We buried my grandmother this morning. Dad's mom lived to 83 and died after suffering a heart attack almost three weeks ago. It has been, over the years and in the last days, a time of mixed emotions. Perhaps it has always been hardest on dad. In an attempt to protect himself and his family he had to release any relationship he could have had with his own mother - I can't even imagine.
I am not too aware of the details of his childhood - not even sure he ever had one. He has shared memories of Michigan and I've seen pictures, but I don't know much of his life before he met mom and had three boys. I have always suspected that he had to grow up before his time. However, I know this - my father has started a new Legacy with the life he is leading, the kids he raised and the woman he has stood by. My parent's love and support have far outweighed any shortcomings that anyone may point out in their parenting.
Now the grandchildren of Ethel Hanauer are all grown and have careers to be proud of, beautiful wives to take care of and children of their own to watch after. We will continue the young legacy that begins with our dad. We will share wonderful childhood memories and watch our kids make their own with their grandparents - mom and dad. The Hanauers are a formidable family - not one to be messed with. We will carry on a tradition of love and faith and unity far beyond my years. We will do this, because that is what a legacy is all about.
And you get a lion's share of the credit - dad. I love you.
28 November 2005
14 November 2005
32
This was the scene on the two-alarm fire I made this morning with Truck 32. We were already out at 0625 when the call came in for a fire with victims trapped on the second floor. Leaving the salvage run we were on, we blasted down MLK Dr to find the picture above. Truckers had already pulled a woman from the roof and were heading inside to find her son. Mark and I prepped to shoot the roof and cut a hole which would vent the heat and smoke. With chain saw in hand, I was ordered off the turntable and to the District Car to run accountability. I dropped the saw and got no closer to the fire than what you see on the screen.
I was told later, after Unit 3 relieved us on the scene that this is part of the job. Sometimes you are pulling victims out just in time, other times you are watching. I am going to try and not let it ruin an otherwise beautiful day here in Cincinnati.
The son will be fine, he was taken by Rescue 14 to The University Hospital and is listed as stable. He mother was treated for smoke inhalation and met up with her son with the help of the Salvation Army. No firefighters were hurt.
I was told later, after Unit 3 relieved us on the scene that this is part of the job. Sometimes you are pulling victims out just in time, other times you are watching. I am going to try and not let it ruin an otherwise beautiful day here in Cincinnati.
The son will be fine, he was taken by Rescue 14 to The University Hospital and is listed as stable. He mother was treated for smoke inhalation and met up with her son with the help of the Salvation Army. No firefighters were hurt.
11 November 2005
Norman and Family
Just a quick post to show Norman to friends and family who may not have seen him yet. Each day he reveals a bit more of a playful personality and really is a wonderful new addition to our home. Things are well in Cheviot.
24 October 2005
Back to "Normal"
Arsenalna is one of Kyiv's metro stops. It was once used as a bomb shelter during the Cold War when it was feared that American Imperialists might bomb the city at a moment's notice. This photo is of one of the escalators - there is another of equal length. The ride takes just over six minutes.
Maurie and I are back from Ukraine and I am ready to do some teaching. You know when you go to Wal Mart you come out feeling like you've shed a couple IQ points. Well, when I leave Kyiv I feel as though I am more intelligent than ever.
My class will be titled "Slaves, Women and Homosexuals" after a book by the same name. In an attempt to push the envelope of cultural hermeneutics, we will explore the reasoning behind our conclusions as to what is cultural in scriptural and what is transcultural. I am truly excited about teaching for the first time in a long time. Many of you know, my first real attempt with the church and teaching did not go so well.
As for Kyiv - a wonderful place. Our friends are the best we could ask for and we will be back in the summer for a wedding. Sasha Kuzmenko asked if I would perform the ceremony - I said I would be honored.
Work has been good since returning. And we get Norman on Friday. Much to look forward to and we are blessed.
Maurie and I are back from Ukraine and I am ready to do some teaching. You know when you go to Wal Mart you come out feeling like you've shed a couple IQ points. Well, when I leave Kyiv I feel as though I am more intelligent than ever.
My class will be titled "Slaves, Women and Homosexuals" after a book by the same name. In an attempt to push the envelope of cultural hermeneutics, we will explore the reasoning behind our conclusions as to what is cultural in scriptural and what is transcultural. I am truly excited about teaching for the first time in a long time. Many of you know, my first real attempt with the church and teaching did not go so well.
As for Kyiv - a wonderful place. Our friends are the best we could ask for and we will be back in the summer for a wedding. Sasha Kuzmenko asked if I would perform the ceremony - I said I would be honored.
Work has been good since returning. And we get Norman on Friday. Much to look forward to and we are blessed.
28 September 2005
Kyiv
Our flight for Ukraine leaves in just over 10 days and I am ready for some time away. Friends are preparing for our arrival and most of the logistics have been worked out. We will stay at the Ukrainian Education Center - a place that has undergone some change since we last saw it. Days will be filled with visits and at night we will see those we could not be with during the day. I know several are taking vacation days to be with us. We have been asked to participate in the church's retreat and I will be preaching on Sunday morning - always an honor.
In most ways I am thinking of how wonderful it will be to return. In some ways, though, I am hesitant about how much time has passed and where we will fit in.
My time in Kyiv was like nothing else. God has blessed Maurie and I with the opportunity to return and I plan on soaking it up.
In most ways I am thinking of how wonderful it will be to return. In some ways, though, I am hesitant about how much time has passed and where we will fit in.
My time in Kyiv was like nothing else. God has blessed Maurie and I with the opportunity to return and I plan on soaking it up.
20 September 2005
Grace is Here
Quick picture of Grace Lee Hanauer. She was 7 lbs and 8 oz. Everyone is healthy and happy.
Baby Grace
It must be strange to know precisely when your life is going to change so drastically. At 1 p.m. today is just such a moment for my brother Jason, his wife Mandy and their son Hunter. Grace is coming! I will be an uncle three times over and have two nieces. My parents will have three grandchildren. With video cameras rolling, 35 mm film snapping and smiles all around we will celebrate today. Grace is coming!
18 September 2005
45 MPH
You guessed it! Maurie and I are talking Greyhound - and not the bus. We looked today and retired racing greyhounds and fell in love. After we make a return trip to Kyiv - coming soon, we will adopt our very own. I will keep you posted.
10 September 2005
Regent Fire
The picture is of a house in Bond Hill that was on fire at 8.24 on Thursday morning. Truck 32 responded with Truck 2, Engine 9, Engine 32, District 3, District 2 and Rat 19.
The Fire was in the kitchen but had spread to the living area on the first floor. I went to work with my officer on the roof (shown in the photo). We cut a hole to vent the fire and the smoke and then pushed the ceiling through. Flames rushed out and we were ordered off the roof by District 3 - Regent Command. I was then ordered to pop windows and start pulling exterior structure off to see if the fire was "running". The fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes and we were back in service for lunch.
Engine 32 beat the 9s to the fire - though it was in the 9s' area and got first water to the seat of the fire.
As fires go, this one was textbook. No one hurt, fire out and a great day for the Avondale Raiders.
The Fire was in the kitchen but had spread to the living area on the first floor. I went to work with my officer on the roof (shown in the photo). We cut a hole to vent the fire and the smoke and then pushed the ceiling through. Flames rushed out and we were ordered off the roof by District 3 - Regent Command. I was then ordered to pop windows and start pulling exterior structure off to see if the fire was "running". The fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes and we were back in service for lunch.
Engine 32 beat the 9s to the fire - though it was in the 9s' area and got first water to the seat of the fire.
As fires go, this one was textbook. No one hurt, fire out and a great day for the Avondale Raiders.
07 September 2005
The Role of Government
The question is a fair one: What is the role of government in an event like Katrina?
Though I am sure that the motives are pure behind the question, I am curious as to its asking. Do we seek to know the role of government in our lives and in the lives of others so that we may find our role? Is knowing what government will do critical to what we do? I will tell you that I am ignorant when it comes to government. Reading the NY Times and listening to NPR certainly does not give me the right to expound very long on America's governmental responsibilities. But, everyone has an opinion and so do I.
Government will do in a crisis more of what government was intended to do when government was first created. It will not find you a job, help you seek shelter or give you a drink of cold water. It will not clothe you, bath you and watch after your family pet. It will never wipe you tears, give you a bear hug and brainstorm ideas with you as to the future. What the government will do - though admittedly, not in all the above examples, is provide an environment suitable for those things to occur. Perhaps make it so it is more likely that those things occur.
The United States Government is the people of these States and this - as the thinking can sometimes go, makes it great. But what if the government takes the place of common sense and replaces it with a bureaucracy that cannot love and will not be caring. The people of New Orleans and Biloxi will rebuild their cities and find hope again. And government will take a traditional role of organization and command. It sends money - billions of dollars to be used in relief efforts dreamed up by people. In these times the government is said to be there for people - or absent as some have suggested.
Then, government gets narrowed further to Bush. The leader of the free world has a burden to carry that I dare not mock. And though "President Bush does not like black people" and other thoughtful statement get spoken when speaking about how government handled the current crisis. We must further evaluate how much government is enough. We control our day to day and do not like Big Brother peeking in on us. But, in times of great need Big Brother and his Billions perhaps aren't quite as evil as we thought. We like to see men with camo and guns when chaos reigns. We welcome the military-industrial machine into our living rooms when they are six feet under water. We demand to be housing, food and water just as the surf once did from the king. Government cannot give us hope or even a levy system that works.
But we would do well to remember that the government is not the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men to bring about his will. We would do well to seek that will inorder to find what we should do and let government worry over itself. But I don't vote and so I do not complain.
What think ye?
Though I am sure that the motives are pure behind the question, I am curious as to its asking. Do we seek to know the role of government in our lives and in the lives of others so that we may find our role? Is knowing what government will do critical to what we do? I will tell you that I am ignorant when it comes to government. Reading the NY Times and listening to NPR certainly does not give me the right to expound very long on America's governmental responsibilities. But, everyone has an opinion and so do I.
Government will do in a crisis more of what government was intended to do when government was first created. It will not find you a job, help you seek shelter or give you a drink of cold water. It will not clothe you, bath you and watch after your family pet. It will never wipe you tears, give you a bear hug and brainstorm ideas with you as to the future. What the government will do - though admittedly, not in all the above examples, is provide an environment suitable for those things to occur. Perhaps make it so it is more likely that those things occur.
The United States Government is the people of these States and this - as the thinking can sometimes go, makes it great. But what if the government takes the place of common sense and replaces it with a bureaucracy that cannot love and will not be caring. The people of New Orleans and Biloxi will rebuild their cities and find hope again. And government will take a traditional role of organization and command. It sends money - billions of dollars to be used in relief efforts dreamed up by people. In these times the government is said to be there for people - or absent as some have suggested.
Then, government gets narrowed further to Bush. The leader of the free world has a burden to carry that I dare not mock. And though "President Bush does not like black people" and other thoughtful statement get spoken when speaking about how government handled the current crisis. We must further evaluate how much government is enough. We control our day to day and do not like Big Brother peeking in on us. But, in times of great need Big Brother and his Billions perhaps aren't quite as evil as we thought. We like to see men with camo and guns when chaos reigns. We welcome the military-industrial machine into our living rooms when they are six feet under water. We demand to be housing, food and water just as the surf once did from the king. Government cannot give us hope or even a levy system that works.
But we would do well to remember that the government is not the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men to bring about his will. We would do well to seek that will inorder to find what we should do and let government worry over itself. But I don't vote and so I do not complain.
What think ye?
28 August 2005
The System
Heard this on NPR's show All Things Considered and wanted to share.
A black maid executed in Georgia in 1945 is being granted a pardon by the state for killing a white man she said enslaved her. Lena Baker said she acted in self-defense, but a jury of white men convicted her after a one-day trial. Baker is the only woman to have been executed in the state's electric chair. On Aug. 30, Georgia authorities will present a proclamation to her descendants, including her grandnephew Roosevelt Curry, who led the drive to clear her name.
I would recommend going to NPR.org and searching the story to listen to it in its entirety - worth it. It is heartbreaking. And yet I cannot help but think that America's not-to-distant past is filled with Lena Baker's and faces and stories that demand justice.
In a world filled with postmodern thought - this one thing has redeemed our age: The stories of the oppressed and of the poor and helpless are being and will be heard. They will be valued as other history has been valued and we will question until we get answers.
While the church is still wrestling with what to do with this seemingly liberal thought process, the intelligentsia of our cities are grasping the freedom and telling that which could not be told before. And I believe they are making room for the gospel in a world that thinks it has already heard the gospel. We don't need to repackage and dress-up the Truth. We need only the faith to speak it anew and claim the promises of God for ourselves.
A dead woman needs no pardon, but her story needs telling. My shirt is green and Jesus rose from the dead, rather you believe or not.
"God don't make us jump though hoops, he ain't countin' every oops. He loves us, relax"
A black maid executed in Georgia in 1945 is being granted a pardon by the state for killing a white man she said enslaved her. Lena Baker said she acted in self-defense, but a jury of white men convicted her after a one-day trial. Baker is the only woman to have been executed in the state's electric chair. On Aug. 30, Georgia authorities will present a proclamation to her descendants, including her grandnephew Roosevelt Curry, who led the drive to clear her name.
I would recommend going to NPR.org and searching the story to listen to it in its entirety - worth it. It is heartbreaking. And yet I cannot help but think that America's not-to-distant past is filled with Lena Baker's and faces and stories that demand justice.
In a world filled with postmodern thought - this one thing has redeemed our age: The stories of the oppressed and of the poor and helpless are being and will be heard. They will be valued as other history has been valued and we will question until we get answers.
While the church is still wrestling with what to do with this seemingly liberal thought process, the intelligentsia of our cities are grasping the freedom and telling that which could not be told before. And I believe they are making room for the gospel in a world that thinks it has already heard the gospel. We don't need to repackage and dress-up the Truth. We need only the faith to speak it anew and claim the promises of God for ourselves.
A dead woman needs no pardon, but her story needs telling. My shirt is green and Jesus rose from the dead, rather you believe or not.
"God don't make us jump though hoops, he ain't countin' every oops. He loves us, relax"
25 August 2005
Women
This is mainly for Adam - but others can read on.
Maurie and I listened to the sermon on our way home for Louisville and I feel like I need to listen again. It is clear that he has done good research and his points were powerful - to say the least. His use of Leviticus 19 was near inspired and he questioning was faithful to scripture. As you can see, I enjoyed it - but I am not sure he addressed fully the issues raised by Paul in Timothy.
Example - Why does Paul reference the Fall when making his case?
With this specifically in mind, Cope reads from Genesis contradicting Paul and saying that that is a fallen view of women; never addressing the plain fact that God made it so. However, I am not sure about the effectiveness of that argument. To me, I was still wanting more about how he reaches his conclusions. I thought his use of Paul's "become all things" may have been bit out of place - but perhaps I was just uncomfortable with it.
So, I will listen again and perhaps launch my own study of this age-old question.
Keep thinking.
Maurie and I listened to the sermon on our way home for Louisville and I feel like I need to listen again. It is clear that he has done good research and his points were powerful - to say the least. His use of Leviticus 19 was near inspired and he questioning was faithful to scripture. As you can see, I enjoyed it - but I am not sure he addressed fully the issues raised by Paul in Timothy.
Example - Why does Paul reference the Fall when making his case?
With this specifically in mind, Cope reads from Genesis contradicting Paul and saying that that is a fallen view of women; never addressing the plain fact that God made it so. However, I am not sure about the effectiveness of that argument. To me, I was still wanting more about how he reaches his conclusions. I thought his use of Paul's "become all things" may have been bit out of place - but perhaps I was just uncomfortable with it.
So, I will listen again and perhaps launch my own study of this age-old question.
Keep thinking.
13 August 2005
Missing Tragedy
In my work - that of professional firefighting - the thing that brings us work brings tragedy to those we seek to serve. And though it is not my fault that homes burn and people die, I am often there with my colleagues to witness such events. What's worse, when I miss a tragedy - like the two-alarm fire I missed on my Kelly Day - I get upset and talk about how great it could have been.
Yesterday I watched a woman die in her living room. She called us for help because she felt like she could not catch her breath. We arrived in minutes, fresh from an afternoon nap, and were there to provide the assistance we have been trained with. But thirty seconds after we walked in the door with a tackle box of drugs, the heart monitor and an airway kit, she was gone.
She told us her name and talked briefly about when her trouble started. Then, as I tried to get a blood pressure, she looked up and died. We rushed her to the rescue unit and did all we could - not enough in this case.
It has been almost three months since I arrived on the companies of our nation's first professional fire department and I am still so confused about the job. We celebrate fire - the loss of someone's home and possessions. Then, when we see death, we go back to the house and finish our movie or resume our nap.
I work the best and the strangest job in the world.
Yesterday I watched a woman die in her living room. She called us for help because she felt like she could not catch her breath. We arrived in minutes, fresh from an afternoon nap, and were there to provide the assistance we have been trained with. But thirty seconds after we walked in the door with a tackle box of drugs, the heart monitor and an airway kit, she was gone.
She told us her name and talked briefly about when her trouble started. Then, as I tried to get a blood pressure, she looked up and died. We rushed her to the rescue unit and did all we could - not enough in this case.
It has been almost three months since I arrived on the companies of our nation's first professional fire department and I am still so confused about the job. We celebrate fire - the loss of someone's home and possessions. Then, when we see death, we go back to the house and finish our movie or resume our nap.
I work the best and the strangest job in the world.
11 August 2005
Unfinished
It seems that several people I know have had reason to celebrate recently and, though I will not go into all the situations, I do want to mention one man in the crowd.
Chuck Jones is a guy I used to know. We worshipped at the same small church in Nashville and went to the same university for three semesters. He is a singer, songwriter from Texas and has never given up the dream. Chuck would play coffee shops on Vanderbilt's campus and Shamblen Theatre on occasion. He writes about the raw side of life sometimes and other times you can't quit laughing at the words and tone.
I am not good at finishing things - this I come to realize the hard way. But Chuck has made it - at least by some standard. When all the guys from the Aggregate left him for families and jobs, Chuck hung in there. So, download iTunes from Apple and sample his stuff. Search Southpaw Jones and I think you'll like what you hear.
Finish something today - for me.
Chuck Jones is a guy I used to know. We worshipped at the same small church in Nashville and went to the same university for three semesters. He is a singer, songwriter from Texas and has never given up the dream. Chuck would play coffee shops on Vanderbilt's campus and Shamblen Theatre on occasion. He writes about the raw side of life sometimes and other times you can't quit laughing at the words and tone.
I am not good at finishing things - this I come to realize the hard way. But Chuck has made it - at least by some standard. When all the guys from the Aggregate left him for families and jobs, Chuck hung in there. So, download iTunes from Apple and sample his stuff. Search Southpaw Jones and I think you'll like what you hear.
Finish something today - for me.
09 August 2005
Quakers
The doctrine of non-resistance to evil by force has been professed by a minority of men from the very foundation of Christianity.
-Tolstoy
Some observations that I have made as a man living in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you want to save the life of an unborn child you are a conservative stepping on the rights of others. However, if you want to kill all your enemies and believe that the only problem with dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan was that we didn't have ten to drop - you are that same conservative. I admit, perhaps too radical an example - but I think you could see the truth in it.
The call of Jesus is to surrender and, in my estimation, abandon formal and communal politics as they are being offered to us today. There are simply no Christian choices and I am not sure we have a system that would allow for them. We must return to the power of the Spirit working in our churches and serve like never before. We must become creative in our resistance to the thought that the above example makes any sort of sense when set up next to the Christian worldview.
I will begin by visiting a Quaker meeting - I am not even sure you can do that. However, the Quakers are known for the stuff that I think the Gospel would have us be known for. Reports to come.
-Tolstoy
Some observations that I have made as a man living in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you want to save the life of an unborn child you are a conservative stepping on the rights of others. However, if you want to kill all your enemies and believe that the only problem with dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan was that we didn't have ten to drop - you are that same conservative. I admit, perhaps too radical an example - but I think you could see the truth in it.
The call of Jesus is to surrender and, in my estimation, abandon formal and communal politics as they are being offered to us today. There are simply no Christian choices and I am not sure we have a system that would allow for them. We must return to the power of the Spirit working in our churches and serve like never before. We must become creative in our resistance to the thought that the above example makes any sort of sense when set up next to the Christian worldview.
I will begin by visiting a Quaker meeting - I am not even sure you can do that. However, the Quakers are known for the stuff that I think the Gospel would have us be known for. Reports to come.
23 July 2005
Doing Good Missions
This morning did not start well - I was tossing the cookies in a San Diego Airport bathroom. It never got much better - I was chunking on the plane and nearly pooped my pants twice. However, after some salad and a sandwich, I am feeling much better.
Maurie and I are back from Mexico and we are still nailing down our exact thoughts on the week past. I will write some now, but save the bulk for later, when I have put some separation in and perhaps added some insights.
Here are some facts on the trip: Something like 85 of us went to Baja when 40 would have been too many. I went to build a house and spent very little time on the site and the home never was finished. Baja Missions is an organization with too much money and not enough to do. Everywhere we went we drove. Everywhere we stayed was the best in town. Everytime we did anything, we needed pictures of the moment and "gold stars" to praise those involved.
Perhaps that is why I am so sick.
I will write tomorrow. I am happy to be home and looking forward to worship with the church tomorrow.
Maurie and I are back from Mexico and we are still nailing down our exact thoughts on the week past. I will write some now, but save the bulk for later, when I have put some separation in and perhaps added some insights.
Here are some facts on the trip: Something like 85 of us went to Baja when 40 would have been too many. I went to build a house and spent very little time on the site and the home never was finished. Baja Missions is an organization with too much money and not enough to do. Everywhere we went we drove. Everywhere we stayed was the best in town. Everytime we did anything, we needed pictures of the moment and "gold stars" to praise those involved.
Perhaps that is why I am so sick.
I will write tomorrow. I am happy to be home and looking forward to worship with the church tomorrow.
12 July 2005
Update
As promised, I am updated you as to my progress with the violin. I have completed two lessons with Rachel and have my third scheduled for Thursday. To date I can play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in four variations. Some sound better than others, but I believe I am making headway.
Maurie and I leave for Mexico on Saturday. We will be gone for a week of work in Baja. I look forward to the journey and will write after I return.
Maurie and I leave for Mexico on Saturday. We will be gone for a week of work in Baja. I look forward to the journey and will write after I return.
08 July 2005
More Than
Isn't this a cute kid? I have no idea who she is, where the picture was taken or any of the necessary details that come with showing someone a photo. It is just a picture.
But to a precious few the girl represented on your screen is a daughter, a sister, a new best friend. Either way, she is more than just a kid with a Crayon.
Adam writes that God has placed me exactly where I ought be. What are the chances of that happening? Should I start playing the Ohio lotto - am I that lucky? And if I am where I should be, are you where you should be?
Adam also writes that I am more than a firefighter and this is the crucial point I better not miss out on. True, I am where I am and it could be right where God wants me. But, if I were somewhere else, God would need me there too. The will of God for my life is not like the double bulls in a game of darts. Nope, the will of God in my life is much more like a canvas with lots of paint and lots of space.
Allow God to use you today as you teach, while you drive, and amongst your free time. Be God's hands while you paint the masterpiece of a lifetime.
But to a precious few the girl represented on your screen is a daughter, a sister, a new best friend. Either way, she is more than just a kid with a Crayon.
Adam writes that God has placed me exactly where I ought be. What are the chances of that happening? Should I start playing the Ohio lotto - am I that lucky? And if I am where I should be, are you where you should be?
Adam also writes that I am more than a firefighter and this is the crucial point I better not miss out on. True, I am where I am and it could be right where God wants me. But, if I were somewhere else, God would need me there too. The will of God for my life is not like the double bulls in a game of darts. Nope, the will of God in my life is much more like a canvas with lots of paint and lots of space.
Allow God to use you today as you teach, while you drive, and amongst your free time. Be God's hands while you paint the masterpiece of a lifetime.
05 July 2005
Adjustment
Yesterday's tour was a lesson in dying. First run out the door I found myself doing CPR for 10 minutes while the Medics pushed drugs and checked the monitor. There was no dignity, it was not clean and simple. Instead it was awkward and a bit scary. I felt inadequate, and at times - useless. Death was not gracious - perhaps she never is.
You must understand, as I thought I did, that I will face death many times over in my 25 year career. However, I was not sure how it would be that first time. Now I know. It was one thing to see the dead, quite another to "work" the dead.
The remainder of the shift was no better. Multiple gunshot victims, dumpster fires, and domestic violence calls rounded out the day. I think I'm tough, I think I can handle it - but yesterday sucked and I'm not sure I'm ready for another day like it - just yet.
The older guys at my house say there is an adjustment period. You must get used to death before you feel normal after a day like yesterday. Do I want to get used to it? Do I have to get used to it? What else about me might change because of this job?
You must understand, as I thought I did, that I will face death many times over in my 25 year career. However, I was not sure how it would be that first time. Now I know. It was one thing to see the dead, quite another to "work" the dead.
The remainder of the shift was no better. Multiple gunshot victims, dumpster fires, and domestic violence calls rounded out the day. I think I'm tough, I think I can handle it - but yesterday sucked and I'm not sure I'm ready for another day like it - just yet.
The older guys at my house say there is an adjustment period. You must get used to death before you feel normal after a day like yesterday. Do I want to get used to it? Do I have to get used to it? What else about me might change because of this job?
02 July 2005
Camp Nurse
The only issue with being a camp nurse for a week in upstate New York is that people assume - incorrectly in this case - that you are actually a nurse.
My week at Shiloh was very rewarding and I am happy to report that I never had to use my pseudo-nursing skills.
True, I do have a bit of a cold and my cabin was the toilet for the entire camp for a bit - but overall a great time.
I return to work on Monday after having not been for quite a while. It will also be the 4th which promises some interesting runs.
For now, just trying to catch up on some sleep and enjoy being home with my wife and my cat.
My week at Shiloh was very rewarding and I am happy to report that I never had to use my pseudo-nursing skills.
True, I do have a bit of a cold and my cabin was the toilet for the entire camp for a bit - but overall a great time.
I return to work on Monday after having not been for quite a while. It will also be the 4th which promises some interesting runs.
For now, just trying to catch up on some sleep and enjoy being home with my wife and my cat.
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