 of my BNCOC.
 

10. My Retirement Orders It took over a year to get them, and that included re-submitting the packet exactly one year after I first put it in. But getting them puts a chapter to a close that I am very thankful to have written in history. It had its high points and low points, and I actually got to see some beautiful parts of the country while I was in the Army Reserve, but now I get to watch the younger Soldiers fill in my place as I sit and watch from my rocking chair.

The Fourth Badge

On the wall in my bedroom, there is a nail between my desk and my closet. On that nail hang four items composed of paper, plastic, cloth, and a clip. Each with its own story to tell.

The first one is from a weekend in March that started with some real strange foursquare check ins. It built up to meeting a BEAUTIFUL blonde lady and culminated with one check in asking “Where’s the Party?”.

I walked into the exhibit hall and ended up meeting friends, old and young; Happy, and those that seemed to have a permanent scowl on their faces. Friends that live both under lights and under sea level. All kinds on medics under the same roof. Some social, some talking out of their garage, and even an ambulance driver or two.

I was even able to get myself a nice toy or two.

Of course, with every badge, there’s an adventure that goes with it.  Especially when you miss your flight home and have to spend the night in the airport USO

The second badge, encased in it’s black pouch comes from a much closer locale later in March. The aforementioned beauty told me that she was going to spend that weekend living “vicariously through me” while I was traveling on the expressway in my pick up.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when she came knocking on my room door with the TALL red that I had met just a couple of weeks before. I’m not sure if it was the fact that we were together again or that I had a face covered in shaving cream, but neither mattered.

The meet up that we went to had more friends. Some made of iron, some that ran to the curb a lot, some that were critical, almost daily, reaching out on the radio.

On that HUGE floor, I saw an old geezer that definitely kept the coffee going. I also ran into a medic that captured this…

All 21 seconds of hustle

It was a long drive back to Peoria.

The third badge, encased in its own cloth and plastic holder, is an anomaly. It’s one that shouldn’t be there really. I have no clue how lucky I was to be able to go to San Antonio for the US Army EMS Conference—if you really want to call it a conference. No one was allowed in the exhibit hall unless they were on break or at lunch time. A shocking thing, is that the booths weren’t all that big…especially ones with BIG NAMES.

The fourth badge, in it’s plastic holder with blue ribbon, reminds me of meeting more friends, young and old. Some rallying for a cause and some looking for the latest toys. Most all came to network, enjoying the fellowship of their fellow providers these birds of a feather. Generations of us, with many braving the elements to get there, all coming together for the same purpose.

I look at those four badges hanging on that nail and contemplate the spring and summer’s events. It also makes me wonder…

Where am I going to hang the 5th one?

Til next time…

FDIC 2011—as traveled by me

Ahhhhh….returned home last night from another whirlwind weekend…and had no orders attached to the end of it like my trip to Baltimore.

Me and “the Deer Slayer” (aka “the Green Machine”, “WTF is that?”, and “Rescue 4”) made our way eastward on 74 at a good rate of putter.  The entire time knowing I had a goal of being there around 1400 EDT (Thanks, Boss, for not shoving me out and letting us shoot the wind). By the time I reached and crossed the IL/IN border, I had a few inquisitive tweets and texts as to my whereabouts. One was a Beautiful maiden telling me that she was going to be “living vicariously thru u this weekend”.

After a couple of missed turns (and too late to hit the convention center (especially after I was told it was $45 to get in per day)), I ended at my hotel.

I figured since I had time before the meet up, I figured I’d take care of about 5 days of weeds on my face before I went. I no sooner had my lower jaw covered with shaving cream when another text came in “We’re here…surprise.”

I made my way to the door and had to crane my neck when I opened it and saw gingermedic and the before mentioned beauty.  Needless to say, my jaw hit the concrete.  Here I was, shaving cream on my face, one path of a razor down my neck, and two beautiful women come to my door.

I let the ladies in and return to finish the removal of the beard from my face (Damn, a lot of grey hair shows in my beard when I don’t shave). We then draft some kind of game plan for the night.

While all the thinking was going on (explains the HA I had), @Ckemtp comes a pounding on my door.  Three medics and a basic 28 days out of the month (only a combat medic on reserve weekends) planning to invade a fire party.  This is gonna be fun.

When we finally found a place to park and got there we were greeted by @FireCritic and made our way to get a soda and a glass of water. was actually surprised he could stay out as late as he did

And of course Dave Statter already knew about the blog post before I even composed it.

Was a shock to have the publisher of EMS World sit and talk to us for a little bit.  Was also “very cool” to meet Tiger Schmittendorf, the host of “Firefighter Storytellers” on Firefighter Netcast.

We ended up going back to the room early and becoming pretty much asystolic.  Saturday’s events (to include my 21 second obstacle course time) in the next.