The Obligatory Year in Review

Nothing in this missive should come as a surprise to you dear reader.  In the past year my shift of ne'er-do-wells have responded to more than our share of  thought provoking calls.  It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that there is a significant amount of irony in our work.

This is not the individual call "Karma is a bitch" stuff, but the over all feeling of Fire, EMS, and Police as compared to the ordinary run of the laity.  The irony, as I see it, in our collective jobs is that the best calls are really the worst ones.  Disaster, distress, and tragedy are really what we live for.   The adrenalin pulsing through our blood stream that can quickly burn us out or leave us wanting more.  The feeling that we need to exist, to confirm our existence or our superiority.  Our best day is predicated on their worst day.

Our best - their worst.  Think about it.

Think about it as you pick up the junkie.  Think about it as you push through the dilapidated burning home.  Think about it as you extricate the drunk driver and his expired passenger.  Think about it as you take the confused nursing home resident to the ER, for the third time that week.  Think about your partner, your crew, your family...you.

It costs us nothing to show a little of ourselves hidden under the crusty outer layer we portray.  Compassion for the folks we do the job for.  That don't understand, will never understand, never mind appreciate.  Leave the negativity in 2011 and charge head long into the positives in twenty twelve.
Happy New Year.        Never Forget.