Lone Star

When I was in the military, I was ordered to appear before a Military Court Martial committee because one of the members I served with was accused of being gay. When you get orders to appear, it's the same as a subpoena; you don't get the choice to just not do it. To my knowledge, it was never proven whether he was or wasn't gay. His career was destroyed simply on an accusation. Did it matter to me that he was what some would call 'effeminate'? Not in the least! He was a friend and a fellow Airman....thats all I needed to know. Did I worry that he was going to make a pass at me, especially in the shower? Not at all. IF he WAS gay, he didn't flaunt it and he damn sure never pushed his 'way of life' on others. The only issue that I MIGHT have with gays in the military is if someone decides to undergo gender reassignment surgery, especially if they expect the government to pick up the tab. I'm NOT suggesting that this is why the gay community wants to serve... The only reason it was even mentioned is because we know that there ARE elements of society that DO try to abuse the 'system' when they get the opportunity. It was always my understanding that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" wasn't a measure to keep gays out of the military, it just limited the straight members from having it thrown in their faces (as in Gay Pride parades and other demonstrations of one's homosexuality). I don't agree with the practice in civillian life either. If you're gay, I don't care. If you're attracted to members of the same sex....more power to you....there's just no need to make a big production out of letting the whole world know that this is your lifestyle. This thought process isn't just limited to the gay community. I don't believe that we need some big celebration of the fact that you're into the 'goth lifestyle', BDSM, S&M or whatever else floats your boat... The straignt community, and all the other 'alternative lifestyles' don't have to make some big hooplah to let the world know that this is their lifestyle, why is it that the gay community feels compelled to do it? Do I have any issues working, associating or otherwise interacting with members of the gay community? Not in the slightest. I happen to know for FACT that their 'gayness' will not rub off and turn me gay simply because I happen to have friends, coworkers and associates that are. Congratulations emtpociets, you've just made Archie Bunker look like a saint! But before you start celebrating your accomplishment, may I suggest that you put down the shovel that you're using to dig the hole you're in before you dig so deep that you'll never be able to get out of it. Please tell us though....who is going to be your next target? Not that I really want to hear whatever drivel you have to spout, I just don't want to be blindsided by it....

To begin, one must ask what your ultimate goal is. If you're intent on becoming an RN, then why are you even jerking around with EMS? Any time you start mucking around with shortcuts, you're not only cheating yourself; but your patients as well. You've already got an Associates Degree, so you already know the value of education. Why start looking for 'shortcuts' now? I really dont think we need to go into rewards/benefits of proper education versus the 'easy way out', do we?

Quite often, we comment on other peoples grammar and punctuation in their posts. I came across this little test while surfing, and felt compelled to post the link here. It's only 10 questions, so it won't take long; but it will let you know how your grammatical skills stack up. My average score was 80-90 points per test. Now if we can just work on the spelling......

SARCASM: Just one of the services I offer for free! I'm not trying to be difficult (it just happens naturaly) I'm sorry, I can't hear you, I don't have a beer in my hand

I could really hurt someone right now for some oysters! The cool thing about living on the coast is that there are places I can get a 50 pound bag of oysters, bring them home and start tossing them on the grill.....once the shells start to open, grab and oyster knife and pig out! What I need to figure out is how to make that white 'horsey sauce' that Arby's uses.....that is SOOOOOO good on oysters!!

While it looks promising, the application is limited to the concious, alert patient or any family members that may be around. I agree that if you're going to be living in a 'host country', you REALLY should try to assimilate as fully as you can. This includes learning the language of that host country! Unfortunately, there are too many bleeding hearts to make that happen anytime soon, so until we become fluent in Spanish and the hundreds of different dialects of the X number of different languages....we're still going to be behind the eight ball on communication.....

I'm not exactly sure what the laws in Australia are, especially concerning women's rights and prostitution. Sure, it's her body, she can do anything she wants with it ....until she starts breaking laws. In my opinion, what she's doing is absolutely no different than what any other prostitute/call girl does on a daily basis. Prostitution: prŏs'tĭ-tū'shən, -tyū'-) n. The act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. Obviously in this instance; the trading of sexual favors for monitary gain is by definition, prostitution. I don't care how attractive she may be, how well educated or how articulate; she's STILL practicing the 'worlds oldest profession'. Her whole spiel about 'changing peoples perspective', is nothing more than a smoke screen to distract people from the the facts. In her defense, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. There was a woman by the name of Natalie Dylan; who did this exact same thing in 2008 on ebay. What I find completely amusing is that she's already figuring on recieving a cool 5 million dollars for it, but she's not really thinking about the money........

I seriously hope the driver is buried UNDER the jail cell! There is absolutely NO reason this should have happened other than they were careless and negligent by driving too fast for road/weather conditions and more than likely 'rubbernecking' the crash scene. They have enacted harsher penalties for injuring/killing DOT workers, it's time that the same be done to public safety personnel as well. In GA, you have to change lanes in order to give emergency vehicles a 'buffer zone' AND you have to slow down in case you have to stop suddenly.

I'm not one who normally 'tears up' or gets overly emotional, but that video definately put a lump in my throat and made the vision just a little bit 'squiggly'...

UE, What a touching post! I'm glad that you feel that you finally have closure, now the healing can truly begin. I'm waiting with baited breath to see those pictures! LS

Lila, When you decided to get into EMS, just what did you really expect the job to entail? Why did you decide to get into EMS in the first place? Did you walk in with blinders on, or did you really look into the field and see what our world REALLY looks like? Forgive me if this seems too 'blunt'. This is not an attack on you in any form! I highly doubt that your school, instructor or the coroner (or anyone else involved in this presentation) set out to intentionally scar you emotionally with this presentation. Having been in the field for as long as I have, I can tell you that most of what we deal with in EMS is 'ugly'. When we're on scene, we don't have the luxury to call 'time out' and run out to the truck to regroup and get ourselves composed. Could it be that the coroner's only intention was to help desensitize you in the classroom so that you dont 'fall to pieces' on the street? There are going to be many times in your EMS career that people are going to depend on you to keep your shit together and be the 'rock' that they can cling to when their life is in total chaos. This isn't going to be possible if you're going to fall apart because the call involves kids, the elderly, the young, or whatever demographic tugs at your heart strings! Yes, the pictures were probably very brutal, haunting and extremely disturbing. But remember, on scene you CAN'T go running from the house weeping your eyes out. You HAVE to grit your teeth, roll up your sleeves and get in the middle of the shit storm and do what you were educated to do! We don't get to pick and choose what calls we are dispatched to. We don't get to only do the 'sunshine and belly rubs' calls that leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside. You're going to go to calls where some abusive jackass man has beaten the ever-loving shit out of his wife/girlfriend/fiancée....you'll go to calls where some alcoholic mother has beaten her kids within an inch of their lives, or worse. Depending on what type of environment you're in, you may even get the call for some innocent grandfather who just got 3 bullets in his chest from some strung out junkie who just shot him for a measly $12.00... You'll be dispatched to the MVA in the middle of the night that was caused by a drunk driver, who just killed a family of four coming home from Grandma's house...and they only get a few cuts and bruises. You might even get dispatched to the depressed person, who's decided that life isn’t worth living; and decides to deep throat a shotgun, and ends up splattering his brains all over the ceiling and walls. Yes, EMS can be a very UGLY world, but it's what we do. Again, this is not a personal attack Lila, it's the blunt, brutal reality of EMS...

I Я stoodint at kolludge! And people wonder why I'm an advocate of raising the standards for the 'lowest common denominator'! Narrative on PCR: Yo! We done rolled up on dis cat's house and finded 'em FUBAR! Dood sez its hard to breath dood had some puffer thang but it mt gave him some air and halled ballz to the doctor place presherz wuz13090 dood sez that he wuz in da bathe when it got hard to breath *lulz* dood sez him an his bitch jest had da fernis wurkd on I guess he hasn't gotten to his English credits yet!

We can only guess who got the call first. The information that it was a hazmat incident was relayed to Fire and EMS. We can only guess as to why it wasn't passed on to law enforcement. First off, the setting is rural Illinois, dirt roads and no other traffic around. Is it REALLY necessary to go blasting down the dirt roads with lights flashing and sirens blaring when there's obviously no one around? Fire and EMS both responded with lights and siren, but to assume that the trooper didn't at least have his lights activated is a presumption based on facts not in evidence. Since it was broad daylight, you're not going to see the effects of the lightbar.

Must one be a certified mechanic to realize that a flat tire is a 'bad thing', or that your car won't start when you turn the key? Must you be a licensed contractor to realize that your leaking roof needs to be repaired? Was Thomas Edison a licensed electrician with 25 years experience when he came up with the incandescent light bulb? The correct answer to all of the questions above is a resounding "Of course not!" The same mentality applies here. The fact that you can recognize that there is a 'problem' is half of the battle to forming a 'solution'. Part of the 'research portion' of the project CAN include personal interviews with those that are 'more seasoned' in the field of EMS. Clinical experience is subjective to the events of the day. I know people in my EMT/EMT-I classes that had to schedule extra clinical times simply due to the fact that it was a 'nothing bad happened today' situation. The point remains: one does not need a plethora of experience to realize that there's a problem with the current structure of EMS. It's what you do once you realize that there IS an issue, that makes the difference.

As in like 'most of them'?

Congratulations Richard! You've scored 92% correct. Too bad no one took me up on my bet, I'd have been a sawbuck richer! You passed my score by 2! I'll pm you the correct answers (as they were revealed when I played the game). I didn't make the rules, I just had to play by them!

I got $10.00 that says Richard can tie or beat my score of 43/50!

How does an asprin know where to go when you take one? What would happen if a man took 2 midol? Why? When you're eating ice cream and you get that 'brain freeze' thing going, do you you eat more ice cream as soon as you get it to stop hurting? Why? When you're walking along, minding your own business ...and you trip and stumble; why is it the first thing you do is to look back at what you stumbled over and then look around to see who saw you? Why? You look at your watch to see what time it is. You look a second time to make sure. When you are asked what time it is, why do you suddenly look at your watch again? Why? When people want to know what time it is, they'll pantomime by pointing at their wrist. Why don't they point at their crotch when asking where the restroom is? *edited to correct a spelling error*

In a word for # 1&3.....no Gotta give you credit for creative thinking though!

Now you know how I feel! You did very well on those! If you'd like all of the answers, send me a PM. LS

"One small step for man ... " -Is this something specific, or just the first time they talked about walking on the moon? This was specifically in reference to the first man on the moon

Q: What does a woman and an oven have in common? A: You have to 'preheat' both of them before you put your meat in.....

If a man is in the woods and says something, and there is no woman around to hear him.....is he STILL wrong?

I feel so useless as an EMT! I've spent more than a whole 22 weeks in school, and I've never gotten the privelege of having a chopper land in the middle of a freeway *hangs head in shame* I've never *sniffles* even been able to order a chopper to 'standby status'....... How can I face my Squad 51 contemporaries?