http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/ From the mind of Gio en-us Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:21:54 GMT CakePHP http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/teens/ So there I waswalking down thehallway at worklast week when my cell phone starting ringing. It was my daughter who was home because of a teacher's conference. As soon as I flipped the phone upI could hear a siren in the backgroundand my daughter crying. My heart stopped in mid beat.....(pop).... All I heard was car, accident, ambulance and gas station....(pop, pop)....I was trying to talk into the phone telling her to calm down. Asking her where she was, who was hurt , what the hell are you doing out of the house and in a car all the while running through the parking lot to my truck. My mind was racing almost as fast as my heart....(pop)..... I was panicking and making it worse as I was screaming at her to calm down. I finally got a hold of myself and was able to calm my daughter down enough to get the story. She was home. It was her girlfriend who was in a car accident and my department was being called to assist. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt but It has gotten me to thinking what if.....(pop, pop)......I do not know if I am ready for this stage in life.Teenage drivers taking my little girl in their cars. Now the accident was no fault of the teenager driving. The idiot who hit them pulled out of a parking lot with out everlooking. I'm sure he will behaving fun seeing it was an unregistered vehilce with expired inspection and a small detail of no drivers liscense. It still does not ease my mind with the fact someone whois younger then most of my clotheswill be driving my daughter about town....(pop).... I was just getting comfortable with her walking around the corner to her friends house. I now only drive around every 30 minutes instead of 5 to check on herbut this just may reverse that trend..(pop).. It was bad enough having to worry about illness and predators but now I have to add this as well. Oh and now car dates are just around the corner...(pop, pop, pop, pop)... Yep there it is again, another couple of grey hairs......(pop)... Wed, May 23rd 2007, 07:48 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/liars/ Liars piss me off. I do not know if it is because I feel foolish when I believe them or if it is how they take advantage of you with their lies. Case in point. Recently I attended an MVA involving one vehicle that had gone off the road. Upon my arrival very little damage was noted on the vehicle other then a broken window and several dents. Now the vehicle was on its side in a drainage ditch but it was obvious that it did not roll over. There was one patient in the vehicle complaining of no feeling or movement of their legs and feet. Now I am no doctor and I have only been an EMT forsix years but something about what and how the patient was complaining just screamed at me as LIAR!!!!! This person, other then hanging upside down, had absolutely nothing showing that would explain to me why the patient could not feel their feet. The patient's vitals were perfect. The patient'sbreathing was perfect. The patient's oxygen level was perfect. The patient had good circulation in the feet. All that, the minor damage to the vehicle along with a strange odor that I just could not put my finger on and the fact this was the second time in an hour the patient had put this vehicle, which belong to the patient's boss,into the ditch just added up to BSer. Thank God the paramedic who showed up also thought something was wrong. I watched the patients foot twitch ever time the paramedic rubbed it and listen as the patient cried he could not feel or move the feet.The paramedic cancelled the bird and made the call to transport BLS after his examination of the patient.He even followed us in to take the heat we knew was coming from the hospital ER. The whole trip in involvedthe patient crying how the patientdid not want to be a cripple and how thepatient needed to work. Well it was a long ride in and a very uncomfortable hand off at the ER. We completed our paperwork and headed home. As for our potential cripple for life patient??? Well that patient walked out of the ER in Syracuse several hours later. I do not know why the patientlied nor do I care. What bothered me was the fact the patient tied up an ALS rig a BLS rig and would have tied up a bird if not for that savvy paramedic. It is too bad the patient couldn't be fined for doing that. Sat, May 19th 2007, 05:29 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/sitting-on-the-fence/ I last wrote about how I am continually a fence sitter. I have sat on the fence for so long I have dozens of splinters in my butt. Most of my fence sitting usually revolves around the political arena and our involvement with world affairs. I have also been sitting, or more appropriately leaning, on the fence with the issue of abortion with my feet somewhat planted on the side of pro-life. The whole concept of abortion sickens me. I find it to be repulsive and barbaric. I can not understand how a person could support the ending of an unborn child’s life. The ending of an unborn life, isn’t that the crux of the whole problem? No one is 100% sure when a human’s life begins. The Catholic Church tells us that life begins at conception. The great philosopher Plato stated that life began at birth while Aristotle's opinion was that on the fortieth day after conception in the case of a male child and on the ninetieth day after conception for a female child life began. Science has several theories. Those scientists who hold to the genetic view take the position that the creation of a genetically unique individual is the moment at which life begins. Then there is also the embryological view which states that human life originates not at fertilization but rather at gastrulation. For others the beginning of human life should be recognized as the time when a fetus acquires a recognizable EEG pattern which is known as the Neurological view. Then there are some who feel the whole debate over when life begins is irrelevant because the development of a child is a smoothly continuous process with no defined starting moment. There are so many theories and beliefs and yet nothing that can be proved or disproved 100%. To me when the life begins is not as important as the fact a potential human is developing in the womb. People who support Pro-Choice will argue a woman’s body a woman’s right but she now has a developing life within her as well as her own. I have heard and read many times how it is forcing a woman to be an "incubator" and that the developing baby is nothing more then a mass of cells, which is nothing more then an attempt to dehumanize what is happening. Although technically correct that mass of cells in the “incubator” is developing into a potential human baby. There is also the argument for an abortion when it is discovered the baby may be developmentally retarded. That the child will not have a good quality of life and should be aborted as it would not be fair to allow the child to suffer a life like that. Who are we to decide that? I have had the pleasure of knowing some very wonderful people who were born with mental and physical handicaps. They lead very happy and productive lives and bring great joy to their parents and those who work, play and associate with them. Where would it end? As science continues to bring new and better understandings and doctors can tell what physical attribute an unborn will have what is then to stop people from aborting a baby because they do not want a certain sex or a short child or one that may not be very intelligent. Another argument, which really disturbs me, is a woman who finds herself pregnant and either does not want a child or can not support a child and will only add another burden to an already overwhelmed social service. This to me is no different then early civilizations that would leave a newborn out on a hillside to perish. As it has been pointed out to me many times in the past there are so many people out there who, for a variety of reasons can not have their own child, would be more then happy to adopt another’s child. Maybe instead of advocating for abortions people could be advocating for better and easier adoption policies. The Pro-Choice supporters would argue that banning abortions or placing further restrictions would then force young women to back alley abortion clinics. The “coat-hanger” abortions would cause thousands of deaths and maim women for life ending any chances of ever conceiving again. From every thing I have been able to read those numbers were greatly exaggerated for the sake of the “cause”. Not that there were not some deaths. One source quoted for 1972, the year before Roe, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 39 maternal deaths from illegal abortion. This is afar cry from the thousands of women dieing every year that Pro-Choice advocates were yelling. It is also noted that according to the CDC and the Alan Guttmacher Institute (a "special affiliate" of Planned Parenthood) over 200 women have died from legal abortions since 1973. Any time someone dies or is hurt because of a belief they had no other choice but to engage in a risky option is a tragedy. But in today’s world with so many agencies to help there should be no reason to engage in a “back-alley” abortion. NowI understand the Pro-choice argument,andthis is why I still can not pick one side over another, ofwhat happens to the woman who finds herself pregnant from a rape or one who finds herself having to decide between her life and the life of her unborn child. I have agonized over this for what seems like forever. Being the parent of a young girl I can not imagine what horrible decisions would have to be made or what wouldshe do ifshe had no decision.I guess like everything else I can never decide on I will have to stay educated on the subject and hope and pray that all of us will do the right thing. Who knows maybe someday science will be able to tell us exactly when a new life begins 100% for sure and the whole debate will end. Then again maybe pigs will fly as well. Thu, Apr 26th 2007, 16:32 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/parades-of-yore/ Last week I was afforded the opportunity to speak on a local morning radio show in Auburn. I was invited to talk about my fire department's raffle and the fire service as I saw it. It was a pretty neat, although nervous, experience. I had never been on the radio like that before, being in an actual studio and to be interviewed was nothing I would ever had expected to do. During one of the breaks the host and I talked a little about how you do not see the firemen parades that one use to see when we were younger. Being that both of us were originally from Seneca Falls we naturally started to reminisce about the SFFD parade and carnival. I remember how excited we all would get the closer it got to the date of the carnival and parade. I still can vividly see all those engines and the men and women marching proudly by in their dress uniforms. I remember the group of firemen who would dress in overalls and march with brooms and shovels bringing many laughs from the children young and old alike. I remember how they would throw candy to the kids in the crowd and how the sirens and airhorns would blow all to the delight of the children.We always went to my god-parents' house to watch the parade and as soon as it ended we made a beeline to the carnival to see the firemen, toplaythe games, ride the rides and of course get that candy apple or cotton candy. Of course it has been many years since therewas afiremen's paradeand carnival in Seneca Falls but there are still some in the surrounding areas.Now a days at some of these parades you can not throw candy as it may cause an accident or blow the sirens as it may scare someone. There also does not seem to be as many marchers or as long as the Seneca Falls parade was.I do not know for sure why these things have changed. Some say it is the insurance that has forced the issue. Others that there just isn't enough help or interest to do them any more.I just find it sad that some may never get to experience that excitement I and many others once did from the SFFD parade and carnival. Thu, Apr 12th 2007, 16:31 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/giosramblings/why-do-we-do-it/ Why do we do it? Why does a person become a volunteer fireman? What is it that compels some ofus to join an organization that could possibly put our lives into danger with no financialbenefits to us or our families? An organization that may and does call upon us to respondto another's crisis day or night, holiday, birthday, weekend or special occasion? I haveasked myself - and have been asked by others - these very same questions many timessince joining the fire service. What follows is what I have discovered about myself andothers for why we do it.What started as a homework assignment for a class I was taking for work hasblossomed into a passion for the volunteer fire service. My class was tasked with lookingat opportunities to help out in our local communities. To look at things we wanted to doto help but never followed through on doing. I had recently made acquaintances withseveral families with children the same age as mine. A few of the men were volunteerfiremen, and they were looking for new members. I had been approached by a co-workerseveral years before when I first moved to the village to join the department but haddeclined, a choice I have since come to regret. After meeting these men, I decided thiswould be perfect for my homework assignment. I would get to "hangout" with the localboys and drink beer, play cards and have a hideout from the wife when needed andcomplete my assignment without really having to do anything. Thank God I was wrong.It started with little things - the good nature joking which one can find in anyorganization of people with a common interest, the ease in which the members would help out one another with home or car repairs, the waves from perfect strangers with thelittle blue lights on top of their vehicles as they passed by you on your daily tasks, thelittle get- togethers to celebrate a birthday or graduation, to march in a parade or just toenjoy each others company. In a word, camaraderie - that feeling of belonging to a goodfellowship.So that was it. It was camaraderie that keeps us doing what we do. It made sense. Ihad had the same feeling when I was a member of the Judo club in college, and Idefinitely missed that sense of knowing someone had my back or was it? I never waswoken up at 3:00AM by one of my judo mates to rush out into a snowstorm because astranger had hit a tree. I had never had one of them call me in the middle of a familypicnic to drop what I was doing and get back to town because the old man up the road,who I barely knew, was having trouble breathing. So what else was it that kept me doingwhat I was doing?It had to be the uniform and that really cool blue light. Hey, they even give you abadge, and everyone knows how cool it is to have a badge. Then there is the fact we get tobe at all the neat fires and car accidents and spills and medical emergencies, and we candrive really, really fast with that blue light a blazing and no one can stop us because hey,we're a "volley." Well that definitely is not it, although I have had a few people implythat to me, most notably my brother. It finally dawned on me when I signed up for a class to become an EMT. I was inclass listening to the instructor discussing trauma situations and the skills we would belearning to deal with those situations. When the instructor mentioned head traumasmemories of my sons accident came flooding into my mind's eye. There was the feelingof not knowing what to do in an emergency when you want to help. I remembered howterrified I was the day my son had his bicycle accident and fractured his skull. I hated thatfeeling of not knowing what to do to help, that feeling of being useless when anotherperson desperately needed help and I was the only one there. Help. I want to help. I don'twant to be the hero or the guy with all the answers. I just want to help others. I have afavorite saying that is a summary of the little lessons my mother and father taught me as achild: if we don't look out for each other who will.Volleys want to help others. If we don't look out for each other who will? Wemay try to pass off another reason but when we look deep inside, it's there - that need,that driving force to help others. Volleys are helpers, plain and simple. That is why we dowhat we do. Mon, Mar 12th 2007, 17:56 GMT