Slightly Off the Mark

 We lost one of our past firefighters this month, and a present long-time member is fighting a deadly disease.

Joe Meyer was one of my trainees when I was an Albion Fire Department instructor, and he remained a member for ten years, alongside his brother. 

That's Joe second from left, beside me. I particularly liked this group of trainees, only partially because they came in a group--it can be hard to train one or two firefighters to do a job that requires a team. They were a great bunch.

Here's Joe's obituary:

https://www.harperfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Joe-Meyer

Joe was a character, and not just because he could pull off a cowboy hat with his turnout gear. (I don't remember the circumstances behind this photo ... maybe he just got cold easily, like I do. That's probably not it.)

Mitch Fiandt remains a member of the AFD, after transferring from the Orange Township Fire Department when he moved many years ago. He has, I think, six or eight years on me in the longevity department.

Now Mitch is fighting cancer, which is sadly not an unusual thing for firefighters. I've had a couple of scares myself, but Mitch is pretty sick--treatment is ongoing. Chemo, as anyone who has experienced it themselves or through loved ones knows, is rough by any standards.

So say a prayer for Mitch, Joe, and their families, and if you don't pray send good thoughts their way. I expect it's not going to be a fun holiday season for anyone involved.

·        Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

·        Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

·        Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

·        Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

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 I won't have time to do my regular blog again this weekend, but fear not! Instead I'm linking you to a fun, photo filled monthly newsletter.

Well, there are photos, anyway.

But the thing that may interest you the most is that, in the newsletter, I included the book blurb for Haunted Noble County, Indiana. The publisher has officially given the book that name, by the way. They haven't approved the blurb yet, but it isn't likely to be much different from what you'll see here:

https://mailchi.mp/11840c2e73a9/vacation-time-to-not-get-away

I also talk a little about our vacation, which was generally uneventful, and one of the larger fires in the history of Noble County (Indiana), which was generally very eventful. Sign up for the newsletter! It only goes out once a month unless there's Big News, and it's free. Also, no cost.

If the smoke rises high enough to form a mushroom cloud visible 40 miles away, it's a big fire.

• Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
• Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
• Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
• Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
• Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter
• Substack:  https://substack.com/@markrhunter
• Tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914
• Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

Remember: Not reading books is--spooky.

 So, I'm retiring. Not from my full time job of dispatching to become a Gentleman Author, as I wanted. (It's like a Gentleman Farmer, a rich person who just farms as a hobby. No real farmer is a Gentleman Farmer, especially considering their ungentlemanly language while going through bills.)

At my full time job we got an email pointing out, now that one of the Sheriff Department detectives has retired, I have the most seniority of anyone there or in dispatch. By six years. Maybe in the entire Noble County Government, although I'm not motivated to find out.

Nor will I retire from writing, until they pry my fingers from the keyboard. Maybe not even then, if I can manage text to speech. No, I'm retiring from what I've done longest (other than biological functions) in my adult life: firefighting.

 That's Phil Jacob standing beside me, holding his pin for being a firefighter for 55 (!) years. I remain unconvinced Phil will ever retire. In fact, I should put off working on my Haunted Noble County book, because fifty years from now he'll be haunting the Albion firehouse. When I look at him (or Tom Lock, who joined up six months before I did), I realize I'd never have the most seniority on the Albion Fire Department.

I don't know how they do it. I beat my body down too badly. After working a fire, I'd be in so much pain I couldn't function for days. My back pain goes all the way back to back to back fires way back in the 80s, where I wore a steel air tank for longer than even a young pup should. It got progressively worse, and I slowly realized over the last few years that I was threatening to become another victim to treat at an emergency scene, instead of contributing.

The tanks are a lot lighter now, but I'm a lot heavier. And I have less hair.

In the last year I developed shoulder problems. Recently my knees started acting up, in a temper tantrum kind of way. (And they make strange noises.) I've got arthritis in my big toe, for crying out loud. Ever since Covid, it's been all I can do to get through a day without falling asleep on the couch. Okay, maybe six decades of living has more to do with that than Covid.

I'm not complaining so much as explaining. I loved firefighting. The guys and gals who volunteer at the AFD, and our neighboring departments, are my brothers and sisters--they're family. But I couldn't even go to the station much, especially between those murderous 12-hour night shifts in dispatch that wouldn't happen if I was a gentleman author.

But I put it off. I didn't want to admit I can't do something I used to be able to do. When I finally told my wife I was pulling the plug, she wasn't a bit surprised. Most likely no one was.

So I wrote the membership a letter, and a few weeks later, when we walked into the annual AFD Appreciation Dinner, I saw my name tag and a helmet with my number on it. It was real. I had by then reached the depression stage of grief. I'll let you know when the acceptance stage arrives.

Here's Brian Tigner, a hard worker for the AFD, giving me my stuff and telling me they'd just as soon I left through the back door. Kidding! The reconditioned barn where we had dinner was awesome.

Wow, this turned out to be more of a downer than I'd planned. It's not all bad: I'll stay on as an honorary member, doing the Facebook page, taking pictures, doing public information stuff, and so on. I'm also halfway done with that new AFD book, which keeps getting put on the back burner for one reason after another. But I'm thinking of going to this year's Fish Fry as a diner instead of a server ... that concrete floor is hell on my back.

I look good in red flannel. I do, TOO.

To this day, I don't know how I worked up the courage to walk into that firehouse door on my eighteenth birthday. Me, the shy, antisocial introvert with no interest in being on a team--except this one. Every time I headed up to the station, I stepped outside my comfort zone. If I hadn't I'd have missed most of the events of my life, and I wonder then if I would have ever had anything to write about.

And for every bad thing I experienced, there were a dozen great things.

• Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
• Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
• Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
• Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
• Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
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• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
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If you send a book to every retired person you know, they might not complain that you never come to see them.

            It goes without saying that the best way to maintain safety in a kitchen is to keep me out.

 

Or better yet, stop out at the Albion Fire Station this coming Saturday and have someone else cook your breakfast.

https://www.facebook.com/events/258164903860240

• Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
• Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
• Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
• Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
• Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter
• Substack:  https://substack.com/@markrhunter
• Tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

 One of the reasons I'm struggling a bit with my new writing project is that I usually start with a plot, then find characters to fit into the story. This has drawbacks, the biggest being that as I create my characters, they sometimes become so real to me that they start saying things I don't want to hear:

"Yeah, I know you plan for this to happen, then that to happen--but I just wouldn't do those things."

You're just a character, do what I tell you.

"Fine. That'll be my voice in the back of your mind--and you ain't heard nagging yet."

Don't even get me started on Beth Hamlin.

Stupid characters. But they're usually right, and I've been known to make changes accordingly. Just the same, I start out with a plot, and the major plot points usually stay the same, as does the ending.

This time out I started with great characters: a group of firefighters on a fictional department somewhere in the Midwest. I had a great setting, background on all of the above, and even some scenes already playing in my mind.

But no plot.

I did have a general arc going on in the background, but mostly the story was about the day to day lives of my characters, and the challenges they faced on the job. It was episodic, like a series of short stories put together, or a TV show about firefighters, of which there are many. My favorite remains "Emergency!", which is indeed put together that way. Season long plot arcs would have been laughed at, back then.

Can I find new story ideas from personal experience? Yes. Yes, I can.

But I want a plot. I'm a plot guy.

And here's the thing: I have identified a plot idea, but it's deadly serious, tragic, and very "ripped from the headlines". If you know my writing, you know I generally keep to light escapism, and my characters are all set to have a lot of fun in their life and death careers.

I'm not asking for a solution, mind you (although if you want to offer one, hey!) I'm only complaining because talking out loud helps me resolve these dilemmas. It seems to be working: Even as I write this I realize the Big Bad event I've contemplated would set things up for future books in a series, if that should happen.

And those future plot ideas I have come up with; all I need is an opening.

(Remember: Every time you buy a book, a writer's career could blow up. Not literally. Well, maybe in my case.)

http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

But that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious subject.

This year the National Fire Protection Association picked: “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape” as the theme for the week, which runs from October 9 to 15. In my experience, when a fire starts it doesn’t want to just be there, waiting for a food delivery or an Uber ride. It likes to spread—and it spreads fast.

Thanks to modern building materials, once a building catches fire the flames spread way more quickly than they once did, and the fires burn hotter. The third best way to combat that is to be in a building that has a fire sprinkler system, an idea that has no interest to politicians or the construction industry. The second best way is to have operating smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, along with a plan for what to do if a fire breaks out.

(The first way, of course, is to use caution and prevent a fire from breaking out in the first place.)

Feel safe in your home? 74% of all fire deaths in the United States happen in those homes. People are actually more likely to die in a home fire today than they were in 1980, the year I started in the fire service. So the message is simple: Be ready to get out. The NFPA has some tips on getting out alive:

• Make sure your home escape plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
• Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected so when one sounds, they all sound.
• Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.
• Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.
• Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and at night.

Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health observance, marking its hundredth anniversary this year. Everybody involved wishes it wasn’t necessary.

http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

And check out the Albion Fire Department's history in Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century Or So With the Albion Fire Department.

I wish I'd written this but, sadly, I don't know the author. What I do know is that the author must be an emergency responder. (I first found it in 2006, so if some parts seem a little outdated, that's why.)



I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for
trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and
knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the
kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 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 try to save his life.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of
soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout
gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see
absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too
familiar with.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is
this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What
hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to 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 Mommy" again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the
engine, squad, or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down
hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, 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
daughter, 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 officers, firefighters
and EMT's out and when we call for them our heart drops because no
one answers back, or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife
needing 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 preserving someone's property, 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 Mommy 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 Medic Unit. 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.
 

Appreciate and support the local EMS workers, 911 dispatchers, firefighters, and law enforcement officers in your area.

One day that might save your property or your life. When you see them coming with lights flashing, move out of the way quickly, then pray for them.
 

http://markrhunter.com/

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

 And ... I missed most of it. Which I really don't mind, because I'm not much of a fair ride rider. I am a fair food foodie, but my wife and three doctors held me down and beat me with broccoli sticks until I gave them all my cash.

Speaking of eating, on the same Wednesday the rides started the Albion Fire Department served over six hundred fish and tenderloin meals under a pouring rain and occasional thunder ... well, under a roof. Good thing that roof was there. The Chain O' Lakes Festival is notorious for funny weather and/or unusual things happening. During the fish fry one year, for instance, there was an earthquake, but many of the diners just thought it was the sound of their waistbands expanding. This year everyone was treated to the performance art of one Mark R. Hunter, who tried to sit in a chair when the chair was somewhere else. And yes, I'm still sore.

My position actually faces away from the street, which is for the best from a distraction standpoint. But there's a window to my left, and at one point, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a giant Transformer coming straight at me!!! Turns out it was a ride swinging my way. And not a cool ride that turns into a robot, either. So everything was fine, although the 911 caller was concerned about my screaming and whimpering. "Well, it's just loud music--should I call back later?" I still haven't found the pen I was holding at the time.

As I write this the Festival parade is today--or maybe tomorrow by the time you read it--but I'm working through that too. I'll take the day off when they make me Grand Marshal.

 By the title, I mean at the Albion Fire Department you can sit down to eat ... I mean, at the Albion, Indiana, Fire Department. I've been to Albion, Illinois--very nice firehouse. Where was I?

Oh, yes. For the last couple of years the AFD's annual fish and tenderloin fry--which I'm going to shorten to fish fry, because the fish is yummy--has been the drive-through type, due to COVID. This year we're going back to the old ways, where you can sit and eat, or come on in to get a carry out order, and isn't that exciting? Yes. Yes, it is. Because the fish is seriously yummy, and I understand this year dessert is a cupcake (well, not just one) courtesy of Boo's Knead for Sweets.

The chips and applesauce are fine, but who can pass up Boo's Knead for Sweets? Me, neither.

Here's the Facebook events page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1125758564936177

It'll look something like this, only with people.

The prices are $12 for adults and $8 for kids. That might seem like a lot, but it is all you could eat--just stop eating for, say, five days before, and I'm sure you'll be happy with the result, if you don't pass out and miss the whole thing.

Be there anytime between 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8th, and get fed before you head up to the Chain O' Lakes Festival on the courthouse square. We (the AFD) are at 210 S. Fire Station Drive. Don't accidentally go one block over, because the jail food isn't nearly as good, or so I've heard.

The building looks like this, only without the old firefighters standing in front of it. The 9/11 tree is still there, though.

Oh, and while you're there, ask about buying a copy of our book, Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century Or So With the Albion Fire Department. Proceeds, yes, go to the AFD. Remember, every time you fail to support your local fire department, one of Santa Claus' hairs gets scorched. Save Santa's beard.

 After the 9/11 terrorist attacks a severely damaged, but still alive, pear tree was found in the remains of the World Trade Center complex. The tree was rehabilitated and returned to the site, a symbol of resilience, survival, and rebirth.

Later seedlings were produced from that tree. The Albion Fire Department had one of those young offshoots planted near the firehouse, and dedicated it on September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

Standing by the tree and its memorial stone are two of the Albion Fire Department's oldest members, Phil Jacob and Bob Brownell, who according to rumor still miss taking care of the fire horses.

A good turnout.

The memorial stone.

AFD Fire Chief Bob Amber.

The tree is on the right, with the stone covered by Phil Jacob's turnout coat before its unveiling. To the left is the AFD Fire Bell, which dates to 1887. Oh, and a fire hydrant.

Phil Jacob again, because he deserves two pictures, along with a very cool (you can tell by the sunglasses) local author.