From: J Travis (dagobert@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Tue Feb 11 2003 - 07:17:19 PST
Henry,
It seems I owe you an apology, and fair enough, but I'm somewhat
surprised. Probably a little over half my friends off-list are either
Paramedics, EMTs, or RNs, and to a one of them, you're the first
Paramedic I've ever seen that can't seem to tell the difference between
a JOKE and being serious. As for the comment itself, it was a line from
one of Bill Cosby's comedy routines back in the 1960s, off a record
called "200 M.P.H". And considering it was made following a comment
about the idea of someone on the list being crazy enough to attempt
riding a creeper underneath a moving truck until said truck stops short,
sending them careening into the shop wall ala something out of a Wile E
Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon (which I presume no one on this list is crazy
enough to actually attempt in the first place; I give you guys more
credit than that), I would have thought it obvious that my reply was
intended in a joking manner; NOT as serious commentary about either the
profession or safety gear in general. And knowing how most of my
friends in that profession find that humor is sometimes the best release
for the stress of having to deal with the carnage left over every time
Joe Q. Public finds some new and novel method of testing Darwinism in
practice, I have picked up their habits of dealing with the matter with
the same dark sense of humor when discussing it with them. So THAT'S
what reminded me of the remark in the first place.
And with all that said and explained, if I offended you and anyone else
on the list, I DO apologize. That was NOT my intention, as it wasn't
meant to be taken as anything but a humorous response. And I am quite
aware of the depth of study that goes into that profession, as I helped
one of my closest friends from High School who had dropped out to first
study for his GED and pass it, then also to go on to the UAB program for
his EMT and eventually his Paramedic ratings. I even volunteered to use
my own field of expertise (an MBA in finance) to help a local county
rescue squad with some of their budget issues, because I wanted to show
a little appreciation for what they do for their community.
So if you want to get into a SERIOUS discussion about my views of
Paramedics, fine. I think they are underpaid as a rule for the risks
they take, I think they are finding the job even tougher as many of in
mangement seek to cut costs by running two EMT-IVs (at lower pay rates)
and auto-difibulators, and I think that this is going to hurt the rest
of us in the long run, as it limits the options of treatments on-scene
if transport is delayed. I also think that anybody who can deal with
bouncing between the highs of saving a patient to the lows of watching
others die in front of them every day, and not let it get to them,
deserves both my respect, and an escape valve to deal with the stress-
like the aforementioned dark sense of humor. Personally, I doubt I
could ever do that job without one myself.
So anyway, as I said, I do apologize for offending you and anyone else.
Jay Travis
-Who still has his Class "F" endorsement on his TDL from 1994, aquired
for a job as none other than as- you guessed it- an Ambulance Driver,
until the job (a private service) chose to hire only EMTs. Go figure, huh?
Henry J. Fackovec wrote:
>Dear "Jay"
>
>That's it, I am sick of the garbage that is spread here.
>
>
>
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