I cuss more than I should. Way more. Like enough that my mom would probably still want to ground me and I'm almost 40. But sometimes it's just what you need. It's like a glass of ice tea on a hot day or a foot rub from your husband. It makes everything better and, if you can admit it, it just feels good to let lose with a litany of salty curses.
Now, I endeavor to curtail this part of my vocabulary around my kids for obvious reasons. I try. Really hard. But I don't always succeed so my kids have heard my colorful adjectives. I'm upfront with them about the fact that I'm a severely flawed individual and they should not follow my lead. Will they turn out ok? I have no idea. I grew up in a household where you weren't even allowed to say butt and look where that got me. Maybe they'll rebel against me and be straight laced and proper...that would probably be great!
Out of respect for my parents I do keep my language to a minimum at family events. And if you knew my family, you would know how fucking monumental that is. (See, I just used it and lightening didn't strike me, or you, down.) There are several family members that I would love to let lose on but, no, I keep my mouth shut. Meanwhile, my brain is in meltdown from all the held-in verbal smack downs running through it. There may come a day when I loose control of the thin filter that has managed to grow between my mind and my mouth. And when that comes, it will be the most freeing day of my life. Sure, I won't ever be invited back for Christmas dinner. Or Easter. Or, well...any other forced family occasion. Hhhmmm....perhaps I'm onto something there.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
An open letter to anyone who wants to read it:
Today the City of Salem announced that it would be shutting down 2 fire stations. Completely. As in, sorry no one is home to answer your emergency, please try again later. I am rather indignant about this decision for several reasons. The first being that my husband works for Salem FD. The second has to do with the fact that the FD union was in negotiation with the city and had presented another viable option that would accomplish the same savings (if not more), shut down only one engine and evenly distribute the staffing throughout the city. The city manager said no. Then to prove how much she really meant it, she closed two stations. Ya...I know. I have flashbacks to the playground and that really spoiled girl that always stomped her foot and cried if she didn't get her way. I never liked her...I wonder what she's doing now?
Anyway, as I read the article published in the Statesman Journal (cough cough) I was shocked by some of the comments. Not all of them....just the really ignorant ones. The ones that said things like "Good, I'm glad we're not paying those guys to sleep anymore" and "I'm tired of seeing them at the grocery store in their shiny trucks". Wow. I mean, really. Wow. At first I was angry, like shake my fist and use my favorite curse word angry. Then I realized that maybe people really just don't get it. So, let me clue you in on what goes on during a 24 hour shift. And, bear in mind, this is all second hand from my husband but I'm thinking he's a pretty reliable source.
My husband works at Station 3, referred to as The House of Pain because it's the busiest engine in the city. I believe it's also the 27th busiest single-engine house in the nation. Their record for responses in a 24 hours shift is 20 calls. You do the math people. They don't really sleep so that answers the one ignorant comment. Sometimes it's referred to as The House of Mild Discomfort when it's a slow shift...you know like when they get maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
Each day there are 3 people on the engine: the captain, the engineer (driver) and the hoser (firefighter). These crews rotate every 3 days: 24 hrs on/48 hours off. Each shift is responsible for their own meals and they each pitch in a few bucks to buy the ingredients for that day's meal. Sometimes they bring stuff in from home so they don't have to shop but most of the time they go to a local grocery store to pick things up. Also, they sometimes buy items ahead but you have to remember they are there every third day so any of those items must be frozens/non-parishables. They are only allowed to go to a store in their response area and at one time or another have left their food behind to go on a call. In additional to this, the entire station (all 3 shifts) pitches in for what's known as "cat meat". This is for items all of them use: ketchup, pickles, salad dressing, etc. The term is from way back when they used to have horse drawn engines. The station would keep cats to control the mouse population and the firefighters would pitch in money to help feed the cats. Viola': cat meat. I can attest to the fact that the cat meat shopping is not done on shift. I have gone shopping many a time with my husband on his off-shift days to buy the supplies needed because, frankly, they just don't have the time.
Next time you see a crew at the grocery store, ask 'em. They'll answer any questions you have and be happy to do so. They aren't driving around showing off their shiny fire engines, they are going to training or coming back from a call or moving up to cover a different station or any number of job related tasks that they are asked to perform during their shift.
So...that kind of covers the ignorance about seeing them at the store or and paying them to sleep. But, there's a lot more to know about what these people do and it goes deeper than those silly comments. My husband has been on some really crappy calls, as has every member of the Salem FD. Calls that I know must be bad because he won't talk to me about them. And we talk about everything. Really, we're that couple...if you tell me, your telling him and vice versa. Anyway, I know he has things in his head that I can't understand because of what he's seen. Every FD spouse would agree. And we both know that it's part of the job. It's a known factor: there's gonna be some messed up s**t to deal with. Got it. What is more difficult and, in my opinion, wears them down more, is the abuse of the system and lack of coping skills people seem to have. (I think there should be a class in high school, like maybe sophomore year, that teaches coping skills. It's freshman prerequisite could be manners 101, but that's a whole different story.) People call 911 for everything. EVERYTHING. My husband has had to go change the batteries in a smoke detector for a person who was completely able bodied and could reach the unit. And, to make it even better, there was another able bodied person laying on the couch watching him do it. They called a 3 person engine company into service because they were lazy. People want to be transported to the ER for a sore throat. No other complaints...just a sore throat. Another person called 911 because they had a burning sensation in their throat after drinking a Coke. Someone else called because they sneezed while eating and were sure they had chicken stuck up their nose. I'm not making this stuff up. People treat the ER, and by extension, the fire department/ambulance as their answer to general practice medicine. And the brunt of that lands squarely on the firefighters who respond to the calls.
And we haven't even touched on the mental health issues they have to deal with. They may as well have their degree in counseling as well as fire protection & paramedicine. From people who need a mediator to settle their disputes to meth heads gorked out of their minds to older folks who just want to talk to someone, they field it all. And they do it because it's their job. And underneath all the crap, they like helping people. But when the very people they protect start turning on them and calling them greedy, over paid, under worked, union puppets, I have to say something. And, yes, I get angry because I see what these men and women put into the job and how little they get back in return. People hear 'union' and they automatically react as if it's evil. And, in the spirit of honesty, I used to as well. I didn't think unions were necessary until I got a close up look at what they do for their members. I cannot speak for every union out there but I can tell you this: Local 314, Salem Professional Firefighters Union, is out for one thing and one thing only. The safety of it's firefighters and the people they protect. Period.
Here's the thing, I watched my husband find his way to this line of work. I helped him study for his paramedic courses and it just came naturally to him. When everyone else in his paramedic class was testing at every fire department around, he held out for Salem. It was the only place he applied to because it was the only place he really wanted to work. That was 9 years ago. I am so proud of him and the entire fire department family at Local 314. They are a great bunch of people and they really do love their jobs. They aren't trying to fleece the city, they are just trying to do the best job they can with the resources they have and keep everyone safe in the process.
Anyway, as I read the article published in the Statesman Journal (cough cough) I was shocked by some of the comments. Not all of them....just the really ignorant ones. The ones that said things like "Good, I'm glad we're not paying those guys to sleep anymore" and "I'm tired of seeing them at the grocery store in their shiny trucks". Wow. I mean, really. Wow. At first I was angry, like shake my fist and use my favorite curse word angry. Then I realized that maybe people really just don't get it. So, let me clue you in on what goes on during a 24 hour shift. And, bear in mind, this is all second hand from my husband but I'm thinking he's a pretty reliable source.
My husband works at Station 3, referred to as The House of Pain because it's the busiest engine in the city. I believe it's also the 27th busiest single-engine house in the nation. Their record for responses in a 24 hours shift is 20 calls. You do the math people. They don't really sleep so that answers the one ignorant comment. Sometimes it's referred to as The House of Mild Discomfort when it's a slow shift...you know like when they get maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
Each day there are 3 people on the engine: the captain, the engineer (driver) and the hoser (firefighter). These crews rotate every 3 days: 24 hrs on/48 hours off. Each shift is responsible for their own meals and they each pitch in a few bucks to buy the ingredients for that day's meal. Sometimes they bring stuff in from home so they don't have to shop but most of the time they go to a local grocery store to pick things up. Also, they sometimes buy items ahead but you have to remember they are there every third day so any of those items must be frozens/non-parishables. They are only allowed to go to a store in their response area and at one time or another have left their food behind to go on a call. In additional to this, the entire station (all 3 shifts) pitches in for what's known as "cat meat". This is for items all of them use: ketchup, pickles, salad dressing, etc. The term is from way back when they used to have horse drawn engines. The station would keep cats to control the mouse population and the firefighters would pitch in money to help feed the cats. Viola': cat meat. I can attest to the fact that the cat meat shopping is not done on shift. I have gone shopping many a time with my husband on his off-shift days to buy the supplies needed because, frankly, they just don't have the time.
Next time you see a crew at the grocery store, ask 'em. They'll answer any questions you have and be happy to do so. They aren't driving around showing off their shiny fire engines, they are going to training or coming back from a call or moving up to cover a different station or any number of job related tasks that they are asked to perform during their shift.
So...that kind of covers the ignorance about seeing them at the store or and paying them to sleep. But, there's a lot more to know about what these people do and it goes deeper than those silly comments. My husband has been on some really crappy calls, as has every member of the Salem FD. Calls that I know must be bad because he won't talk to me about them. And we talk about everything. Really, we're that couple...if you tell me, your telling him and vice versa. Anyway, I know he has things in his head that I can't understand because of what he's seen. Every FD spouse would agree. And we both know that it's part of the job. It's a known factor: there's gonna be some messed up s**t to deal with. Got it. What is more difficult and, in my opinion, wears them down more, is the abuse of the system and lack of coping skills people seem to have. (I think there should be a class in high school, like maybe sophomore year, that teaches coping skills. It's freshman prerequisite could be manners 101, but that's a whole different story.) People call 911 for everything. EVERYTHING. My husband has had to go change the batteries in a smoke detector for a person who was completely able bodied and could reach the unit. And, to make it even better, there was another able bodied person laying on the couch watching him do it. They called a 3 person engine company into service because they were lazy. People want to be transported to the ER for a sore throat. No other complaints...just a sore throat. Another person called 911 because they had a burning sensation in their throat after drinking a Coke. Someone else called because they sneezed while eating and were sure they had chicken stuck up their nose. I'm not making this stuff up. People treat the ER, and by extension, the fire department/ambulance as their answer to general practice medicine. And the brunt of that lands squarely on the firefighters who respond to the calls.
And we haven't even touched on the mental health issues they have to deal with. They may as well have their degree in counseling as well as fire protection & paramedicine. From people who need a mediator to settle their disputes to meth heads gorked out of their minds to older folks who just want to talk to someone, they field it all. And they do it because it's their job. And underneath all the crap, they like helping people. But when the very people they protect start turning on them and calling them greedy, over paid, under worked, union puppets, I have to say something. And, yes, I get angry because I see what these men and women put into the job and how little they get back in return. People hear 'union' and they automatically react as if it's evil. And, in the spirit of honesty, I used to as well. I didn't think unions were necessary until I got a close up look at what they do for their members. I cannot speak for every union out there but I can tell you this: Local 314, Salem Professional Firefighters Union, is out for one thing and one thing only. The safety of it's firefighters and the people they protect. Period.
Here's the thing, I watched my husband find his way to this line of work. I helped him study for his paramedic courses and it just came naturally to him. When everyone else in his paramedic class was testing at every fire department around, he held out for Salem. It was the only place he applied to because it was the only place he really wanted to work. That was 9 years ago. I am so proud of him and the entire fire department family at Local 314. They are a great bunch of people and they really do love their jobs. They aren't trying to fleece the city, they are just trying to do the best job they can with the resources they have and keep everyone safe in the process.