Thanksgiving Musings
This week with the Thanksgiving Holiday upon us I thought I would just share some thoughts and reflections that might cause some pause for thought.
Take some time this week to be thankful for the "privilege" you have to work in the finest most noble profession there is. Think and be thankful of this while there are folks sitting at the kitchen table griping about the captain, the chief and the mayor. Share with them how you feel and remind them of the "privilege" they have. There are hundreds of young men and women who would love to have "their" job and would be a tad more thankful.
Be thankful of the hard-nose officer who you often curse under your breath when he or she enforces a safety requirement. It is a good thing that person is there to look out for our safety when we become a tad over zealous or over aggressive.
Be thankful for your family, friends and significant others who support us during the difficult periods of our profession. Those times when the stress of coworkers, and internal problems on the job cause us great frustration. For the times when they support us when we have seen just one to many person suffer from sudden death by a vehicle accident, trauma, cardiac arrest, fire, or at the hands of an another. Be thankful for your family and friends when you pick up the homeless alcoholic who has called you a thousand times for no reason. They have no family.
Be thankful for your health, eyesight, hearing and all of the other things that allow us to do our job and be of service to others. Without these "gifts" we could not be in this profession.
Be thankful for the retirees of our job who have gone before us. They may have shaped the rules and regulations, the Sops, the labor agreement, or by-laws that we are now abiding by in the performance of our duties.
Physically go out and say thank you to a mentor of yours on the job, or to someone who has trained or guided you. If you cannot say it in person, send them a note or a card while they are still here to read and enjoy it.
Be thankful for our veterans who have served before or who are serving now overseas. It is because of their sacrifice that we continue to live in freedom.
Be thankful for America.
So just for this week, quit your bitchin' and complainin'' for a bit, and when you feel the urge to complain, sit back, pause....and say thank you for something you have, that you may have taken for granted.
Oh yeah,....Thanks to all of you who read the column!
Stay safe and enjoy your families on this holiday week.
Even though you may not be on duty, take a minute and call the station and let the guys know you took a minute out of your day to think of them. It will go along way. If they are truly our brothers and sisters share them as your family.