The Top 10 | Top 11-50 | Top 51-100 | 101 and Beyond | Top 100 Askers | Member Spotlight | Home
Ask Anything | Submissions | Wisdom | Humor | Recipes | Members Speak | KP Stories | History of KP
Hall Of Fame | Bug Collection | KnowPost.com News | Member Calendar | Message Board | Off Site Links
Friends
Website
Dedicated
to Clay Johnson, founder of KnowPost.com
Our Wisdom
Page 1 | Page
2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page
5 | Page 6
Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 | Page 11
| Page 12
A Wish For Emergency Services (posted by Minga)
" I wish you could see "
I wish you could know what it is like too search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns.
I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none, start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try to save his life.
I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.
I wish you could understand how it feels to go to work in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.
I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to an EMS call, " What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"
I wish you could be in the emergency room as a
doctor pronounces dead the
beautiful five-year old girl that I have been
trying to save during the past
25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date
or say the words, "I love
you Mommy" again.
I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic.
When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"
I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parents reaction going to be when they open the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"
I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call. I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me"
I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.
I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.
I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar with. Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you'll never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us...I wish you could though.
-author unknown-
The Gossip (posted by ECU)
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended. Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.
"Go to the marketplace," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road."
Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown the feathers all away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
"You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back.
So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong."
Unknown Author
Friends Without Faces (posted by Babytisa)
We sit and we type, and we stare at our screens
We all have to wonder, what this possibly means.
With our mouse we roam, through the rooms in a
maze
Looking for something or someone, we sit in a
daze.
We chat with each other, we type all our woes
Small groups we do form, and gang up on our foes.
We wait for somebody, to type out our name
We want recognition, but it is always the same.
We give kisses and hugs, and sometimes flirt
At times we chat deeply, and reveal why we hurt.
We do form friendships - but - why we don't know
Some of these friendships, will flourish and grow.
Why is it on screen, we can be so bold
Telling our secrets, that have never been told.
Why is it we share, the thoughts in our mind
With those we can't see, as though we were blind.
The answer is simple, it is as clear as a bell.
We all have our problems, and need someone to
tell.
We can't tell real people, but tell someone we
must
So we turn to the 'puter, and to those we can
trust.
Even though it is crazy, the truth still remains
They are Friends Without Faces, and odd little
names.
Author Unknown
The Top 10 | Top 11-50 | Top 51-100 | 101 and Beyond | Top 100 Askers | Member Spotlight | Home
Ask Anything | Submissions | Wisdom | Humor | Recipes | Members Speak | KP Stories | History of KP
Hall Of Fame | Bug Collection | KnowPost.com News | Member Calendar | Message Board | Off Site Links
Contact the KnowPost webslave below to report
mistakes,
make suggestions, request additions, changes
or deletions.