Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of A Cat
Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of A Cat: A note before we get into anything else: Authors For Oklahoma now has a fourth blog in place that details three bundles of books being ra...
Saying Goodby To The Hotshots
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
In my
almost 33 years as a firefighter, the biggest brush fire I ever fought covered around
100 acres. It took hours and several fire departments to bring under control.
There are 640 acres in a square
mile.
The fire
that killed 19 firefighters in Arizona on the last day of June burned 13 square
miles, in its first day. It was just getting started.
Just wrap
your mind around the size of this fire. The average wildland fire in the West
last year got up to 330 acres, but that includes all the slower moving ones, or
the ones close to urban areas that could get stomped down in a hurry.
When you
can’t stomp it down in a hurry, you call in the Hotshots.
There are
only about 110 Hotshot crews in the entire country, each of them with about 20
members. If Smoke Jumpers are the paratroopers of the fire service, then
Hotshots are the Navy SEALS, taking point and going in to those places no one
else can seem to reach. They leave not just roads, but trails, wading into the
wild with fifty pounds of equipment: tools, radios, first aid equipment, food,
water, everything they need to survive alone.
That
includes emergency fire shelters, which, as we’ve learned the hard way, are
last resorts that don’t always help.
At the end
of a workday they don’t stop working. They can disappear into the forest for
days at a time, eating cold rations, forgoing showers, sleeping on the ground,
missing their families for weeks. They’re tough, skilled, alert, and they have
to be.
They’re the
elite. The elite go in harm’s way, and that’s why the elite sometimes die.
It was the
worst day for firefighters since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It was the most
line of duty deaths caused by a single wildfire in 80 years, since 29 died
fighting one in Los Angeles.
It’s so
easy to throw out numbers, isn’t it?
I think the
number that affected me the most was one. Nineteen of the 20 member Hotshot
team died in a sudden wind shift, when the fire rolled back and overtook them.
The last member wasn’t close by – he was a mile away with the team’s truck, at
the time. Imagine how he feels? The only survivor, by sheer chance. He probably
wishes right now that he’d been with his comrades. I’m not sure there’s
anything that will ever take that man’s pain away.
How about
the three firefighters whose sons were on the Granite Mountain Hotshots team?
I’ll bet you couldn’t have drug those young men away from firefighting with a
team of Clydesdales, but that’s not what their fathers are thinking. Those dads
will wonder why they didn’t talk their sons out of following in their
footsteps.
Imagine
what it’s like to live in the community of Prescott, Arizona?
Prescott, a
city of less than 40,000, is the home of the Granite Mountain Interagency
Hotshot Crew. They’re the first ever municipal Hotshots (most are federal),
part of a 92 member fire department. The Hotshots had to work and train hard
for five years before they got that title.
Did you
know annual firefighter deaths in America were on a downward trend? We’d been
averaging around a hundred a year, but in 2012 it dropped to 64, according to
the National Fire Protection Association. It was the fourth year in a row below
triple digits. (30 of those lost in 2012 were volunteers.)
And now nineteen
in one fire.
And … and I
don’t have the heart to do any more research.
I was
supposed to go up to my fire station the next night, Monday. I’d received the
shipment of my book, and was going to bring a box full to distribute to the
firefighters who wanted one. But I just didn’t have it in me; I didn’t want to
face anyone. I figured they’d understand about the book – it’ll still be there,
and in the scheme of things it’s not a big deal. But whenever something like
this happens it just brings back all the bad things I’ve seen, and sometimes
experienced, in the emergency services. I didn’t feel up to dealing with it.
Later there’ll be a time when I
stand before them and say, “that could be us”. Not a fire of that ferocity, of
course, but all too often it’s not the spectacular that kills firefighters,
it’s the mundane. A traffic accident, a building collapse during overhaul, a
heart attack after returning to the station. Being fatalistic doesn’t cut it
anymore, not when people are depending on you. You have to be a little paranoid
– you have to take the minor stuff seriously, along with the major stuff.
And that’s my lecture, I guess. You
could boil the whole thing down to “treasure each moment, and be careful”.
Seems like I’ve written too many columns like this over the years, but it’s cheaper
than therapy.
It would be nice if I didn’t have to write one again, for a while.
Bagpipes, helicopter coming to Albion Fire's 125th anniversary
The Fort Wayne Firefighters Pipes and
Drum Corps and Samaritan helicopter plan to help the town of Albion celebrate
its fire department’s 125th anniversary on Saturday, July 20th.
The Pipes and Drum Corps was established
in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, as an honor guard to pay tribute to
fallen firefighters. They currently consist of seven pipers and six drummers.
Samaritan is an emergency medical air
transport service that has landed at Albion area emergency scenes numerous
times. Their appearance will depend on weather conditions, and it’s hoped they
won’t get called away to an emergency response during the celebration.
In addition, the Albion Fire Department
is working to form their own honor guard, to present the colors during a
dedication ceremony scheduled for 1-2 p.m., in the Central Noble Schools
auditorium along East Main Street. The AFD’s 125th celebration will
go on from 12 noon until 5 p.m., and include fair style food, games for kids, a
fire truck cruise-in, and a signing for a book about the AFD’s history, among
other things. The event’s Facebook page is at:
Windchaser's Journey: Movie Review: DESPICABLE ME 2
Windchaser's Journey: Movie Review: DESPICABLE ME 2: My name is Norma and I'm a Minion junkie. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they'll confirm it: I never really grew up. I collect ...
Storm Chaser Shorts Nominated
My short story collection, Storm Chaser Shorts, has
been nominated for best short story collection in the 2013 Festival of Words
virtual book fair. All it needs is … you to vote for it! Voting requires
registration, but it’s pretty easy – and you can ignore the ad material that
comes at the end, even though at first glance it seems to be part of the
registration process. Here’s the link to the short story choices:
There’s a line near the top of the page that allows you
to register, log in, and see the other choices in the contest. And if you
haven’t had a chance to check out my collection, take a peak here:
Iindependence Day: Hot Men Who Dressed Funny
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
We have a
holiday coming up that many refer to as the Fourth of July, also known as
Fireworks and Cookout Day. Its proper name is Independence Day, in that it’s
the anniversary of the day thirteen of England’s New World colonies declared
they wanted to be their own separate countries. (Canada opted out.)
Then, as
soon as they became separate countries, they un-separated and became the United
States.
Only about
a third of the population really wanted to be independent; another third kinda
liked being part of the most powerful empire in the world, and the last third
just didn’t care one way or another, as long as they were left alone. In other
words, people haven’t changed much from then to now.
This whole
thing came about because a bunch of people who dressed funny sat in an un-air
conditioned room during a heat wave, and decided they were upset about just
about everything. This is why riots usually begin in the summer, people.
So the group, known as the
Continental Congress because they happened to be on a continent at the time,
put five men to work drafting something they called a Declaration of
Independence: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R.
Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
Surely you’re familiar with all
those guys? Okay, most of them?
In the tradition of committees
everywhere, they mostly sat around and gossiped about King George while one
man, Jefferson, did all the work. He wanted Adams to write it, but Jefferson
was the only one with a portable desk, what with him being the man who invented
it.
John Adams was so happy with the
result that he declared that day would be remembered forever with “pomp and
parade, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, illuminations, and
Franklin’s newly patented break dancing routine”. Quite the prognosticator.
Unfortunately,
Adams was referring to July 2nd,
the day the Second Continental Congress actually approved the resolution for
independence. (The First Continental Congress did little, approving only the
Continental Breakfast Resolution that provided for food wherever George
Washington slept.)
It wasn’t
until two days later that the Congress actually announced the Declaration,
giving them time to go through poll information and plan fact-finding trips to
the Caribbean. In fact, everyone in Congress except John Hancock waited until
August 2nd to sign the thing,
just to make sure Hancock wouldn’t get hanged by the British.
So you see,
it isn’t just these days that Congress holds off on taking chances.
It made me
wonder about other things I’d heard related to the Declaration of Independence,
so I checked out an old story about the hardships the fifty-six signers went
through. As is usual, some of the story is true, and some of it not so much.
Five
signers were captured by the British, who were probably a little peeved about
the whole thing. Four of those five had left Congress to actually fight
alongside the Rebel troops, which just goes to show you how boring Congress
was. The fifth was dragged out of his bed by British sympathizers just after he
evacuated his family from New Jersey. The angry Tories punished him by making
him stay in New Jersey.
About a
dozen had their homes ransacked and burned during the war. However, looting,
vandalizing, and burning homes of people you didn’t like was a big pastime back
then, because they didn’t yet have hockey or soccer.
Nine
signers died during the war, but only one from gunshot wounds. And … ahem …
those wounds were received in a duel with a fellow officer. Remember, they
weren’t big on organized sports back then, so you had to pass the time however
you could.
The truth
is, a lot of the signers went through hardships not because they signed, but
because they happened to be in a nation that was revolting against its parent
country. Some of them lost their lives, or the lives of relatives; some went
through great financial difficulties; some were hounded and hunted by the
British. In other words, they risked their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor”.
Some went
out and fought with the troops against the British. Some stayed in politics for
years, thus endangering their very souls. One sailed over to France and carried
on with the royal court and a bunch of French women, but hey – it’s Benjamin
Franklin. What can you do?
One of them
was named William Whipple, and wasn’t that punishment enough?
(By the
way, Whipple was a very successful military leader, so it would probably have
been best not to make fun of his name to his face.)
What lesson
do we take from this? That we’d still be British, if we’d only had air
conditioning? That the real opiate of the masses is organized sports? That you
can get named Button Gwinnett, grow up in Georgia, and still survive to sign
the Declaration of Independence?
Well, yeah.
Another
lesson is that when good people are faced with hardship and oppression, they
can face the challenge, do what should be done instead of what can be done, and
accomplish great things – even if it goes against their personal interests.
That’s reason enough to remember the reason for the holiday.
Even if they did dress funny.
request for full
In all the fuss about interviews and book releases, I forgot to mention receiving a reply from Harlequin Special Edition on the query letter, synopsis and three chapters I sent them a month ago. They asked to see the entire manuscript of my romantic comedy, Coming Attractions, so I reviewed for mistakes one more time, then sent my baby off. Wish me luck!
Oh, and my TV interview on Indiana’s News Center is (for now) rescheduled for the six p.m. news tomorrow, Independence Day.
Oh, and my TV interview on Indiana’s News Center is (for now) rescheduled for the six p.m. news tomorrow, Independence Day.
Smoky Days Out on Kindle
Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights is now available as a Kindle e-book:
We’re working on making it available for other formats,
possibly by selling the PDF direct; we’ll keep you posted.
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