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Of Dreams, Clowns and Eagles

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As I crested the hill, I could smell the smoke in the air.

At the top of the hill, I could see a column of black smoke penetrating the air above an enclave of small, modest homes.

I quickened my steps as I headed towards the source of the smoke.

As I got nearer, I could see that the smoke was pushing powerfully from the doors and windows.

People were running around in the front yard of this residence, screaming that a young boy was inside.

A couple of men were on their hands and knees, coughing and vomiting after making an effort to enter the house to rescue the young boy. Apparently, the young boy ran from them and they had to exit the house because of the thick smoke and intense flames.

It was clear to me that I was not going to enter through the front door, so I ran to the side of the house, where I found another door.

I looked through the door and could only see the lower portion of the little boy.

I kicked in the door and as soon as the kid saw me, he took off in the other direction. He was running to a closet and as he got down on his hands and knees to crawl into the smoke-filled closet, I grabbed him by the waistband of his jeans, tucked him under my left arm and exited the same way that I had entered.

I handed him over to his mom and to the cheers of the neighbors just as the fire department was starting their attack.

I woke up from my sleep, wringing wet from sweat.

Later that same day-Friday-I was driving through Galesburg in the right hand lane. I came to a stoplight and stopped. A mini-van pulled up next to me in the left lane and I looked over at the clown that was driving.

No; it was an honest-to-God clown with a red wig, white face and a red nose. He looked at me, smiled and gave me one of those “clown waves” with his white-gloved hand.

You had to be there to sense the weirdness of the moment. The only thing that could have made it funnier was, if he had been driving on of those really small clown cars.

However; a lone clown driving a mini-van is a bit odd on its own.

Today-Saturday-two firefighters from my department, a retired bat chief from Galesburg and I played in a firefighter golf tournament in Monmouth at Gibson Woods Golf Course. IAFF Local 1702 was hosting 19 teams in a best ball format.

When I play golf, I like to play well, but I also like to enjoy it and have fun. I don’t let bad shots spoil the moment. Don’t get me wrong; I like to play well, but if I can play and make more good shots than bad shots, then it was a good day.

My team played very well in the windy rain on a wet course. One of my guys-Jeff-missed a hole in one by just two feet. We made several long putts, had some birdies and a couple of bogies. We missed winning our flight because of a scorecard playoff.

But, what I take from the day is the eagle that I scored on the sixth hole.

It was a par 4, 386-yard hole that dog-legged to the right. The corner was well protected by trees and missing the corner to the left had you in tall rough grass. I hit my drive just left of the trees at the corner and into the middle of the approach fairway to number six green.

The GPS said that we were 130 yards from the hole. The others missed the green with their shots and I was hitting last. I didn’t feel pressure.

I grabbed my 7-iron because of the wind and because I don’t hit my irons with any distance. Yes, I know; many of you would use a wedge of some sort, but I have not perfected my irons play.

I hit the ball well. It was straight in line with the flag pin. It felt good when I hit it, but you never know. We had been hitting good shots all day and were coming up short. That’s golf, you know?

But, on this shot, my ball hit the green, took one bounce and disappeared. My teammates thought it went in the hole. I thought that it bounced off the back of the green.

We got into our carts and went to the green and I asked Tyke to check the hole. I was getting a wedge and my putter and walking to the back of the green to look for my ball.

I watched Tyke reach down and pull my ball out of the cup. EAGLE!

Jubilation and celebration overcame my group.

When others can feel just as good for your accomplishment as you do, then that is a feeling like nothing else that you can experience.

And that’s how it should be with fire departments; sharing the good and the bad, picking each other up, coming through in the clutch and celebrating each other’s success and failures as a TEAM. It’s not just a golf lesson. It is a Life lesson.

A dream, a clown and an eagle. Somehow; they are connected and I must find it.

I think the dream was telling me that I would accomplish something exciting. Seeing the clown was to remind me to have fun, I think. And scoring the eagle let me know that, when you put everything together correctly, success will come. Perhaps my spiritual advisor can tell me.

Sounds a little bit strange, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s me!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 2, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Union Banning Members From Volunteering?

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Specifically, volunteer firefighting!

 

Oh; I assume that you can still volunteer at the animal shelter, homeless shelter or the youth football league, but the days of you providing a vital volunteer service to your community as a volunteer firefighter are over, according to The Albany Times Union, N.Y. newspaper. See article: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=761517

 

It is highly suspicious that the union would single out members who also volunteer as firefighters where they reside. So, Albany, NY firefighters who belong to the IAFF and who live outside of Albany will no longer be allowed to volunteer without facing sanctions* by the union.

 

Apparently, the union feels that members cannot be injured while working their “side” jobs on their days off. I guess that you cannot get injured standing in traffic while filling the boot for Jerry’s kids. And perish the thought that members could be hurt playing softball, hockey, rugby, bicycling, motorcycling or rock climbing.

 

Does anyone else find it rather odd that the union would single out volunteering on a fire department as the only activity that could hurt firefighters; thus, costing taxpayers money?

 

So, it’s fine and dandy if their effort at a secondary activity is monetarily rewarded?

 

Without seeing the “decree”, does it specifically state “volunteering as a firefighter”?

 

What about POC (Paid On Call)? Can you volunteer for an AMBULANCE service? What about a “private” fire company or industrial fire brigade? Are any of these activities approved under the union rule?

 

If so, then the intent of the ban is more than obvious to me!

 

So, I find it reprehensible. Telling anyone what they can and can’t do during their OWN time is wrong and bordering on unconstitutional.

 

I can only say to the union: try as you might and wish all you want, but volunteer fire departments are here to stay. In fact; in these tough economic times, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an increase in volunteer fire companies.

 

Don’t get me wrong; I am not anti-union. I am grateful to the IAFF for their work on behalf of firefighter safety, but on this issue of forcing members to stop volunteering, I am deeply saddened and disappointed that they would attack the very fiber and foundation on which this great nation’s fire service was built.

 

Call me crazy, but I think that the union is missing a golden opportunity with the volunteers. I would be seeking their support, offering them services for a volunteer member’s rate and paving their way to full membership some day.

 

Sam Fresina, the local union representative said, “This is nothing against volunteers. This is simply us enforcing an international bylaw for the purpose of taking care of our residents. People in the city of Albany pay our salaries, and it’s incumbent upon us to give them the best possible service that we can”.

 

Sorry, Sam, but it has EVERYTHING to do with volunteers or more importantly, the union inserting themselves in the private/public lives of their members. Regardless of the motive, it is driving a wedge between career and volunteer.

 

And that’s too bad, because BOTH serve vital roles in the communities where they live and serve.

 

*Resolution 2 directs the IAFF to delete Article XV, Section 3 and insert a new subsection to the list of defined misconduct as “working a secondary job part-time, paid on call, volunteer or otherwise as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, whether in the public or private sector,where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any affiliate or which adversely impacts the interests of any affiliate or the IAFF.

Upon a finding of guilt…it is recommended that the penalty include disqualification from holding office in any affiliate and/or expulsion from membership for the period that the misconduct persists. Charges filed for the misconduct described…shall be preferred by a member of the charged party’s local and/or member of an adversely affected affiliate.

 

This article is protected by federal copyright and cannot be re-printed in any form without the expressed permission of the author.

Posted by chiefreason on January 22, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , , ,