True story, from the “S-133” class (Class title: “Look up, Look Down, Look All Around” and yes, that’s the real name of the course) at the Sacramento Mountains Wildfire Academy.
My buddy Norm, a veteran paramedic and firefighter, sends this report from his fire academy class:
Toward the end of the class today the instructor, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service as a hotshot and other wild land fire suppression efforts, said, “I don’t know how you structural firefighters do what you do. As a wild land firefighter I wouldn’t have the first clue how to fight a structure fire.”
To which one of the volunteer structural firefighters responded, “We don’t call you guys to help with a house fire because your first action would be to start a backfire in the living room.”
It stopped the instructor in his tracks and brought the room down. It was almost two full minutes before we could resume class.
Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature,landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean. He has studied the Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different parts of the world!
He has published several books about the various cultures he has observed.
For more information and a link to his hard cover and Ebooks,and contact information: please check his website.www.commonsensejourneys.com
Your comments appreciated
In today’s world, many resort to abusing drugs and alcohol, why are so many becoming addicted and not only destroying their lives but the lives of others around them as well?
A new guy in town walks into a bar and reads a sign that hangs over the bar… FREE BEER! FREE BEER FOR THE PERSON WHO CAN PASS THE TEST! So the guy asks the bartender what the test is.
Bartender replies “Well, first you have to drink that whole gallon of pepper tequila, the WHOLE thing at once and you can’t make a face while doing it. Second, there’s a ‘gator out back with a sore tooth…you have to remove it with your bare hands. Third, there’s a woman up-stairs who’s never had an orgasm. You gotta make things right for her.” The guy says, “Well, as much as I would love free beer, I won’t do it. You have to be nuts to drink a gallon of pepper tequila and then get crazier from there.
Well, as time goes on and the man drinks a few, he asks, “Wherez zat teeqeelah?”
He grabs the gallon of tequilla with both hands, and downs it with a big slurp and tears streaming down his face. Next, he staggers out back and soon all the people inside hear the most frightening roaring and thumping, then silence. The man staggers back into the bar, his shirt ripped and big scratches all over his body.
“Now” he says “Where’s that woman with the sore tooth?”
Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature,landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean. He has studied the Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different parts of the world!
He has published several books about the various cultures he has observed.
For more information and a link to his hard cover and Ebooks,and contact information: please check his website.www.commonsensejourneys.com
Your comments appreciated
At this period of time in the history of man, there is probably more individual searching being done into the theories behind the origin of the human race,what happens after death,the possibility of life on other planets, and what our relationship is to these life forms, if they do exist. There are millions of people who are questioning the existence of God, who he really is, and what is my relationship with him? Is he someone who mysteriously floats around on a cloud watching and judging us from above like some bigger than life Santa Claus, or is he, like many of the esoteric sciences claim, a part of our inner Self, whom we have constant contact with, someone whom we and everything in the universe are connected and are thus one? Each of us in our own way is experiencing what God is, and thus we are each a part of God, thus we are God! This book is a brief account of my search for my own truth as I know it today, everything stated actually happened, according to my own perception. It has been an exciting search,at times very frustrating, very rewarding, and above all, very fulfilling. My main purpose in writing this book is to show that anyone, even a bashful unfamous country boy can have these awakenings, you don’t have to be rich or well-known to find your connection to Divine Source. I began taking notes for this book over thirty years ago, at the time, writing a book was the farthest thing from my mind. My only thought was to have a journal to read over when I got older. As a result, I didn’t record some of my references, many of the references were from Aboriginal and Mayan elders themselves, many of which has been the victim of the ravages of time. Hence my book is short on references, but long on experience, I hope you understand.
An old farmer had owned a large farm for several
years. He had a large pond in the back forty, had it fixed up nice; picnic
tables, horseshoe courts, basketball court, etc. The pond was fixed for
swimming when it was built.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down
to the pond, as he hadn’t been there for a while, and look it over. As he
neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he
came closer he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his
pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the
deep end of the pond.
One of the women shouted to him, “We’re not coming out until you leave!”
The old man replied, “I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or
make you get out of the pond, I only came to feed my alligators.” Old age
and treachery will triumph over youth and skill every time!
It was the middle of the night, so I was pretty jarred when the phone rang.
In a sleepy, grumpy voice I barked “hello!” The young woman on
the other end of the line paused for a moment before rushing
breathlessly into a lengthy speech. The parts I remember were:
“Mom, this is Susan and I’m sorry I woke you up, but I had to call
because I’m going to be a little late getting home. Dad’s car has a flat
but it’s not my fault, honest! I don’t know what happened. The tire
just went flat while we were inside the restaurant. Please don’t be mad,
OK?”
Since I don’t have any daughters, I knew the person had mis-dialed.
“I’m sorry dear,” I replied as kindly as I could considering the hour,
“but you’ve reached the wrong number. I don’t have a daughter named
Susan.”
Susan paused while she considered this uncomfortable fact.
“Gosh, Mom,” she replied with a even more trembling voice. “I didn’t think you’d be this mad!”
Hoosier Hysteria 