BIG SKY

Of to the BIG SKY State
We are off to Montana and all parts in-between
Woo Hoo. They are gonna have to retrain me cuz
I’m going to be forgetting everything.

Hamburgers at Dick’s in Spokane WA
Axemans In Missoula MT
Graves Creek Falls Thompson Falls MT

Hope to post some dandy pics after the trip, have a good week

For Barista/You asked

To Barista
On my Perspective of firefighting/E.M.S.

Just a few years out of High School I Joined the Sanders County Sheriff Search and Rescue. I had friends that were in it and they talked me into joining. It was the start of my downward spiral of emergency services volunteering. I was in Search and Rescue 4 years and some of the people I knew said,” Hey we need some more warm bodies in the Fire Dept.” Well now… Fire? ……… Doug Like fire!…. Oh, you want me to put it out not start it, hmmm Let me think about it. You say “Doug Learn to Drive WOO WOO” (fire engine) “OK ME JOIN”. When I first started it was a good ol’ boy Department, with 6 sets of turnouts. What? What happens to the rest of the Guys when they show up to fight fire…wear their street clothes? Yup, we did and we didn’t wear our S.C.B.A. cuz then we had to drive 25 miles to get the bottles filled. And a lot of other stupid stuff, and we survived. I don’t have a lot of tolerance for smoke these days, I smell smoke before other people can identify it but most of my olfactory senses are scorched. So I did 10 years in the Montana Dept. and it was fun. We always had beer in the fridge and there were a lot of really good stories. We had an average of ½ a house fire a year and a lot of wildland fires and in the winter. We averaged about 4 chimney fires a month (damn it people clean your flues) So total we would get about 120 calls a year, fairly slow as stuff goes. Had some sad times No one likes to lose a house and leave a L.W.B.S. (large wet black spot). Then Montana adopted and recognized the First Responder program and it was put on in our area by the Community Ambulance Group, My wife and I went through together (yes Mrs. Fireman has been a firefighter and EMT-basic and In search and rescue also) I remember our first call, 1 car rollover, 3 patients. What a zoo. What I remember the most about it is that a BP cuff put on inside out won’t work …..flat out ….no way, Hmmmmm. I have missed Christmas mornings and Thanksgiving diners And Lots of sleep, been told by drunks I didn’t know shit, spit at, swung at, And had to tell people that asked if there loved ones were going to make it “I don’t know” when I really knew there wasn’t a snowballs chance in hell. Body recoveries have always left me with nightmares, I got over them but there are still a few that come back. But once in a while there would be that rare moment when everything came together and the outcome was good and someone said “thank you’ and all the bad stuff seamed to melt away.

And I would Do it all again.

El Fin

Newspaper Ads

Hat tip to my baby sister
thanks Heather

to good to pass up

Real Newspaper Ads

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old. Hateful little dog. Bites.

FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.

FREE PUPPIES...
Mother, AKC German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog...able to leap tall
fences in a single bound.

FOUND DIRTY WHITE DOG.
Looks like a rat .. been out a while.
Better be a reward.

COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.

NORDIC TRACK
$300 Hardly used, call Chubby.

GEORGIA PEACHES
California grown - 89 cents lb.

JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer $300.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE
WORN ONCE BY MISTAKE.
call Stephanie.

AND THE BEST
ONE:

FOR SALE BY OWNER:
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica,
45 volumes. Excellent condition.
$1,000 or best offer.
No longer needed, got married last month.
Wife knows everything.

Tribute to 233

Wow, where do I start. This has been a weird weekend for me. Friday afternoon there was a fire in my fire station and I lost My fire engine. I really feel devastated. This was an older engine but I feel it was one of the better engines we owned, I called it "My engine" and she was faster than the other engines at main station. So I'm out of service for a while until Everything gets settled. I'm really sad.

This is probably funny to someone, but with all the crap that has gone wrong in

the last 4 month's t me this sucks

Goodbye friend