Would I be Gage or DeSoto?

When I think back to my kiddie days, I remember how much I liked to watch "Emergency". Maybe that's why I enjoy being a volunteer EMT/Firefighter. I have found that I can catch episodes of it on various websites and such, as well as Netflix (if I choose to sign back up for that).

Behind almost every episode was some strange "comic relief"... some odd or strange thing that was going on that would add a chuckle to the show. Today, that reminds me that life, even in the most stressful moments, will have it's weird situations.

Mine probably started a couple of weeks ago while on a call to help someone to the hospital. I was the drive in the ambulance, and the patient was ill enough to where they don't remember us assisting them. It was odd because one moment something would happen, and the next, things would totally turn around. (I can't say too much because of the privacy of the call). The end result of it all is that there are a few EMTs (me included) with sore backs because of everything that would suddenly happen.
We just have to sit back, chuckle, and shake our heads. Move on to the next call.

Last Thursday, Pierce (Nebraska) had their Trick-or-Treat night. It was moved because the High School Football team was in a playoff game at home, and the City of Pierce didn't want there to be a chance of kids getting hurt with cars going up and down the road, as well as kids at the game versus kids going from house to house, etc.
I took my firefighting turnout gear to the Pierce church (that I serve) to pass out candy to the kids as part of the "Trunk or Treat". One guy dressed up in his State Highway Dept attire, and another one was dressed as he always is when he works as an electrician, just as the lady was who is a Youth and Events Coordinator for another United Methodist Church. So you can say that we all dressed up, but not in costumes, but in our own actual clothes or uniforms.

Now fast-forward to Saturday, and Paulette had come to visit me and we decided to "get out of town". We drove to Sioux City (about an hour away), and stopped for lunch at a buffet restaurant (I hadn't been to this place in MONTHS, and wanted to "celebrate" some of my new lifestyle/weight loss). As I was getting something to eat, I watched as a lady piled on a steak, 2 cheeseburger sliders, a large portion of cauliflower with cheese, a slice of pizza, some onion rings, and one or two other items that was hard to make out in the pile.
My first thought was "it's an 'all-you-can-eat'... you don't have to get everything now; you can come back, and the food will be warm"
My second thought was something from an "Emergency" episode - "I'll bet this lady is gonna choke or drop from a coronary before i get out of here!"

So now I'm kicking back, relaxing, waiting to go to a Fire Training / Meeting. And in waiting, I'm even reminded of an "Emergency" episode of when Station 51 ended up with a dog.
Dingo has become somewhat of a "fire dog". I haven't trained her to ride on the trucks - that would take some Department approval, and she doesn't "stay" well, so when we'd jump off at a call, she would be under-foot. But when my pager alerts, she jumps up, ready to run for the door, knowing that she'll be with me as I head for the fire station (even though when I get there, she'll only be waiting in the back of my vehicle).

But I'll always remember this thought - the best call I've ever had is the one that I've never had to respond to.

Be safe.