Yep, even someone in green went pink

From now until the middle of the month, I'm helping my friend @Epi_Junky and the folks at EMS for the Cure, who are dedicated to helping find a cure for breast cancer.

This hits a little close to the @avatarpenguin house (and @lilssgjbroyles) because their grandmother was a survivor for a long time.

You can also go to @theHappyMedic's blog and watch the PSA (He also issued a challenge for the #CoEMS folks to do this).

Help me advise a Brother

so i contacted the media to set the record straight......wmbd and the journal star

This is what a friend on my department put on his facebook tonight as his status.  

its pretty much a given that my time at the FD is over so i figured i might as well just tell the whole story to anyone who will listen.....im so sick of this (Assistant Chief)/(Village Board Member) deal i could puke....legitimate concerns were brought directly to the mayor, not by (Board Member) , but some of us ff on the outside of their little group and they seem to be just swept under the rug...so now i feel obligated to share them with the rest of the village residents and let them decide

I'm not sure how it is everywhere else, but in for the (Suburban Village just outside of Peoria) Volunteer Fire Department, of which I'm a member of, this is becoming the new business as usual.  

(Mayor)  is a good mayor who is just trying to do the right thing, when it comes to saving lives you probably want to have licensed people working on your relatives and friends, also you probably don't want your engines or squads sitting on... the pad for ten minutes waiting for people to show up, especially when you have good qualified individuals in town who can't get on because they don't have the votes to be a member or have been driven away by the lack of respect and discipline on the part of the chiefs because its their kids creating the problem.

Yes, I have fallen victim to the chiefs' children, too.  They are at our Station 2, and if you aren't one of their little friends, you're ostracized.  The "children of 2 house" as I call them can do no wrong, they can disrespect the traditions and structure of the fire service.  They can insult more experienced (and LICENSED) people and pass judgment on their treatments of a BLS run, and can do no wrong because they're the chiefs' kids.

(FF's SISTER) it is outrageous what the good ol' boys club of (Suburban Village just outside of Peoria) is doing to the taxpayers of this town..(Suburban Village just outside of Peoria) deserves better and these guys need to be reminded that taxpayers are voters and they can be replaced..people of need to stop voting for their good buddies in the hopes of getting their streets repaired etc., and focus on voting for people who really care about the prosperity and the greater good of the town...stop wasting tax payers money on stupid crap and start using it for the good of the town

I couldn't agree more!

their attitude is they are being picked on and this town would suffer if they were no longer on the dept. but I find myself wondering where the heck they are at in the middle of the night as i run a call by myself, which has happened quite a bit in the last almost 3 yrs I've been on.

I can't say too much...I've been absent a bunch over the last few years, myself, for various reasons.

so one of our members contacted the trying to make trustee (Board Member) look bad and the mayor...in truth it was us guys who spoke with her and not , she looked into it and saw what we were talking about and decided to take ...action, but their trump card trustee (Former FF now Village Board member) , who by the way has decided to make himself the new rep between the fire dept and village hall.....did i mention he happens to be good friends with these chiefs....has effectively stopped the mayor from taking the action she thinks needs to be done. 

God I hate politics...

anyways I figured I'll be demonized and called disgruntled and a troublemaker over all of this i shouldn't go against the brotherhood, which is only there if you keep your mouth shut and don't disagree with them on anything, but really i could care less anymore.


PLEASE tell me it's not like this on other departments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Last I knew, ALL FIREFIGHTERS were BROTHERS & SISTERS


but we lost a great officer who decided he's had enough of this drama....in reality he was the only officer who really ran any calls in the 3 yrs I've been on with the exception of a few...Cap, thx for showing me the ropes and being there when i needed someone to talk to...i love ya man....so when you hear the whistles going off two or three times a call you will have an idea why.

I can't really gripe about people not running calls, like I said earlier, I've been absent for awhile for one reason or another...the most important ones being my kids (@lilssgjbroyles and  @avatarpenguin ) and my girlfriend @shell1972

I leave it in your capable hands for opinions, blogosphere.  What is this Brother's best course of action: let the smoke clear?  Run for Village Board and help instill the changes that Volunteer Fire Department desperately need?  Give up and go to another department?

Other than my captain, my department has lost several other very experienced FF because of this.  One more just may be on his way out the door...quite possibly more.

For clarification:  my type is in Arial
and names have been deleted/sanitized

A little story...

When the first plane hit, a recruiter was pulling into his station in Bloomington. The recruiter then joked around a little bit about it.

When the second plane hit, the recruiter was starting toward Decatur, taking an applicant to take the ASVAB.

When the plane hit the Pentagon, the recruiter arrived in Decatur, only to find the test for the applicant was canceled and any Government vehicles needed to be moved away from buildings.

When the first tower fell, the recruiter and applicant returned back to the office.

When the second tower fell, the recruiter was sent up north for something.

Later in the evening, when the recruiter was asked why he wasn't making cold phone calls, I looked over at my boss and told him that I lost 343 brothers this day, and after what happened, it just wouldn't be right to make phone calls to recruit people for the Army.

Only time I didn't get in trouble for refusing to do my job.

Ouch on the arm and in the wallet

I've decided I'm going to get a tattoo.  It's going to end up setting me back at least 350 bones...couple of drills and a regular paycheck should pay for it.

For those who haven't seen it on twitter or facebook, here's a picture of it.  A LOT of shading

Ahhhh...the town of Tweetville.

Medic 13 with @ckemtp and Happy Medic (in their snazzy uniforms with new patch and EMS 2.0 badges) are called to a MVA in front of @shell1972's house. Upon arrival, Engine 9 with @FireCritic in command gives report of a very disheveled teenage driver with a vuvuzela impaled in his right shoulder after tangling with a SUV at about 45 miles an hour.

Our heroes package up the young driver and take him to St. MotherSuperior WOI.


While there, the young man's parents find out that Dr. Flamingbagodogpoop is the on call in the ER and raise quite a stink about it.  They sign their kid out AMA and send him to another hospital.


On the other side of Tweetville, the hospital at Ft. Hooah is bragging about the new equipment they have received to treat Soldiers and their familes.  Their lead doctor is shining up the eagles on his coat to brag.


Now, on the other side of the globe, somewhere near Asscrackistan...


Outside the tent that holds the Emergency Room EMT section of the 108th Combat Support Hospital, in it's own separate tent, the 999th Ground Ambulance Company has one of their rigs sent out.  Sitting in the "Johnny Gage" seat is a dapper looking Staff Sergeant and his humble young partner arrive and do a quick triage of their 3 casualties.  #1 has an open head injury with gray matter showing.  #2 has a case of explosive anal seepage.  #3 has an injured left shoulder from the steering wheel of their Hummer. While the patients are being sorted, the active duty medic and the Staff Sergeant have a discussion like this.

AD medic:  "Unga bunga, him go first (the diahreah)"
SSG: "No, I want the head injury in first (he's expectant)"
AD medic: "Unga stupid Reservist! You no do this all time!"
SSG: "As a matter of fact, I do!"
AD medic: "Unga bunga me active, me rule, we do this way"
SSG: "Let's play Rock, Paper, RANK, Og. I do this in the REAL world. Head boo boo go first, then butt pirate, then bad shoulder"
AD medic: "Hooah, Sergeant"

They all get loaded up in the ambo and taken to the CSH, with the humble young partner driving ("We want to get there, Hippie").  

Now, is Joe going to care that he was packaged, given a pain relief, and transported to a hospital by a Reservist, that didn't have all the newest toys?  Is Joe going to care that the EMT nurse that saw him is a PHRN in the real world?  Is Joe going to care that  the OR doc and the OR techs work at the very same St. MotherSuperior?


All Joe is going to care about is getting fixed and back in the fight with his buddies...

...or sent home.

Responding to the Mayday...

"We have a blogger down."  How much have we heard this over the last week? Unfortunately, we're all feeling the same pain.

UKMedic999 has taken his blog down.  His reasons are more than understandable.  Hell, I'd do the exact same thing if I were in his boots--FAMILY comes first.

I have never read Mark's blog as often as I should, the few times I did were to challenge myself with the EKG strips that were posted and hopefully come up with the correct answer. Although I failed more often than not, I learned and will continue to learn.

I don't have a badge to put a black band over for the main reason I'm in EMS, so I'll don a black brassard on the sleeve of my uniform for this unfortunate time in the EMS world's blogosphere.

I can't echo the many, many replies that have all virtually said the same thing; we are sorry to see you go, and we will more than welcome you with open arms when you make the decision to return to blogging.

See you on twitter, friend.

Not my normal derailed train of tought

 Most of the day today I thought a bit about my little girl.  What I wanted to see her become one day and what I didn't want to happen.  Of course, the usual horror stories come up (like 3 weeks after prom or homecoming, or the first time behind the wheel...in an MVA...in my truck).

Of course, I've got a little time until that happens, my little @avatarpenguin is only a baker's dozen in time wandering this earth. Although, there are a few things that would be NICE if happened, but I seriously doubt them happening.  Things like:

• discussing command tactics with @ChiefReason
• pointing out to @UKMedic999 how she sees ST elevation in a 12-lead on AVF but not lead II
• debating the best interior tactics with @FireCritic and @FireDaily on Firefighter Netcast
• discussing Rural and "Big City" EMS with @Ckemtp
• sharing a seat at the table with @theHappyMedic and @MsParamedic

I want both my little ones to aim high in life.  Although if one wants to follow (and surpass) dad, who am I to stop them.  I just might have the next MsP reading anime and munching on doritos while yelling at her brother.