Heir To The Throne

As I'm sitting here contemplating which of two (I know, I know... but I didn't think anyone would mind if I took a week or so away from here) posts to write, it occurs to me that when I describe myself as a big baby when I don't feel well, I'm not exaggerating... like, not even a little.  I've spent the last few days with pain in the neck (literally) known as Strep Throat.  

I feel like the words "Strep Throat" should be accompanied by a fanfare of some sort after the way my butt got kicked.  Actually I'm not sure what the sound should be.  Probably not fanfare, but certainly the suspenseful movie music that let's you know something bad is about to happen (wordies, hook a brotha up will ya?)  I also feel like "WTF, little kids have this all the time, they're up and running in, like, two days".  

Me?  Not so much.  As I write this, I'm about to have my first cup of coffee in four days.

FOUR.  DAYS.

Nectar of the Gods, Buile Mo Chroi, how did I live without you?

OK, slight exaggeration perhaps, but still.  I don't remember the last time I went one day without let alone four.

You want another example?  A pan full of brownies sat on the counter since Saturday night, untouched by me.  

Brownies.

In my very own house.

Since Saturday.

I believe that to be unprecedented.

How unusual is this you might ask?

Each of the preceding images were randomly chosen from the many food pictures I have taken with my phone and these in particular represent lovely chocolate and/or cake based foods that were at least as delicious as they were appealing to look at.  

Brownies lasting that long around me is a huge deal, to say the least. Anyway.

Here's where I decided to start.  

The Heir to the Throne is 13.

Holy crap, how did that happen?  

I mean, I know HOW it happened, but how did it happen?  Good Lord it was just a few weeks ago the Oldest One brought him home.  It's funny, I remember carrying the Oldest One home.  I always will.  It was a very surreal moment for me, but I'll never forget holding this tiny little being up and touching a leaf to her hand and telling her what it was.  The rest of my parenting career may have spiraled out of control, but I nailed that first moment if I do say so myself. I stole that from a movie, btw, maybe Roots, I don't remember.  Like I've said before, I may not be the greatest writer on the planet, but I know when to plagiarize a great line.  

Quick side note... Free wifi is a wonderful thing, but to emphasize "there's no such thing as 'free'" let me just point out that the three teenage knuckleheads that just left my local Pacific northwest based coffee based beverage super-mega global conglomerate (still interested in endorsement opportunities btw) just left because they had found and successfully gotten on my last effing nerve in very short order. 

So yeah, the adorable little protester you see screen left is now a teenager.  Don't get me wrong, especially if any of the other progeny read this, of course I love them all the same and equally.  And yet... I don't think it's out of line to say I love that kid more than anyone else I share bloodlines with.   

OK, maybe not more.  But it's... different with the first.  And I'm not sure I can put that into words. 

And, as I sit here trying to craft the words to describe that sentiment, I'm getting flooded with memories.  Memories of each of them.  From the Oldest One on down through the Beatle Baby and all the ones that haven't gotten a nom de guerre from me yet.  And, while I'm not about to start spilling my guts on every cute/embarrassing/frustrating/endearing thing any of them have done, I don't think I'm out of line with the remarks.

It's different with the first.  Not necessarily better, though often it is.  The decisions are better researched and more safety based whereas each additional child gets proportionally less safety and more reality based decisions -

First child *Here sweetie, let Daddy clean that apple better
Second child *Rub that apple on your shirt, it'll shine right up
Third child *It's a small worm, you'll be fine

So yeah, it's safe to say I love all of my grandkids without fail and without question.  And it's also safe to say that, even if I got to see every one of them, every day of my life, that wouldn't be enough.  

So, the teenager (God that sounds weird) has started life as a 7th grader.  He'll be driving in three years,  Three.  That's for the Oldest One, in case you wondered... And then, three years after that, college.  But that's what happens with life.  It goes on.  

OK, before this whole thing spins into one hot mess, let me just say he's the sweetest, most thoughtful kid I know.  He cherishes those that are important to him and for having spent such short time on this planet, he's had to deal with a lot of loss.  More than most adults I know.  He's a great kid and his Mother has done a great job raising him.  

And if I could pass on some advice to him (I know, I can, I'm just using this as a vessel) I'll tell him to enjoy each and every day.  Enjoy his friends and his time with them.  Work hard.  But take time to play too. You need both.  Be safe, always, be safe.  And you can strike out without ever taking the bat off your shoulder, but you'll never get a hit that way.

Is that enough grandfatherly advice?  God I hope so because I suck at it, Yeesh.  

So, from the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" department and to try and wrap this whole trainwreck together, last spring I took him to DC for spring break.  We did some sight-seeing, some touristy stuff and had a great time.  He even gave a reasonable answer to the question of what he liked best (Air and Space Museum), but when pressed for what he REALLY liked best about DC do you know what his answer was?

Ben's Chili Bowl

I love that kid.

I don't btw.

See every one of them every day, that is.

That's something I need to work on.

Sigh

My last morning on tour.

Well, at least for the summer.  I'll be back on the road in October.  Of course, it still feels a little bit depressing knowing I'm done here. 

Don't get me wrong.  It'll be good to be home.  I miss the pirate.  I miss the animals, well the dogs anyway.  I miss my bed.  I've slept like crap on the road.  No Eddie, it wasn't your snoring, even though you can bring it like few others.  I couldn't sleep when John was my roomie.  I couldn't sleep even when I had the room to myself.  So yeah, it'll be good to be back home and back into my routine.  I am, after all, a creature of habit. 

Still...

How can you not miss this?  The shared emotions, traveling together, working together, the hijinks (an under-used, under-appreciated word in my humble opinion, in fact I'm going to use it again) yes, I said hijinks (see? I told you) that all blend together to make The Tour what it is. 

We've got some pretty special people here with us.  Of course, it's strange not seeing my guy from LA here working the room. 

We're leaving the tour in good hands though. Vickkkkkkkkki is still here and Jaime is the MAN, my guy Leonard knows what he's doing and Nick seems like he gets it too.  Seth is always eager to put on the turnout gear. 

Ok, brief detour here.  This is something I wanted to touch base on the other day but got sidetracked.  You know how sometimes you think of a snappy comeback to something but you think of it too late to use it?  So, here's my most recent...

On move-in day when we were getting ready to go back to the SUV which was parked outside, I thought I'd remembered hearing about a shuttle to the remote (but honestly not too remote) parking lot.  As we started across the show hall floor, one of the exhibit guys (a fire chief from who knows where) came driving by on one of the scooters provided to them for the show.  I asked him how we could catch a lift to our vehicle and he looked at me and said "it's only a five minute walk".  

To quote Jack Nicholson from "A Few Good Men" 

Don't I feel like an asshole. 

Except, it occurred to me (far too late to be of value) that the guy that belittled me over a five minute walk had his fat ass perched on a gas powered version of a Rascal scooter.  

Ironic, no?

But back to the show.  It's over in 6 minutes.  Then it's back to the hotel, back home and back to some semblance of routine. 

Again, sigh. 

Everything is packed up, we're just waiting for the official god bless from one of the Rascal scooters so we can start up the vehicles, build up air pressure and roll back to the hotel. 

Speaking of hotels, let me take a few minutes to throw kudos to the manager at our hotel last night. Wish I knew his name... 

While we were at the show, five boxes of shirts were delivered to the hotel.  That manager put them in a back room and forgot to mention to her replacement that they were there. 

They got sent back. 

Or so we thought. 

The manager got on his phone, tracked down the five boxes of shirts and then went and picked them up and brought them back to the hotel. 

ON. HIS. OWN. TIME. 

That's a something right there. 

Ok, here's another random observation... The show we just left was put on by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, a wonderful organization, I'm sure. 

Now.  Having said nice things.  Let me just add, I don't know which one of these fire chiefs had the responsibility for scheduling, but let me just put forth the proposition that holding this event on the same weekend as the Air & Water Show was probably not the best choice.  I'm glad I don't work for his or her department. 

Just sayin...

Ok.  We're finally almost back to the hotel and my ride home.  

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!

As we pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the hotel we saw a Mom, and her two young daughters, in their car taking our picture.  I grabbed a couple brochures and handed them to her.  As I started to explain who we are and what we do, Leonard, Nick and Seth walked up.  I passed the proverbial baton off to them and walked into the hotel. 

My tour is done. 

Pink Heals Tour Baby. 

Pink Heals!

Peace.

Quick update to this post.

I just found out Mickie, our home visit from last week, passed away this morning.  She was at home, surrounded by family.  She never smoked, yet lung cancer took her away from her family and friends far sooner than any of them wished.  Please keep Mickie, her family and her friends in your thoughts and prayers.  

Show Time!

It's eleven minutes after ten on Friday morning and my mind is already reeling with things I want to write about...  

For example; I've learned "yonder" has no definitive meaning. Something can be "over yonder" and be either five feet or five miles away.  But it's not as far away as "ohthar" which apparently is quite a distance.  Also, "yonder ways" is farther than just a regular old "yonder". 

Of course, it's a given that camaraderie in something like this is a huge part of what we do. Even with Vickkkkkki as a part of the team, we act, for the most part, like a bunch of 12 year-old boys on a sleepover.  As viewed below. 

Eddie, Leonard and Nick in the back seat of Chrissy's jeep ready to head down to McCormick Place. Just look at the glee on their faces. 

And then there's Dave. 

Posing for a picture I sent to the pirate. 

Here's another thought- it's good to have friends. I was talking with an IBEW guy the other day during move-in to see if we could get a highlift over to take an aerial shot of the way we've got the trucks laid out.  He asked if I wanted to go up on the catwalk instead. 

Catwalk?

I'm in. 

So when Tommy came by today he asked if I had my camera. I grabbed Dave's and was soon escorted up onto the catwalk above the show floor, past locked doors and through secret entrances and everything. 

Pretty cool, huh?

But the really cool part?  Welcoming survivors to come be a part of our time on tour. This is Trish, joining me for a selfie in front of Leslie. 

The simple act of signing one of our trucks was so overwhelming for her and seeing the emotion on her face was very cool.  I've said it before and I'll say it again... 

I'm 54 years old.

I've done a lot of cool things in my life.

THIS is the coolest thing I've ever done.

Today was the kind of day that, to me, holds a lot of promise for next year.  I spent a lot of time talking to fire chiefs from all over the country, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Wisconsin to name a few, all trying to lay groundwork for next year's tour.  

I love this stuff.

Pink Heals!

Peace

Reality is not always my friend...

I mentioned a couple days ago that the health of a woman from one of the home visits has gone downhill.  

Drastically.  

I just got an update this morning, they've sent her home from the hospital and into hospice care. The doctors feel it is only a matter of days.  Out of respect for the family's privacy, I won't go into any greater detail, but I use this as a point of reference for something I've spoken about this year on tour.

Typically, when someone (read "media types") asks me about the tour, I speak more about the emotion of home visits.  Even though I've been on tour and I know why we do what we do, I'm not terribly experienced at speaking to reporters and on those occasions when I do, reading it afterwards I typically feel like "crap I should have said this better" you know?

Instead, this is what I try and relate it to...

In our job as firefighters or firefighter/paramedics, too many times despite or best efforts; timely care, following the appropriate medical orders, using the proper drugs in the proper dose at the proper time with all appropriate interventions done correctly, we still have a bad outcome.

Not so with the Tour.  

We come in and provide love, hugs and flowers to women (usually) to provide them with an emotional lift and let them know we love them and want them to keep fighting.  We provide a good day for all involved, even if for a short time.

Usually.

The news from our home visit provides a cold slap of reality in the face.

We don't normally get follow-up information on the people we visit so, at least for me, in my mind's eye, they are always there, with family and friends, just the way we left them.

All wrapped up with a pretty bow, now let's move on to the next home visit/event/town/state...

Except...

The people we visit don't get the same thing from the same perspective.  They get the reality. Nothing long-term has changed for them.  

And this has brought it into focus for me.  Thanks for that.  Reality, you suck.

What happened to the lady from May of 2011, my first ever home visit?

What happened to little Hailey from last year?  

What's going to happen to Haley from this year?

Or any of the other fighters/survivors we've (I've) met over the last few years of this?

There was a certain comfort in the NOT knowing.  An idiot bliss, if you will.  Now, at least in this case, that's gone.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't care what happens to the people I meet.  I do.  Especially the ones I have some sort of connection with, even if it's just a random, spontaneous kind of thing.  You don't always have to know someone well to connect with them.  It may not be a life-long bond, or even enough to sustain a relationship, but, well, you know.

OK, this one took a little more somber turn than most of the drivel I put up in here.  I assure you, it won't change the way I go about Pink Heals Touring.  I still love this stuff, even if reality sticks his or her nose into my business once in a while.

If you're the praying type, please say a few for our home visit and her family.  If you're not, please keep them in your thoughts.

Pink Heals!

Peace

PS because there's always (not really always, obvs) a PS-
by this time Sunday, I'll be home... thanks again reality.

PPS (or is it PSS? I forget) on the plus side, Dave hasn't called me a quitter yet.  So I've got that going for me... which is nice...

Move-in day

If you've ever taken part in the process of moving someone; yourself or your child or anyone really, into a college dorm, the title probably sent a cold chill down your spine.

Sorry about that.

This was nowhere remotely close to as bad as collegiate move-in day.  It was, however, the day we moved "the girls" in to McCormick Place for the buff-fest known as IAFC Fire Rescue International.  

I say that with all due affection, by the way, I love those nerds.

We got up around 4:00 this morning, gathered downstairs a little before 5, almost before the coffee made an appearance at the hotel, and got on the road heading in to the city with the understanding we were supposed to be there for a "drivers meeting" at 6:00 AM.  

We arrived about quarter to 6.  

The meeting was at 6:45.

Whatever.

We finally got the girls inside a little before 8:00 AM

Ann Marie taking the turn in to the exhibit hall...

Followed by Karen and the trailer...

I've been in McCormick Place a bunch of times over the years, for the Chicago Auto Show, the Boat Show, things like that, but I've never been in the exhibit hall when it was empty.  It was kind of weird to see.  

Good thing it was empty too, I can't imagine trying to maneuver the trucks the way we did with a lot of stuff in there.  It took a couple tries to get them positioned where Dave wanted them - "does this truck make my a** look big?" but we got them set fairly quickly.  

Once they were ready for presentation, we headed down to Robbins to look at a couple of old fire engines Jaime found online.  The first, an E-One looked to be in pretty good shape, no rust, motor sounded OK  but the guy was asking a lot for it.  The second, a Pierce had a lot of rust on it.  A LOT.  Motor sounded good though, a texted a guy I know from the department it came from and he said to his knowledge it was in good shape and was sent away due to age.  The price was high, but he said he'd come down on it.  Probably not enough to make it worthwhile though due to the body work needed to repair the rust.

That's it for the rest of today and tomorrow too for that matter.  With no vehicles, it's hard to tour and they are committed to the show until Saturday afternoon.

Which, by the way is my last day on tour.  At least until October.

And that sucks. 

Looks like I'll have to work for tomorrows entry...

Pink Heals!

Peace

Ebb and flow

The Pink Heals Tour, like many things, is a dynamic entity.  That is to say it's always moving, even when we're not.  

Chuck went home today, but I picked up Jaime at the airport.  And, last night Ryan and Tom McMurray drove Patty up from Columbus, OH.  Later tonight my guy Leonard and his friend Nick are coming over from Michigan.  

You remember Leonard -

Yup, that's him.

Today is going to be an interesting, unexpectable (is that a word? Spell check says not) day. After picking up Jaime, we drove back to Joliet to pick up the bus and then went back to the hotel.  Later this afternoon, we drive our convoy down to McCormick Place to take the vehicles in for the annual International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Rescue International show.  The "girls" will be there til Saturday evening, we'll be there Thursday for cleaning and set up and Friday and Saturday we'll be there all day.  Not sure what to expect other than a lot of sitting around, especially in traffic.  If you know me IRL, you know how well I do with that...

I got the pictures downloaded from our Peru visit.

Here's Gary signing Leslie...

And one with his family...

And one with us...

And one with the group...

Again, we all agreed, the Peru visit was pretty special.  Great support group around Gary and his family. 

This afternoon we loaded up and drove down to McCormick Place or, at least to the Truck Marshaling Area, something I never knew existed.  We headed down that way, kind of assuming there'd be signs or something. 

Wrong.

We got off the Stevenson at LSD northbound and saw nothing.  A couple blocks over to Michigan Ave. and still nothing so Jaime pulled over to check his email.  He read the directions to me a couple times and I looked at Google Maps while he read it.  Lo and behold, there it was, right off 31st Street, just like the email said it was.  Dropped off our girls, wandered around the lot looking at fire engines and then got back in the car and headed back out to suburbia.  Vickkkkkkki drove, she's becoming a fine Chicago area driver btw, changing lanes, honking horns and cursing people out with the best of them.  In fact, let's play...

(fanfare please)

"Meet Your Pink Heals Tour Driver"

Tonight, meet Vickkkkkkkkki from South Texas.  NOT Texas, SOUTH Texas (apparently there's a difference)

She's been on tour from the start, I think she's trying to beat John Rhyne's record for time on tour.  She has the retail aspect of touring dialed in.  She knows how much of everything we have and where to find it.  She works her tail off and has managed, in a male dominated atmosphere, to be loved and respected by all of us.

And feared.

Back home, for fun, she hunts hogs.  

Like wild boar hogs.  The kind with ginormous tusks.  And bad attitudes.  

With a knife.

She comes screaming out of the cornfields, camo paint on her face, a knife in each hand and one clenched in her teeth, flying, seemingly out of nowhere, landing on the back of the hog with a blood curdling yell and slitting it's throat as she bays art the moon.

Well, that MIGHT be a slight exaggeration.

Maybe.

I prefer to think of it as accurate.

Also, I've never met anyone that spells her name quite like that.  I mean I've known Vicki's and Vikki's and even a Vicci I think, but never a Vickki.  It just doesn't seem right.  I mena, why stop at two k's, you know?  

So I prefer spelling it Vickkkkkkki.

Just kidding Vickkkki, you're my favorite person from South Texas, ever.  And, I'm afraid of you.

Just kidding.

Kinda.

But seriously, you're the best!

Pink Heals!

Peace   


 

How can you not love this?

We've got an off day today.

And by "off" I mean, we drove from Joliet to Westmont for a home visit and then came to our base hotel in Warrenville.  Ann Marie is down for today for some routine type stuff, we'll pick her up tomorrow morning on the way back from the airport.  

Dave and I were talking this morning about the first visit we did yesterday, for Kris at the Joliet Park District.  It was a great way to start the day.  Dave got some photos today from Matt and shared them with us.  The expression on Kris' face do a far better job of telling you how someone feels being on the receiving end of a home visit than I could ever possibly do.  Just look at her face in the pictures that follow and try, for just a moment, to put yourself in to her or our, shoes and you'll begin to understand why we do this.

It's incredibly rewarding.

So with nothing further, please take a few minutes and let these pictures soak in...

Pretty amazing stuff.

Now, back to today.  Here is a picture from our visit with Lauren.  This came about last Friday when we were in Bartlett.  One of the Bartlett FD guys brought a woman, Megan, over to meet me.  Megan proceeded to tell me her sister Lauren was having a growth removed that very day. She had a form of lymphoma, but didn't yet know what form.  Lauren had a node the size of an orange removed.  

Typically, they're the size of a pea.  

The family was awesome, as they usually are on home visits, and since Megan has my contact info, I told her and her Mom to please feel free to get a hold of me if there's anything we can do for them.

Here's a picture of the group "striking a pose" a fun little thing we do at home visits.  If you look closely you can see Rodin's "The Thinker", jazz hands, a hoochie mama and every variety of shock and/or surprise on their faces. 

Two more things to touch base on before I go.  I got an email yesterday morning that a friend of mine lost her fight to pancreatic cancer.  I've known Charlene since shortly after Caitlin was killed.  She has done more than almost anyone else in the state of Illinois to keep the roads safe from drunk drivers.  As Executive Director of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) she was, for many years, the go-to resource for politicians with questions and for victim families needing answers.  She was an amazing woman and will be sorely missed by so many people.

Ten minutes ago I heard from another friend of mine.  A woman we did a home visit for last week took a turn for the worse and her family doesn't expect her to survive to morning.  The family wanted us to know she is surrounded by pictures of our visit with her and the impression we made on them with our care and compassion for her will never be forgotten.  They take great comfort in the way we treated her during our time together.

I work with the best people in the world.  

Excuse me while I go wipe the tears from my eyes.

Pink Heals!

Peace

Joliet and points west...

Today was our second, and final, day in Joliet.  That's not completely accurate, since we're still in town, spending the night here before we move on tomorrow.

It's also not entirely true since we were in several towns today, even splitting the crew at one point to be in two places at one time.

Pink Heals Tour Baby.

We started our day with a work visit to Kris.  It was a surprise.  Her boss told her she had to teach a class at 8:00 this morning.  When she came out into the fitness center, she saw us and several dozen friends waiting to surprise her.  

We did.

Here's Chuck and Seth helping Kris sign Leslie.

We did a couple home visits this morning and then, compliments of the Joliet chapter (thanks for EVERYTHING Matt and Sandra!) we had an awesome breakfast at a place called Crispy Waffles (I think that was the name) (at least I think that was the name) and I promptly blew my whole "eat healthy on tour" concept right out of the water.  

What can I say, I like corned beef hash.  Sue me.

After breakfast we went out to Channahon for their annual parade.  Now, who doesn't like a parade?

No, really, who doesn't like them?  Maybe the people that have to clean up afterward but other than that. what's not to like?  And to make it even more interesting, in lieu of a home visit, we picked up a survivor from along the route and brought her along with us on the parade.  Gloria beat breast cancer so her friends wanted to do something special for her.  The thing that made this more poignant to me was she just lost her Dad to cancer this last winter.  Her Dad loved parades.  This was the first parade without him.

The other thing that made this parade memorable was that it marked the farewell performance of the Pink Heals Tour Driver dance ensemble.  

The. Last.

I've been told there was a video somewhere.  My life's goal is to find every last copy and destroy them all before they can be used for evil.  

OK, before I go any further... I don't remember if I mentioned the fact that last night Joliet PD's Pipe and Drom Corps played "Amazing Grace" at the unveiling.

I did?

OK, well I just mentioned it again.  Take a few minutes and look at this because these guys are the truth.

From the parade we grabbed a quick lunch at the Channahon FD and then we split, Vickki, Eddie, Seth and I took Leslie and June out to Peru, IL to do a home visit for Gary.  

Gary has led a life in service to the public.  A long-time firefighter in both LaSalle and Peru, he's now fighting stage four adenoid cystic carcinoma.  

As we pulled off the interstate at the Peru exit we were met by a parade group consisting of two tower ladders, a rescue squad, four ambulances, three engines, two squad cars and 8 or 10 firefighters in turnout gear, riding their motorcycles.  Bear in mind, this wasn't an actual parade, this was all people from the area assembling to pay respects to Gary and his family.  

Geez talk about goosebumps.

Gary knew we were coming by, and as we approached his house we saw him sitting in his front yard along with several dozen friends and family members.  We lined up, gave Gary hugs, told him we loved him and then did the same for his family.  They were all incredibly moved by the visit.

They weren't the only ones.  

It was one of the more touching events I've done.  Maybe because of the fact that we share the same job, I don't know.  But it was very rewarding to be a part of.

We made it back to Joliet for another home visit, Kari this time a thyroid cancer survivor.

After that we swung by Sandra's parents house to see her Mom, a breast cancer survivor.  

By the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 9:30 PM.  We ended the night by eating McDonald's grilled (see? back to eating healthy!) chicken sandwiches in the parking lot.  

And fries too.  I tried.

If I can figure out how to download the pictures off Dave's camera, I'll put some up from Peru.

Pink Heals!

Peace.

Best wishes on your next flower

Today was our first day in Joliet.  

We started by getting our first, up-close-and-personal look at Addison, their new ladder truck. Even though they've had her for a month or so, their event today was the official unveiling. 

The truck was originally from somewhere north of the Cheddar Curtain (they're a hearty breed up there, eh?), once Matt and his wife Sandra got her for their chapter they named her Addison, in honor of a seven year-old girl from the community that was fighting cancer.  

I say "was" because, three weeks ago, Addison passed away.

By all accounts, she was a fighter and fought til the end.  But, in the end, the cancer was too much. 

The truck is a beauty, no?

As I walked around reading some of the things that have been written on her already, there were a few that caught my eye, but some were truly moving.  Like these...

Addison and her parents got to sign before she died.  Matt said they're going to take the truck to the body shop and have some kind of clear coat ultraviolet sealer put over that so it never gets absorbed into the truck.  I think that's about the coolest thing I've heard in a while and it's very touching for their chapter.  

Plus it's a tangible thing that the family will always have. Addison's signature, preserved on the truck named for her, will help them heal and soothe them for a long time to come.

Here, if you look at the front of the truck, you see an image of a lady bug.  I'm a little confused, it's either a nickname for Addison or she loved ladybugs or both.  Regardless.  Many of the comments mentioned lady bugs.

To be perfectly honest, when I read this one, I almost lost it.  As I looked through the viewfinder of my cellphone camera it was all I could do to remain composed enough to snap the picture. 

I had to walk away. 

It just conjured up such a powerful image for me, it moved me almost to tears.  

So, after we checked out Addison, we had to drive about a block to our first event, a static display at the local cancer center.  Matt jumped in to the bus with me for the ride over.  

As he closed the door and walked up the stairs I looked over toward the door.  I had seen something move and it caught my eye.  

I looked over and had to do a double take.

I called Matt back up front and told him to take a look at the front window.

This is what we saw...

A lady bug.  She's up at the top of the front window, I didn't get very close because I didn't want to scare her off.  

I'm not quite sure what to make of that, but I find it to be kind of beyond coincidental.

And extremely cool. 

Not being one to mess with things I can't explain, let me just say I figured she wanted to join us... 

Addison, sweetie I was very proud to be part of a day celebrating your short time here.

In addition to jumping in Joliet from 8:30 AM to about 9:30 PM, we got 19 boxes of shirts and stuff in today, including the hats you see Matt and I modeling.  Dave ordered 36 of these and after today, I think we have 5 left. 

I'd like to think this picture had a little something to do with that.

Of course it didn't but I'd still like to think that.

We also got black and pink beanies in, as modeled by the young lady you see here.  I'm not sure but that look kinda has a "Mommy make that scary man go away" feel to it.

Tomorrow brings day 2 for Joliet as well as a side trip out to Peru, IL to make a home visit to a member of the Peru FD.

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to pass on MYPHTD for tonight.

I think.

Yes, I'm sure.

Maybe tomorrow.

How's that for a blatant teaser?

Pink Heals!

Peace

If it's Friday, we must be in Bartlett...

I think I mentioned it in my post this morning, I really did lose track of days.  Not only days of the week, but shift days.  I have to stop and think about what shift it is today and that's not something I usually have to do.  It's Red Shift today, right?

Right?

OK, that's what I thought.  

Today we had a much shorter (YAY!) day than (not that I mind being busy) we did (but it's kind of nice to have a five or six hour day once in a while) yesterday.  We went to Bartlett for a quicky parade through the town and then a static display at a local shopping center.  We, as usual, met a bunch of great people, including (for the second day in a row) a guy that used to work with one of the guys at DG.  So it seems we've turned into the Chris C homies portion of the tour. And I texted him and told him that, lol.  I don't get to work with Chris very often, but he's a great kid and I really enjoy being around him.  And I hope he read this too the jerk, lol.  

But back to our event...  We met a woman that was just diagnosed recently and she, coincidentally she's the secretary for a nearby fire department.  We all lined up and hugged her like we usually do and handed her a marker to sign the truck.  We talked to her for a little while afterward and she took down my name and Chuck's name.  She wants to bring the Tour to her town next year.  I believe she'll make it happen too.  I'll do everything I can to help her do it.

A little while after that, a young lady came up to me with one of the guys from Bartlett FD.  Her sister has stage 4 cancer (I think she said lymphoma but I'm not sure) and she wondered if we could do a home visit.  She lives in a town near where I work.  We have an off day Monday. Dave is good with it.  The guys are good with it.  We're going to go see her sister Monday morning.  

I love this stuff.

I must admit, despite that above statement, I miss being home a little bit.  I miss the pirate.  But I also miss these two goofs...

So, it should come as no surprise that I kept getting drawn over to this...

I mean really, how cute are these guys?  Check out this one...

As the pirate often says, how can anyone hurt these guys?

It's time for Meet Your Pink Heals Tour Drivers!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

Tonight meet Eddie Mac from Lower Alabama -

That's him on the right.  Eddie is from Orange Beach, Alabama where their motto is "protecting paradise".  For real, that's their motto.  I know, I usually make something up that makes people laugh.  Well, it makes me laugh and that's all that matters so, really...  

Eddie is a truck driver by trade and he handles Karen and the trailer like he's a truck driver by trade.  Which is to say he handles it like he was born in it.  Eddie is pretty passionate about this work, many guys are, but Eddie just seems to get it more than a lot of guys do.  

And I'm not just saying that because he's my roommate now.  

And we're talking while I write this.  

About Pink Heals stuff.

Another nice thing about Eddie?  He really is a good hugger, I know, I've been watching him and Chuck hug people for the last week and he's good.  

He also likes to fire on people that don't get Pink Heals.  Not people that are just learning about it, people that should know better, people that have history with the organization.  He's a lot of fun to be around.  And he's a good dude.  

He can't dance worth a damn though...

I thought we were gonna have to get him some oxygen.

Finally as we wrap up this little gem and get ready for a long couple days in Joliet (named for the famous French mada uhh nevermind) I found this, sent to me by a friend that works for Advocate Health Care.  It's a little photo gallery of our time with the people at four of Advocate's hospitals.  Warning, if you're using your mobile device this may not work properly.  Go to the bottom of the linked page and click of "mobile version" and you should see the pictures.

Pink Heals!

Peace

Let's try this again...

Hi. 

I didn't actually time the upload, it felt like every bit of 78 minutes.  While I was away I...  

finished my laundry

answered several emails

wrote several emails

updated the contacts list on my phone with people I've met out here

added pictures to a draft of a post for use at a later date

You get the idea.

So, let's try and get caught up, shall we?

Let's try this video and then I'd suggest this video from last weekend and last Monday.  And, as long as I'm linking video I'll throw this video in again by the young news crew from 365Barrington.com because they really were a lot of fun to work with.

And, finally, this...

The reason for the delay was the video of John singing "Amazing Grace" for his sister that passed away from cancer.  Without further adieu, here it is. There's a little background noise, the bus generator was running, but it's well worth the listen.

OK then.  On to the updates.

Today is... Friday?  I've completely lost track of days.  the routine of shift usually keeps me on track, but touring throws that off pretty quickly.  I really have to stop and think about it.  So, today being Friday (it IS Friday, right?) means that on Wednesday we went to Evanston, IL home of; holy crap, I don't think I've ever written about a tour stop in a town with it's own Wikipedia entry of notable people but Evanston's got one.  I'll refrain from comment about them.  

Most of them.

Many of them.

OK, I can't help myself, it looks like a really nice town (city?) but c'mon; Charlton Heston, Donald Rumsfeld AND John Cusack?  All from the same town?  Throw in Jim Belushi and you may as well... OK, never mind.  But Geez what's in the water there?

We met some great people there and had, by my estimation, the BEST food I've had on tour in quite some time, Jamaican chicken, red beans and rice and fried plantains from a place called "Kingston Grille" and it was just phenomenal   Good Lord, yes.  I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it.  Great stuff.  And after talking to one of their aldermen and a couple guys from the FD (side note, GREAT job Jay!) I'm adding Evanston to the list of towns that might (read should) be adding a chapter in the next year.  And the director of Public Health for the city was a wonderful woman, wish I could remember her name... I really should've asked for a card...

Yesterday took us to Bedford Park/Oak Lawn and the longest single day on tour so far.  We left the hotel at 5:45 Am and didn't make it back until almost 10:00 last night.  That, my friends, qualifies as a long day.

But it was a good one.  Due to my close proximity to Good Sam (right across the street every third day) I've got a pretty good relationship with a bunch of people there and a couple at Advocate, their parent group.  In fact, we've kind of done a mini-Advocate tour here visiting three of their facilities this week.  Yesterday, it was Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, and it was a really nice little event.  Cancer-centric but not solely based on it, it was definitely a focus on women's health which was a cool way to bring us in.  Plus on a personal basis, I was able to make some solid contacts with OLFD guys (interested in a chapter) Christ Hospital (wants to grow the event for next year and do more with Pink Heals) and Gilda's Club of Chicago (this seems like a natural fit to me) so in my mind it was pure win.  

The day started in Bedford Park.  Technically, the day started months ago when Jack Holloway got hold of me after he requested a tour stop.  Jack busted his tail to make yesterday happen and to make it happen well and to make it a huge success.  This was not an easy thing.  I was skeptical right from the start, because Bedford is roughly 99,9997% commercial/industrial with the remaining amount residential.  And that's only a slight exaggeration.  Very slight.  The residential area is literally 4 blocks by 3 blocks.  That's it.  500 people approximately.  See I'm not even joking.  So, to do what Jack did was to me, pretty remarkable and I think if he wants to make a Bedford Park chapter or a county chapter or go in with Oak Lawn (or bring them in with him) or whatever he chooses to do, it'll work.  Also, since I'm pretty sure he'll see this, let me just add something else.

I'm 6'4" more or less.  At any rate, I'm kind of a tall guy.  I'm used to seeing the tops of most people's heads.  When I talk to Jack, I feel like I'm back in the 8th grade.  He's 6"11"  no joke. He's also a great guy and I'll be proud to work with him in any way I can to help him with future Pink Heals projects.

So despite the small population, Bedford produced some great home visits, like this one...

We stopped by to see Helen and the really cool thing about this visit is, Helen's son Al is a BPFD guy and we dressed him up in pink gear.  That was a pretty emotional stop.

After we did the home visits, we went to the firehouse.  Again, keep in mind, the town has a population of around 500 people.  

This is what greeted us.

And the picture doesn't do the crowd justice.  It was a really nice little event.

From there we went to one of the local chemical plants were they fed us a huge lunch and provided us with 10 gallons of emergency fuel.  Eddie Mac called me about halfway through lunch.  He ran in to Oak Lawn to start home visits there while we went to BPFD.  Leslie's fuel gauge is tough to interpret (note to self- Leslie's fuel gauge is tough to read) and even though it read 1/4 tank, she ran out of fuel.  All ended well though.  The Oak Lawn FD guys got the village maintenance guys came out, got her started and took her to their shop to fill up the tank, much thanks to all of you!

We then all met up at Christ Hospital for their event, as I mentioned, kind of a guinea pig for all of Advocate.  We met a bunch of great people, had a lot or people sign our trucks and sold a few shirts to keep us rolling.

Here we see Chuck, Jack and our new guy, Seth from Arkansas posing with a survivor.

We left Christ and went back out to the firehouse in Bedford where we finally cleaned the vehicles again (which means we'll get rain in about 19 hours) and then were treated to pizza, compliments of the BPFD.  

These guys are going to be pizza aficionados by the time they leave Chicago...

It seems like I'm forgetting something (shocking, I know) but I've been at this off and on for about three hours now and I've got to tie up some tour related loose ends before we head out today.  

Pink Heals!

Peace