Let us give great thanks.

It's sometimes hard to remember this, but we really do have much to be thankful for.

Let me explain.  No, there is too much.  Let me sum up...

At the Boy Child's suggestion, I just binge-watched (the binge-watching part was my idea fwiw) "The Man in the High Castle" on Amazon Prime.  It's set in America in 1963 but the hook is that the U.S. lost World War II to the Axis.  America west of the Rockies is Japanese territory and America east of the Rockies is German territory.  The Rockies are known as the Neutral Zone and are controlled by neither side.  I highly recommend it, it's a really well done show.

But, watching it, watching how things might have been, it kind of makes one appreciate just what we've got here.

Without going off on a political tangent here, we should all be thankful for where we live.  Warts and all, this is still a pretty great place to be when you look at the world as a whole.

And this retrospective mood makes me think of things like the decisions we make; the mundane, day-to-day, run-of-the-mill coin flips that end up having a more significant outcome than we ever could have imagined.

When I took my first EMT class, a million lifetimes ago, I had no way of knowing I'd end up here.

How could I?

And now, as I near the end of my career here in beautiful Downers Grove, I can't help but think of all the things I've done; the calls I've been on, the people I've met, the places I've gone, the lives I've touched and those that have touched mine.

The fodder it has given to a budding blogger...

For instance, let me tell you about the Naked Man fire.

This particular tale occurred in early January of 2009.  Sometime around midnight or 1:00 AM we got a call for a house fire.  On this particular night I was riding backwards on Engine 3, that is to say, I was responsible for grabbing the hose line off the engine and putting the fire out.  As we pulled onto the block we could see smoke and the flames reflecting off the trees.  Pulling up to the front of the house I looked to see what was coming our way and I saw a tri-level house with flames out a window on the ground floor of the west side and a man in a second floor window on the north side of the house with light smoke coming out from behind him.  Two of our Coppers were standing in the front yard, it appeared they were talking to him.  I imagine trying to keep him calm and telling him the fire department was here and that the FD would get him out.

As I walked around the back of E-3 to grab the hose line, I looked back up at the window.  The man wasn't there anymore.  I thought that was probably a bad sign as I walked up to grab the crosslay (the hose is literally side-to-side across the middle of the engine) and flake it out on the front yard.

I reached up and grabbed the hose, pivoting to load it onto my shoulder so I could deploy it, and as I spun around to again face the house I was met by one of the police officers.  Something wasn't quite right and in the few seconds it took him to get to me, my mind quickly processed what was different about him.

He was carrying a one-legged, naked man, bear-hug style, in front of him.

Now, that's not something you see every day.

Even in this job.

I was particularly pleased with myself for not bursting out laughing.

And when Scott (the cop) asked me where I wanted the naked man, I helpfully pointed to Medic 3, parked several houses away, and told him they'd be more than happy to help him with his cargo.

The rest of the fire was pretty uneventful.  Damage was contained to the kitchen (where it originated) and no one was injured, including the naked man.  He was a WWII vet, btw, lost his leg in the war, and he also liked to sleep in the nude.  Which explains his predicament at the time of the fire.  Scott and Brian tried to go in and get him before we got there, but they started to become disoriented in the smoke and decided, wisely, to get back out before they got themselves in trouble.

So, as I look at all the things for which I am thankful, and there are many, I'll always be thankful for the decision to take that first EMT class and the path it has led me along from there.

Someday, I may even be thankful for Daffodils.

Maybe.

Don't hold your breath.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And

Peace