We are dedicating this
page to the friends and families of those killed or injured during the cowardly
attack on an innocent American civilian population on 9/11/01; also to the
rescue workers and volunteers who have given so much of themselves to help
during this tragedy - some have given all.
A Firefighter's gloves
A Firefighters Gloves hold many things,
From elderly arms to a kids broken swing,
From the hands they shake and the backs they pat,
To the tiny claw marks of another treed cat.
At 2 am they are filled with the chrome,
From the DWI who was on her way home.
And the equipment they use to roll back the dash,
From a family of 6 she involved in the crash.
The brush rakes in Spring wear the palms out,
When the wind does a "90" to fill them with doubt.
The thumb of the glove wipes the sweat from the brow,
Of the face of a firefighter who mutters "What now"!
They hold inch and three quarters flowing one seventy five,
So the ones going in, come back out alive.
When the regulator goes; then there isn't too much,
But the bypass valve they eagerly clutch.
The rescue equipment, the ropes, the C-collars;
The lives that they save never measured in dollars,
Are the obvious things firefighters gloves hold,
Or, so that is what I've been always told.
But there are other things Firefighters Gloves touch,
Those are the things we all need so much.
They hold back the rage on that 3 am call,
They hold in the fear when your lost in a hall,
They hold back the pity, agony, sorrow.
They hold in the desire to "Do it tomorrow".
A glove is just a glove till it's on firefighter,
Who work all day long just to pull an all-nighter.
And into the foray they charge without fear,
At the sound of a "Help" they think that they hear.
When firefighters' hands go into the glove,
It's a firefighter who always fills it with love.
Sometimes the sorrow is too much to bear,
And it seeps the glove and burns deep "in there".
Off come the gloves when the call is done,
And into the pocket until the next run.
The hands become lonely and cold for a bit,
And shake just a little thinking of it.
And we sit there so red eyed with our gloves in their coats,
The tears come so fast that the furniture floats.
We're not so brave now; our hands we can't hide,
I guess it just means that we're human inside.
And though some are paid and others are not,
The gloves feel the same when it's cold or it's hot.
To someone you're helping to just get along,
When you fill them with love, you always feel strong.
And so when I go on my final big ride,
I hope to have my gloves by my side,
To show to St. Peter at that heavenly gate.
Cause as everyone knows, FIREFIGHTERS DO NOT WAIT!
Thank God.
~ Brenda Tressler ~
From Cher of JazzlTubes
I Wish
I WISH you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR
anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family
to know everything possible was done to save his life.
I WISH you could read my mind as I respond to an EMERGENCY call, "What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor
or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"
I WISH you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have
been trying to save during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say the
words, "I love you Mummy" again.
I WISH you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, squad, or ambulance vehicle, the driver with his foot
pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, or
using different sounding sirens as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in
traffic. When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, " IT TOOK YOU FOREVER TO GET HERE !! "
I WISH you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. What if
this was MY sister, MY girlfriend or a friend? What were HER parents reaction going to be when
they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"
I WISH you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell
them that I nearly did not come back from the last call.
I WISH you could know how it feels dispatching police, firemen and paramedics out and when we call for them and our heart
drops because no one answers back or to hear a bone chilling 911 (000) call of a child or
wife needing our assistance.
I WISH you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they
express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me."
I WISH you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in
addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.
I WISH you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life, or being able to be there in time of
crisis, or creating order from total chaos.
I WISH you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mummy okay?" Not
even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to
say.
Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR done on him as they take him away in the
ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become
too familiar with.
Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job
really means to us...I WISH you could though.
~ unknown ~
APPRECIATE AND SUPPORT THE LOCAL PARAMEDICS/ EMS/ AMBULANCE, FIREFIGHTERS, & LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS IN YOUR AREA. ONE DAY THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SAVING YOUR PROPERTY OR YOUR OWN LIFE.
WHEN YOU SEE THEM COMING WITH LIGHTS FLASHING, SIRENS WAILING, GET OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY. THEN PRAY FOR THEM.
~ Brenda Tressler ~
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: One of my pet peeves is that drivers today (at least
in Oregon where I am driving) don't seem to know how to react when approached by
the flashing lights and sirens of a police cruiser or rescue vehicle or fire
truck.
In Oregon the law says that you are to pull over as far to the
RIGHT as you can and STOP until the emergency vehicle passes.
It doesn't matter if the vehicle is coming toward you or is
behind you - you are to move out of their way so that they can get to the call
as quickly as possible.
I can't tell you the number of times that
I have been the only driver to pull over and get out of the way of rescue
vehicles - while all the other drivers blithely cruise on down the road
oblivious to the flashing lights and sirens.
It has to be
extremely frustrating to be a rescue worker today, driving under these
conditions, and knowing that sometimes SECONDS can decide whether a person lives
or dies.
Don't be the driver who held up paramedic long enough
that the patient died.
The Creation of the Firefighter
When the Lord was creating Firefighters, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an Angel appeared and said " Your doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said " Have you read the specification on this person?"
"Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to a person that the usual every day person would never touch, while putting in the back of their mind the circumstances. They have to be able to move at a second's notice and not think twice of what they are about to do, no matter the danger. They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on half eaten meals, and they must have six pairs of hands."
The Angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands... No way!"
" Its not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "its the three pairs of eyes a Firefighter has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the Angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through the fire and where they and their fellow Firefighters should fight the fire next. Another pair here in the side of the head to see their fellow Firefighters and keep them safe. Another pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the victims caught in the fire that need their help."
"Lord" said the Angel, touching his sleeve, "Rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't, said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 250 pound man down a flight of stairs and to safety from a burning building, and can feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."
The Angel circled the model of the Firefighter very slowly, "Can it think?"
"You bet," said the Lord. It can tell you the elements of a hundred fires, and can recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to care for a person until they reach the hospital. And all the while they have to keep their wits about themselves. This Firefighter also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and hurt, coaxing a child's mother into letting go of a child so that they can care for the child in need. And still they rarely get the recognition for a job well done from anybody, other then from fellow firefighters."
Finally, the Angel bent over and ran her fingers across the cheek of the Firefighter, "There's a leak," she pronounced. "Lord, its a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the Angel.
"Its a tear from bottled up emotions for fallen comrades. A tear for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American Flag. Its a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And its a tear for their commitment to caring for and saving lives of their fellow man!"
"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the Angel.
The Lord looked somber and said "I didn't put it there."
~ Author Unknown~
In the nation's most horrific tragedy ever, hundreds of courageous
firemen left their families and risked their lives to save others.
These
firemen exhibited a courage that no one can ever imagine. Many of these
firemen have died in the tragedy, leaving behind families that are in
need.
Please take the next few minutes to write a check and send it to
the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widow's and Children's Fund.
Let's help their families by making a donation. Even the smallest
amount will help.
Send your check to:
UFA, Widows and Children's Fund
c/o Uniformed Firefighters Association
204 East 23rd Street, 5th floor
New York, NY 10010
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