Happy New Year!!

With a  year ahead of us, I like to reflect on the past year accomplishments, sadness, great events, and whatever comes to mind.  And also see what the new year has in store.  

With reflecting on 2012, some good things that happened:

Surprising Double D in Baltimore at the JEMS conference

Starting this blog (thanks everyone for coming back to read it! :) )

Saw dolphins swimming at Virginia Beach for the first time

Swam in the ocean for the first time

A friend adopted a new baby

Visited some great places, a battlefield, railroads, amusement parks, etc

Bought my first NEW car (not just new to me!)

Saw some Elk up close

Caught and ate fresh bluecrab (yum!)

and some sadness....

We lost a wonderful Grandmother, although she is in a better place, and joined her equally wonderful husband of 70 years, she will be missed.

Multiple parents going into the hospital, with 2 still there.

What 2013 will hold for me/us......

JEMS conference in Washington DC in March

20 year class reunion for me (yikes! that means I'm getting old!!  lol)

Possibly moving away from the city

Our Parents that are still in the hospital, coming home

Start some sort of Web Design class

Take a few day trips

Hopefully all of you will have a GREAT 2013 and have some good things happen.  Some bad things are ok, as its what rounds us but as long as the good things outweigh the bad, its a good year and Life Is Good!!!

HAPPY 2013!!!!!!!!

Emergency Services Christmas Prayer

~Author Unknown~

Please make this, Lord, a silent night

this one night of the year.

No sirens wailing through the dark,

no shouts of hate or fear

No crumpled cars and twisted steel,

no blood and tears that spill.

No messages of grief to take,

to homes that suddenly grow still.

Please, King of Peace, no drunken fights

that wreck the family tree,

And all the dreams of some small child,

who clings, in fear, to me.

Let travelers tread the tinseled streets

safe from assault and harm.

On this night, this special night,

no red lights, no alarms.

I'd like to be at home, Oh Lord,

where spice and cedar scent the air.

I hope the children don't wake up,

until I can be there.

Please make this Lord, a silent night,

no hate, or hurt, or crime,

But if this cannot be, Oh Lord,

help me get there in time.

Amen

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

      I apologize now for not updating my blog recently, but I've had a lot going on in my life the last couple months that I may tell you later in another post.

      For now, I am going to talk about Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  

      Around this time you constantly hear about Walmart workers and Target workers that complain about working on Thanksgiving or super early on Black Friday.  They state that it is interrupting their family time by having to leave early during dinner to go to work.  boo hoo.  Or that what they go through isn't worth the pay on Black Friday.  again, boo hoo. 

      I hope those employees never become VOLUNTEER employees.  OR on call employees for EMS (firefighters, EMT, paramedic, etc).  Volunteers get paid pennies, if anything at all, and anyone on call, has to leave at the sound of the tones....meaning they may just sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and have to leave and by the time they get back, dinner is over, food is cold, and many friends/family have gone home.  

      I read a post on FaceBook earlier today that was about the Walmart employees going on strike for the Black Friday hours.  The news wanted to know peoples opinions on that.  Of course i put in my 2 cents because I think its ridiculous!  for one, they picked where they work.  They are in retail.  It is the holidays.  It's common sense to know there will longer/crazier hours during that time.  It's just part of the job.  If they don't like it, quit.  Walmart employees are a dime a dozen, I'm sure they can replace them and fast.  Some of the comments on there were stupid too.  Some people said that Walmart employees can't be compared to Police, Firefighters, Doctors, etc because they get paid twice as much!  HAHAHAHA.  If only they knew...I can somewhat agree with the Doctors because we all know they get paid good money.  but the main complaint with the Walmart employees and the Target employee last year wasn't necessarily the pay, but the fact that they had to work Thursday night, and shorten their time with their families.  

      SO I hope that the next time they get hurt, or sick, or their house catches on fire, they remember about "family time" and wait until regular business hours to call anyone or go to a hospital.  Meanwhile they will be bleeding to death, watching their house burn down, or stuck in a car after an accident.  Because I mean, who wants to have their Thanksgiving dinner interrupted to go into work?