Hello folks and welcome to another installment of the Emergency Services Series I have been working on in class for my Masters program. The first part involved the K-9 Unit of the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department, the second involved Joel Thompson of Plainwell EMS, and this part features Allegan County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Brown. I hope you enjoy another story from the field of emergency services.
20120729 Emergency Services – Law Enforcement 001 from Ricardo Martinez II on Vimeo.
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What makes Christmas special to me.
Christmas is only a few days away. I’m currently watching a cartoon with my family and watching my son get into it takes me back to when I was a kid. Christmas was such a big deal back then. I mean, it’s still a big deal now but it’s more or less how Lucy described it in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”,“Look, Charlie, let’s face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It’s run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.”
As a kid I didn’t get that comment but as an adult it makes me laugh because it is a big commercial racket. I used to get excited for Christmas because of the presents but it was much more than that. My family would get together and we would have a massive gift exchange. On top of that was the cookies, candy, snow, and the cartoons. I remember my siblings and I would go outside and have snowball fights for hours. We would then go out back and make walls with massive rolled up snowballs, cut out holes so we could see and make an arsenal of snowballs for war. One winter my mom decided to take part in our war. She was on my sisters team and my brother and I were hell bent on destroying them. I told my brother to make a run across the field so that they would start throwing snowballs at him and then I would stand up and take them out. He made a good run and as he fell I saw my mom stand up to attack him. I stood up and whipped a snowball and nailed her forehead. I remember the loud thud and seeing her fall back in slow motion. All I could hear were the moans and groans as I ran over to her. When I got to the other side she was laying on her back trying to gain her senses.
“Are you ok mom?”
“Richie!!!! You hit me real hard!”
“I told you I would get you.”
“Yeah but not in the face!”
It was hilarious and my brother and I fell over laughing. My sisters yelled at us to stop laughing but we couldn’t. We quickly ran back though. In our moment of triumph my mom had gotten up and began attacking us with snowballs. Those were great times. After playing outside we would come inside and have some hot chocolate. The best time for this was on the day that CBS aired Christmas cartoons. My siblings and I would sit in front of the TV with sweets and hot chocolate. I remember how giddy we would get when the “Special Presentation” promo would pop up and lead into A Charlie Brown Christmas. I can’t remember if all the cartoons aired at once or if it was one a week but I remember seeing Charlie Brown, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, A Garfield Christmas Special, Frosty The Snowman, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Snowman and others. Those were the days for Christmas cartoons.
On Christmas Eve we would open our presents from our parents but the next morning was for Santa and presents from my Grandmother. We would all head over to my Uncle Steve’s home and have a huge bash. All the kids would play while the adults finished making dinner. After eating we would gather around the tree and my Grandmother. Presents were handed out and the festivities lasted until the wee hours. I think out of everything I have mentioned it’s the large family functions I miss the most. Now that I’ve shared some of what makes Christmas special to me, what makes it special to you? I’m sure there are many memories out there so share away folks!
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Happy Jason Voorhees Day!
Good morning and happy Jason Voorhees Day! It’s Friday the 13th and it’s a day that is considered to be bad luck among the superstitious. To go along with many historical facts that point to this day of bad luck we have the ever popular Jason Voorhees. If you don’t know who this fictional character is then you need to rent the movie…wait, rent? Are there still rental stores around? I think everything is either online or compacted into a Redbox or Blockbuster Express. Either way though you can jump on Google and enter “Friday the 13th” or “Jason Voorhees”. Google will spit out millions of responses and you will realize that this is a horror film.So instead of going through all the history of Jason and Friday the 13th, as I have done in the past, we are going to take a look at his most famous scenes. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about but if you do not like horror films then do not go any further. The following video is not for children or the squeamish. Jason is most famous for stalking and ultimately killing his victims. He was a tortured and bullied child who eventually grew up to take revenge. So without further ado here is Jason Voorhess in 2 minutes!
(One quick note: I do not condone the act of senseless murder, this is only a movie and I am a fan of the horror genre only. Besides, if you have seen any of the Friday the 13th franchise you know that everything looks very fake. Cheers!)
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Here’s to Another Year of Awesome!
“To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.” – William Arthur WardToday is the day of my birth, I am 31. I have gone through a lot to get to this point in my life. I have made mistakes, stumbled, and learned to laugh at myself. I can say that I have definitely matured over the years. Since my 30th birthday I have started Jabber Log, graduated with my Bachelors in Graphic Design, started my Masters in New Media Journalism, and most importantly, my daughter Lola was born. My wife and children are doing great and I am working hard to move forward within my current and upcoming career.
Although everything has been going well, there is always room for improvement. There are a lot of changes I want to make. I know it will take time but by my 32nd birthday, I want to have most of my goals accomplished. Around this time next year I would like to be deep within my design career, as well as advancing further in my current career. It’s going to take a lot of hard work but I’m up to the challenge. I have ideas that will take my center to the next level. I hope I get the opportunity to prove what I’m worth and how our dispatch can become one of the top in many categories. I want my design work to continue to flourish but what I need is to work hands-on with those within my industry. I know that I will find the right internship to get me to the next level through networking online and in person.
Next year I will also have my Masters and that alone will open up many doors for me. I have already done so much with my writing and I plan on doing much more. With everything I have in mind, I have to stop and thank my wife and kids for putting up with me through my college career. It has been a hell of a ride and I thank you for supporting me. Thanks also goes out to the rest of my family, my work crew who kicks ass every day, my friends and especially those who have participated in my projects during school. The characters you helped me develop are truly a masterpiece and they will come full circle in the coming year. I would also like to say thank you to Candis of EcoBuns, who helped me add a little cloth to my life and blog, to Cassidy of Cassidy Rae Studio for giving me the chance to design for her, to Jackie of 97.9 WGRD for hooking me up with a sweet feature on the rock stations web site for work I did for her and my projects, to Sheri Jaffurs for the opportunity to design for her choir, to Maddie Larkin who I helped promote here on Jabber Log in the beginning of her country music career, to Sgt. Scott Tatrow who taught me that,
“Life is short, Live it. Love is rare, Grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet,cherish it”
RIP brother. To everyone who is currently assisting me in my design career and finally, a big thanks to all of the loyal readers of Jabber Log! I couldn’t have done it without you and I’m excited for the coming year. Thank you for the birthday wishes, I appreciate it more than you know. Here’s to another year of awesome folks and as always, the show goes on! Cheers!
