quote of the day

The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.
-- ---Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

Marley's ready for a fire run. 

Hunter and Marley try on some of Grandpa's fire fighting equipment. 

quote of the day

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
--Ghandi

enslaved by trivia

The quote below got me thinking, as it did Lorna and Dawn. When I retired I was looking forward to much needed leisure. Being released from the slavery of working for a living and all the little things that come with it, such as getting up at a certain time each day, repeating routine functions of the job day after day, week after week; and most of all the psychological ball and chain of being obligated to show up and do another's bidding for most of a lifetime--I was ready for an unstructured, lack-a-daisical lifestyle. But I soon found out that without definite goals and some sort of structured activity you are soon overtaken by the trivial little parts of your day, from the ritual of your morning coffee and television news, to the meals that punctuate your days. I work in the yard and have remodeling projects to keep me busy, but there's no sense of urgency to bring me back to those things regularly and I'm not so ambitious that I've sought some sort of meaningful work. But I have had work brought to me. I was asked by a neighbor a few months ago to join our local volunteer fire department. I at first turned him down, after all I'm 60 years old; what business do I have fighting fires? But he persisted and I did feel an obligation to help the community in any way I can. Now, after just two months, I've been elected secretary of the department and my responsibilities, in addition to responding to fire calls, are to keep training records, transmit reports to the emergency management agency in our state, prepare presentations for board and public meetings, and maintain the department website. I'm really afraid of the job. I suppose I doubt my abilities and and my willingness to do it over the long haul, but Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Always, always, always, always, always do what you are afraid to do." So, here I am, performing a vital service to the community while yearning to return to those trivialities that kept me immobile and bored.

quote of the day

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.
-- Robert Heinlein

quote of the day

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter. -- --Paxton Hood

emergency LZ for helicopter training

Members of the Christie-Proctor Fire Department check out a helicopter at the Tahlequah base of EagleMed. More photos at: www.cpfire.blogspot.com

Hunter Lightyear 

When will this dog learn that this is my chair? 

firefighter training

We're all getting ready to crawl the maze to train us to find our way through a burning building. Of course, there was no fire or smoke in this exercise.

Here the guys are helping me get geared up. The fire suit is very heavy plus an air tank.

Here I am at the beginning of the maze. The room is actually dark, plus I have a hood over my head. I had to find my way around the maze and back feeling my way along the short wall. At the end of this exercise, you are soaking wet with perspiration and so exhausted you need help to get to your feet.

family night at hogwild pizzeria

We all met at the Hogwild Pizzeria tonight for dinner. At top are me, Kelly and Burk, then, Marley, Tara, Megan, and Sami. Hunter couldn't be bothered to have his picture taken with the girls. The little twerp was too busy playing pinball. Pictures of Dorothy and Rachel didn't turn out so I'll have to catch them next time.

quote of the day

Years ago a person, he was unhappy, didn't know what to do with himself, he'd go to church, start a revolution -- something. Today you're unhappy? Can't figure it out? What is the salvation? Go shopping.
--Arthur Miller