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Episode 126 is different from the rest. It’s the introduction to Within the Trenches – Imagine Listening, an extension of the podcast featuring stories from the #IAM911 movement. What you are about to hear are true stories. While some have good outcomes, the majority are horrifying. A warning…if you suffer from PTSD or have suicidal tendencies this episode may be a trigger. LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK.
This episode also touches on PTSD in 9-1-1 dispatch and a look at the dark humor that comes with the job. A shout out goes to Dave, Tim and Amy of Darkness Radio for having me on their show. Below you will find links to my interview and a shout out to Mike of Sword & Scale for having me on episode #82 of his podcast. As always if you have any questions or want to be a guest on show send an email to wttpodcast@gmail.com.
Within the Trenches Continuing Education Scholarship – Web
Sword and Scale – Facebook | iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Twitter | Web | Episode #82
Darkness Radio – Facebook | Twitter | Web | Interview – Hour 1 | Interview – Hour 2
Episode topics –
- Imagine Listening featuring #IAM911 Stories
- PTSD in 9-1-1 Dispatch
- Dark Humor
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Fantasy Mashup! Star Wars vs. Marvel
Good evening folks! Today is Friday and usually I would be typing up a post for “Friday at the Movies” but instead I thought I would share something fun and…dorky. Yes, this is going to get a little dorky. If you dig comics, video games, Anime, science fiction, etc. then you will dig this post a lot. If not, you might get a kick out of it either way. As you can see from the title this has to do with Star Wars and Marvel. If you don’t know what Star Wars and Marvel are then in the words of Sheldon,“For shame!”
If you don’t know who Sheldon is then a second “For Shame” on you and you should be watching The Big Bang Theory. Now, between my family and I we began an off the wall discussion where we were pitting cartoon characters and such against each other in a battle to the death. We were sitting at the dinner table, having a normal conversation and out of no where my son and I jumped into the land of dorks and geeks, which is fine because we’re awesome! We started out with a match where Team Dragonball Z would fight against Team Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or TMNT for short. It sounds dumb but it was fun and interesting to hear my now 8 year old dig deep and explain why Team Dragonball Z would win. We got so into it that we began a tournament of champions.
We had Team Dragonball Z go up against the Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, The Gummi Bears, Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, and many others. Finally we came up with Team Dragonball Z vs. Team Star Wars. There was no doubt in our minds that Team Star Wars would destroy the other team but who would be strong enough to take them on? So after many considerations and several helpings of whatever we were eating that night, my son Logan, wife Rebecca, and I came up with the Ultimate Fantasy Mashup. We decided to pit Team Star Wars against Team Marvel. We decided that each team would have four fighters and that Team Star Wars would consist of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and yes…Darth Vader. Team Marvel would include, Cyclops, Wolverine, Professor X, and Magneto.
I told you it was going to get dorky didn’t I? Well thats nothing! Earlier this month when I was in Florida, my siblings, son and I talked this out in depth and at a Bob Evans. There were some business type gentlemen sitting next to us trying to have a discussion and here we are all hopped up on caffeine and talking about who would win. It was pretty funny but in reference to this battle here’s where your thoughts come in. Who would come out victorious in this ultimate battle to the death? There are many factors here in who would reign supreme. I mean, you have the power of the Force vs. the power of Mutants. I’m curious to read what everyone thinks and your take on the battle. In the end I believe that the two left standing would be Darth Vader and Magneto. It’s hard for me to choose who would win because I like them both but I want to know what you think. Star Wars or Marvel?
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Within the Trenches – A story from behind the mic
For years now I have heard this after saying what I do for a living, “Wow, that sounds interesting. So what’s your best or worst call?” Now, I’ve heard this many times and at first I was annoyed with it. I never wanted to say what I did for a living but then I thought about it. Why exactly do people want to know about what I do? The general public’s curiosity made me even more curious. After talking to several people I found out that they want to know because it’s not something you hear about that often. What we do for a living is very interesting and people really want to hear our stories.All this curiosity has made me more than happy to talk about what I do. I’ve been in this line of work for a long time and I have heard just about everything you can think of. I’ve taken suicidal calls, medical calls, shootings, funny calls, car chases, and many more. I could blow your mind with the calls I’ve taken and you would be left with the question, “How do you do this for a living?” My answer would be, “It’s what I do and I’m damn good at it.” I have also shared moments with my work family that will never be forgotten and to explain it to someone would only scratch the surface of those specific moments. It’s these stories that I want to share with people; the calls you don’t hear and are curious about.
One time I was working the night shift with two of my co-workers. The night was rather calm and I was on radios. We talked throughout the night, which seemed to drag on, and a trooper keys up on the radio and says that he’s checking a residence for a girl that was possibly being held there by her boyfriend. I asked if he wanted any status checks and he said he was 10-5. This means that he doesn’t need any status checks. My co-workers and I went back to chatting and a couple minutes into the call an officer yelled something that no one ever wants to hear.
“SHOTS FIRED, SHOTS FIRED, OFFICER HIT.”
I can’t describe the feeling that went over me but my co-workers and I jumped into action to get an ambulance out to the scene to stage and direct other officers to assist those who were out at the house. It was unnerving to be in the dark of what was going on out there. We knew the gist but the specifics were unclear. We helped by looking up info on the house and it’s possible occupants. Anything the officers asked for we did it. After that we sat there as each officer called out his or her perimeter location. The standoff lasted past our shift and when I got home I couldn’t sleep. After a while I had to force myself to go to bed. When I woke up I looked online for the news story. It turned out that the suspect was arrested, one person died, and the officer who was shot was fine.
Moments like this happen at any time and I’ve seen my fair share. My experience in dispatch is not only interesting but it’s amazing. It’s something I want to share with everyone and I want you, the readers of this blog, to know more about what we as 9-1-1 dispatcher’s go through during these moments. It is also the basis of a Kickstarter project I started that will include a live podcast featuring the stories of 9-1-1 dispatchers. This podcast would give you a better idea of what we do and deal with. It will also start with dispatch but eventually I would like to add police, fire, and EMS. I will provide a link below to the Kickstarter page for pledges and rewards. Any help you can provide would be appreciated. My fellow dispatchers and I have many stories and this is just one way you can hear about them.
(Kickstarter – Within the Trenches Project Page)
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The RandomCast – Tia Edition
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Good morning! Last night I had the pleasure of doing a RandomCast episode with my mom and her sisters. It was hilarious and the reason I wanted to have them on the show is because as far as I can remember they are always laughing and having a good time. I remember them telling stories of their childhood and it has always fascinated me. I could sit and listen to them talk about their past for hours. What makes it fun and interesting, as you will hear in this episode, is the detail and humor they put into it.It was an honor to sit and go back in time with them and I think they had a good time too. They share stories of their parents, what it was like walking miles to school before buses started picking kids up, dances and much more. If you are ready to laugh then this episode is for you! As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com.
Episode topics –
- Pushy the Cat
- Falling asleep under an apple tree
- Dancing with hunchbacks
- Remembering Abuelo Esteban and Abuela Manuela
HI Ricardo,
I’ve listened to a couple of your podcasts now. Thanks for helping to bring attention to the battle to change our job description. When APCO put out the word, I posted a story and forwarded the links on my social media pages. I first started dispatching in 1981 (ems) after learning to work to the radio to cover in dispatch (I was an EMT) and changed to 911 in 1987. Seen some changes over the years. Had some real nasty calls during my career. I even wrote a book about the profession (“What is your emergency? The history of Public Safety Dispatching in America”).
One of my busiest shifts, I handled simultaneous in-progress evens by myself: a barricaded subject on my main channel and a demonstration on my secondary. I’ve worked shifts where I ran back & forth from the bathroom (had a massive migraine but was by myself), had to deal with the passing away of my mother-in-law (again, by myself), and dealt with more craziness (spent 14 of my years in Berkeley – CA- than I can remember). I now handle LE for a wildlife department. A different type of stress.
Keep up the good work on our behalf.
Diana Sprain
http://www.dianasprain.net/
I heard about you through S&S.; I get it. I do. I have been an Animal Control officer for nearing 20 years. I work in conjunction with Police at accident scenes, death scenes, search warrants/dynamic entry, responding to animal incidents of aggression and vehicle collision. We work alone handling calls that can be dangerous, heated and emotional.
I have taken animals from long term death of Humans, suicides of owner and owner and pet. I have aided and been with animals as they die on our roadways, providing a pet the comfort of Human compassion so they do not die alone and scared. I deal with where Humans have failed their pets and only to be called “Nazi” or “dog killer”. All the while I feel there is not a better person who could do this job.
PTSD, I am not sure as I learn to compartmentalize my work. Maybe. On my days off, I don’t really want to be social outside of my home, I am but I have to push myself to do it. I get questions like you describe about the bad stuff. Too much to list really as the Human and animal tragedy intertwine.
Dark humor? Sure. It’s a coping mechanism. If I didn’t make light of what I see, it would eat me up, I think.
I tell those new to this job that there is no finish line. You will not be able to stand back and look over a job well done. It will be the same thing happening everyday for the duration of your career. Many of things will be stressful and emotional. Regards.