Bad Skip/Crossed wires

BLOG ENTRY

INT. AMBULANCE BOX-DAY

SAM is crossing over from the squad bench of the ambulance to the captain’s chair. There is a patient on the cot breathing oxygen through a mask.

Sam checks over everything and picks up the cell phone on the counter of the ambulance.

SAM

(into phone)

St. Jonah ED, this is 108th Medic 1.

EXT. RAMPART HOSPITAL-DAY

Establishing shot of Rampart

INT. RAMPART EMERGENCY ROOM-DAY

DIXIE MCCALL glances up from her desk and sees the red light come on in the radio room. She gets up from her desk and goes inside.

INT. RADIO ROOM-DAY

Dixie looks up at the wall to see which phone is ringing. She picks up the red phone.

DIXIE

Rampart Emergency.

INT. AMBULANCE BOX-DAY

Sam patiently waits for the phone to come off hold. He hears Dixie answer and starts to give his report.

SAM

Good morning, St. Jonah, 108th Medic 1 is en route to your facility with a 55 year old female patient of Dr. Popp. Patient called EMS this morning with a complaint of difficulty breathing. Initial assessment showed some wetness in the lower right lobes on auscultation and no other major problems. Patient is resting comfortably on our cot with a pulse of 91, respiration rate of 20 no labor, blood pressure of 110/85. Patient relates a history of asthma and is a non-smoker. We currently have her on 15 liters by non rebreather and we are about…

(looks through cab out windshield)

…three minutes away from you right now. What are your questions and or instructions?

INT. RADIO ROOM-DAY

Dixie pulls the phone away from her ear for a second and scratches her head, giving the phone a funny look. She recognizes this as an honest report, but doesn’t recognize the voice on the other end of the phone. She waits a couple seconds and puts the phone back to her ear.

DIXIE

Unit calling in to Rampart, continue monitoring vital signs and transport.

INT. AMBULANCE CAB-DAY

Sam writes a few things on his clipboard while he’s on the phone.

SAM

Copy, monitor and transport, 108th Medic 1 clear at

(looks at watch)

1025 hours.

Sam hangs up the cell phone and sets it on the counter just as the ambulance pulls into St. Jonah Medical Center.

To be continued…

Just some writing…

Blog entry

ACT ONE

EXT. APPARATUS STAGING AREA - DAY
HALLIGAN and DEE DEE leave their engine parked in the staging area of the call and start to make their way to the mess tent, chatting as they go.

HALLIGAN

I honestly don’t see why Hush is crushing so hard on him. Jesus, is he that dense that he’s not even seeing it?

DEE DEE

This is Sam we’re talking about.

HALLIGAN

I know. Hell, when he’s with other medics, he’s talking like they’re all in a garage somewhere kicking back with a beer.

Dee Dee stops just short of being in front of a colored tarp used to triage injured people. Halligan gets to the other side of the tarp and notices that Dee Dee’s not next to her and stops to wait.
At the tarp treating a patient is CHRIS MONTERA and KYLE DAVID BATES. 

Chris and Kyle stop what they’re doing and the four just look at each other, then forward toward the camera. They all shrug their shoulders and continue what they were doing.
 

DEE DEE

You do have a point.

HALLIGAN

I know I do.

DEE DEE

I had to pick him up from St. Jonah a few weeks ago and all he could do was sit in that lounge and talk with AMT’s medics about “reform” and “community model” calling it something like “EMS 2 point 0”

Halligan stops just short of another colored tarp like the one they stopped at before. At the tarp treating a couple of patients are CHRIS KAISER, JUSTIN SHORR, and TED SETLA.
The three medics stop what they’re doing and look at each other, then at Halligan and Dee Dee.  The five look forward toward the camera, shrug their shoulders, and go back to what they were doing.

EXT. CANTEEN DINING AREA - DAY

Halligan and Dee Dee enter the dining area of the mobile canteen. There are a few tables scattered with firefighters and medical folks at each of the tables. The pair stop at the canteen trailer and place their order. They start walking back to the staging area, continuing their conversation.

HALLIGAN
I’ve heard it quite a bit, too. You know what kills me, though?
DEE DEE
What’s that?
HALLIGAN
The time he spends just sitting in front of that computer either in the station or at home just listening.
DEE DEE
Listening?
HALLIGAN
Yeah.
DEE DEE
Listening to what?
HALLIGAN
Various things.
DEE DEE
You know what we should do?
HALLIGAN
What’s that?
DEE DEE
Something like that on our own. Make our own thing to listen to. “By Firefighter for Firefighters”. You know, “This ain’t your daddy’s firefighting radio show.” Think he’ll listen to that?
 

Halligan stops just short of one of the tables as Dee Dee walks past. Sitting at the table are RHETT FLEITZ, ART GOODRICH, TIGER SCHMITTENDORF, CHRISTOPHER NAUM, and JOHN MITCHELL, all in their turnout gear worn down for comfort.

Dee Dee stops just as she gets past the table. The two women and five gentlemen at the table look at each other, then forward toward the camera. They all shrug their shoulders and continue what they were doing, except for John, who briefly interrupts the conversation.

JOHN
I think that’s already been done.

A Veteran’s Day message from Chief, US Army Reserve

Throughout the course of American history, courageous men and women have taken up arms to secure, defend, and maintain the democratic principles of justice, fairness, and equality upon which our Nation's freedoms depend. By their service, they kept America strong, and they have protected our way of life from tyranny's grip for over two centuries. At this moment, men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard are serving around the world. They represent our resolute dedication to achieving a lasting peace out of the new challenges and threats of the 21st century.

On this Veterans Day, let us pause to reflect on the sacrifices of all of
those who have put on the uniform to serve in the United States military. Let us honor our veterans, who proved their heroism and love of country time and again, from Yorktown and Gettysburg, Verdun and Iwo Jima, Korea and Vietnam, to today's Global War on Terror. They consistently defended our ideals across the continents; and they continue to inspire those who defend America today, half a world away. More than a million have died in service to America; and more than a million and a half have been wounded. Some sustained serious injuries in combat and now live with disabilities.

Our Nation will always be grateful for the noble sacrifices made by these veterans. We can never adequately repay them. But we can honor and respect them for their service.

One way the Army Reserve is honoring its Warrior-Citizens is by helping them obtain a job through our Employer Partnership Office (EP). This program allows employers nationwide to easily tap into a network of talented and trained Army Reserve Soldiers, while also expanding the career opportunities available for these Warrior-Citizens. More than 1,190 partnerships with our Nation's leading businesses and organizations have been formed resulting in the availability of roughly 500,000 potential jobs for qualified applicants. Over 3,572 Soldiers, Family members, Wounded Warriors, and Veterans have been hired through the program. EP continues to
be a success for the Soldiers and the partners, bridging the gap between civilian responsibility and military duty.

On Veteran's Day, EP will launch a powerful new job search portal online to increase capability to those seeking employment opportunities as well as vastly improve the employer partner's access to talent. This cutting-edge search engine and other resources are available to all Reserve Component Soldiers and Veterans from all branches of the military to help ease their transition and enhance their post-active duty careers.

Through the EP, we are working hard to ensure that the number of industry fields and hires continue to grow. Employers recognize that Army Reserve Soldiers and Veterans make high caliber employees. If you have not done so already, please visit the new EPO portal:
http://www.employerpartership.org.

I cannot think of a better way for a company or organization to make a more positive investment for our country than hiring a Soldier or Veteran. What a patriotic step for America's businesses and industries to take for the more than 206,000 of our Army Reserve Warrior-Citizens!
As always, I appreciate the commitment these industry leaders have shown to our Soldiers and Veterans who have served our country selflessly and with honor. May God continue to bless our service men and women, whether currently serving or not, as well as their Families on this Veterans Day.

Please know that your service and sacrifices are not forgotten.

JACK C. STULTZ
Lieutenant General, US Army
Chief, Army Reserve

The #HAWTIES calendar

Month	Who	Doing What
January
February
March
April		doing the “Johnny Gage” move with a prefilled syringe of D50 (or epi or atropine… )
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

It’s been joked about for a while now.  Let’s just see who would go where.

I’ve got my 12 picks for the #EMSHawties calendar.  What are yours?  And what would their pose be? 

(re) Writer’s block

Sometimes, it sucks having to do a complete re-write on some things. 

Sometimes, it’s reports.  Sometimes, it’s letters.  This time, it’s way different.

One of my “hobbies” is writing.  I do have a couple of items chiseled out on stone somewhere around here.  The couple of items focus on a paramedic and his crew.

The two books have somehow evolved (albeit still on my computer and on hard copy in a top secret location) into 13 full length television scripts (which I was told sucked when I sent the pilot in for treatment) and a couple/three 30-minute “webisodes”.

Considering I have either 13 hour-long or 26 half hour episodes with a few more barely coming out of my head through my fingers and my keyboard to the white screen of Final Draft, severe re-writes are going to need to be done.  Characters deleted, vehicles deleted, and a couple of characters brought on.

One of the “webisodes” I started gives a DEFINITE tip of the hat to “the Three Wise Men” of #CoEMS (aka @theHappyMedic, @setla, @UKMedic999) and included a character with some “Southern” roots (all that mentioned…bwahahahahaha). I’m even doing my best to incorporate EMS 2.0 into the episodes…thus the majority of the massive re-writes.

The other reason is basically, half of the equation that made “Cavalry” (the series title) work is the “Roy” half of the ambulance.

The main character, the “Johnny” half, is named Sam.  He’s a widower with a 13-year old daughter. This paramedic also has a surprise or two up his sleeve (and in his locker) when the need arises.

The “Roy” half is about 9 years younger, married step-father of 2. He is also Sam’s rock and occasional foot in the ass (for lack of better terms).  Troy gets in his own unique messes, but helps Sam’s daughter pull Sam together.

The rest of the “station” is a divorced gal, a slightly older than Sam BN chief, a “misnamed” engineer, and a freshly DE-mobilized and freshly promoted captain

Wish me luck.  At least it’ll keep me occupied for a bit.

The Combat Medic Prayer

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).