Siftings
Jan
04
Probie X
Time is the enemy. I walk to work these days, out the back door and down a small grade at the edge of the backyard, where the banks of the mill pond used to contain the spring-fed water that ran the mill. The mill is long gone, replaced with a sign on a post that tells of its history. The pond...
Jan
01
Probie IX
Where you stand depends on where you sit. I suppose that’s a truism for getting up out of a chair but, when I used to say it, I meant it to be a truism about how one’s perspective on something depends on their vantage point. You sit in Wrigley Field as a kid, you become a Cubs fan. Sit on a...
Dec
25
Probie VIII
Prop comedy doesn’t get the respect it is due. Safety Officer Harry messaged the department, asking if anyone wanted to join his curling crew (team, squad, unit … whatever they’re called). He stressed it was a low stress, non-competitive league, and any or no experience level would be welcome. ...
Dec
12
Probie VII
Show up. Do Hard Shit. So says the sticker distributed to me and some other Poynette firefighters who showed up and …, well, … did some difficult stuff. The learning continues and one thing you learn is the underside of a firefighter’s helmet is a window to their soul. That’s where the “Show...
Dec
10
Probie VI
Probies are better seen than heard. Nobody has ever said that to me, but that’s my take on it. The Department meets weekly for training, and monthly for administrative / governance work. There’s that Sprint commercial from years back and the monthly meetings are not too dissimilar (except we’re...
Nov
15
Probie V
Rope and equipment bags on my back, ready to go. You always start with the highest hopes. There’s a missing hunter, the night is getting colder, and he is somewhere out there. It’s our job to find him, and bring him back. The UTV has left and Search Team #1 is assembled and waiting for orders. ...
Oct
26
Probie IV
“I would not have guessed sixty.” Instructor Boone is being kind, which is to say (just beneath his no excuses teaching style) he’s being himself. Play the tape back twenty seconds and one of my classmates was gasping for air, knackered by how physically demanding the last evolution was. ...
Oct
11
Probie III
Mitch at the wheel. Captain Lexin in the officer’s seat. Justin and me in back, gearing up on the move, listening to radio traffic as we make our glove choice – extrication or fire?. Tuesday morning and the normies are at work or dropping off the kids at school. So were we two minutes ago,...
Aug
01
Probie II
“Jump in back!” Random midweek afternoon, and I could be at Village Hall at my desk. But I’m not. I’m in a field next to another field on fire, running toward Brush 36. “Running” might be a bit of a misnomer, as I’ve got my full bunker gear on. Until that last brush with mortality rendered the...
Jul
08
Into The Dusk
“Staying here alone is crazy. You're a crazy man. Crazy!” I didn’t travel 3,500 miles for a psychiatric assessment from a stranger, and certainly not from some grandfather wearing rental booties to keep his New Balances dry. The stated reason for heading to Denali National Park was about to get...
