I wrote a letter to someone I don't know

I wrote a letter this evening to someone I don't know.   Actually I probably do know him on sight, I just have never put a name with the face.  He is a firefighter on a neighboring department. He responded to a bad accident last night where my understanding is all he could do was hold the hand of a high school girl until the end.

He isn't taking it very well.

He posted on Facebook "after tonight take my radio my pager firedept im done!!"

I've pondered on that all day.  This evening I wrote him.  I decided to share it here on the off chance someone else might stumble across it that needs to hear this:

I wasn't at the wreck and I don't know all the details.  But I saw your comment on Facebook.  Let me ask you a couple questions you have probably been asking yourself:

Why did you become a firefighter?  If you can't save everyone why go through it all?

I don't know why you started.  But I can tell you why you should stay.  Because you are making a difference.  It may not seem like it, especially after a run like this where despite doing all you can do it seems you lose. But you did everything you could do at the time.

You can't, absolutely cannot, win every time.  But if what you do lets us win one time it is worth it. So we train and we practice and we gain skills in the hope that one time we can make a difference.

Even this time you made a difference.  It may not seem like it now, but trust me, you made a difference.

I went through First Responder this winter.  My first time I was first on scene at an incident where the victim was probably gone before he hit the ground.   I couldn't do a thing for the victim.  But I did something for his family.  I let them know someone cared enough to drop what they were doing to respond to their need.   That everything possible was done.

You are making a difference and you will probably never know what it is. Perhaps it is causing someone else to do something.  Perhaps it is inspiring someone else to make the first step toward Firefighter or First Responder or Paramedic.   I don't know and neither will you.

But I am convinced despite the heartache and pain and frustration that you are making a difference now and are going to make a difference in the future.

Your community needs you.  And despite it all, you need to continue for yourself.  So when the worst happens you can look yourself in the mirror the next day and say "I did everything I could do."

This isn't like being on a ball team. There is no tournament.  Doing what we do, if we can win one time, just once, we win it all.

Keep fighting.

It's March ... "It's ONLY March" ... "It's MARCH already!"

I keep telling myself "It's March"  Sometimes that is "It's ONLY March" and other times it is "It's MARCH already!"  Just in case you have been cooped up in an underground missile silo someplace the weather has been just incredible.  Warm (hot at times), sunshine, really nice.  Really early. Actually kind of scary.  And very, VERY tempting to a farmer to go plant corn. But we have mowed all the yards already. Not necessarily grass, mostly chickweed, but they have been mowed once in March.

I need to get out and take a few flower photos.  I'll borrow some my friend David Schwartzkopf took recently.

  There has been some corn planted for about a week in the area.  In fact the new neighbor across the road blew in yesterday and planted 60 acres or so.  I keep telling myself we need to wait until .. . well, we're up to what this year is Easter weekend.  Dad never planted corn much before the 25th of April.  Ivan didn't want us planting corn until May 10.

The different emphasis on "It is March" depends on perspective.  As I told someone we started the year out two weeks behind and have progressed to being 4 weeks behind ... and Spring is a month early.

A pretty nice restaurant

I find interesting things traveling.  We were in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin and stopped at a pretty nice family restaurant. Carpeted dining room.  Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, very nice furnishings.

Very extensive menu. Breakfast to Sirloin steaks.

I had fire roasted Tallapia.

Sue has stuffed ... salmon I think.

They were advertising corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's day

I don't know wines, but it looked like a nice selection.

Excellent service.

Some really nice looking deserts.

Not bad for a building that once was a Hardees

Driving and thinking and talking

We went on a road trip this week to meet our new grandson.  So how do you use a 6 hour road trip?  The first thing is get a head set for your cell phone.  I have a Blue Parrot headset and am very pleased.

We've been talking about trading tractors.  I'm committed to putting auto steer on the planting tractor, but if I can trade tractors I can save a few thousand on that.

I talked with 2 different salesmen on the way to Madison.  Got a phone call from a guy in Alabma.  He bought the semi trailer I had for sale.

It was an interesting trip.

Oh ....

Ya just wonder about some folks

We have been making some changes in the fleet on the farm this winter.  Bought a couple bigger semi trailers, sold the little semi tractor, upgraded a pickup, sold the Jeep, sold a 10 wheeler, traded a 10 wheeler for a semi tractor then bought its twin brother. It's getting so the girls at the Drivers License office know me on sight.

Anyway, we decided to sell the old Chevy flatbed truck

Since we got the Ford 550

we just have not used it.

Listed it on AgTalk and Craig's List. A young man from around Carbondale called interested in it.  Wouldn't be able to come until Saturday.  We had a couple things going on Saturday but I made sure I was available if he was willing to drive over 3 hours to get here.

He pulls in with (I assume) his Mom and Grandmother.  They all climb in the white beast and go for a drive.  He comes back in the shop grinning like a cat in a mouse factory. "I want it ... but I have to sell mine first.  I'll be in touch."

I retained my composure and didn't say what I was thinking:

"You !@##$$! You dragged 2 ladies  3 1/2 hours one way on a Saturday to look at a truck that you knew when you left home you were not going to buy today even if it were exactly what you wanted!"

Ya just wonder about some folks.

Cornelius Bumpus

ring   ...  ring  ...

Hello?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

GRANDPA ?  !!!

Cornelius Bumpus

Born 4:30 AM

February 20, 2012

9 pounds 8 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

On Grandpa's Birthday

..."just ain't right in the head"

I have come to a conclusion:  Anyone who volunteers to be on a pulpit search committee "just ain't right in the head".  Besides being on the committee, I agreed to handle the correspondence.  Having applied for jobs in the past I decided some basic common courtesy was required.  Everyone who submits a resume gets an acknowledgment within 24 hours.  Same for any email sent to us.

It amazes me the response that gets.  This one floored me:

 Thanks so much.  You probably don't have any idea, but many (well, most really) churches looking for a minister NEVER respond.  That you emailed me the same day -- oh my, I am deeply indebted.

 I've spent several evenings writing letters. OK, email, but it is the same thing in my head. I've sent questions, answered questions, gotten to know some of these guys I think as well as you can without meeting them.  And we have met with 3 so far before getting down to the final group.

These are the hardest to write.  I haven't counted but all totaled I have written over 30 saying:

One of my frustrations going into this is I knew at some point I would be writing to all but one applicant expressing regret but saying no.  And knowing I will have to say that to some very good men. We have been working to narrow down our list of candidates. We have had nearly 45 express interest or send a resume. We have narrowed our list down to five guys.

It really hurts me to say you are not one of them.

Some much more than others.  There are a couple preachers I have known for years, both over 5 years, that applied.  We had a guy who, when I wrote and asked why now replied the church he was at couldn't afford to pay his salary and his girls had to eat.  I also found out his wife decided she didn't want to be married to a preacher and left him and the girls.

Most everyone says "You need to run background checks"

"OK, how?"

" I don't know, but you really need to do it."

I found a couple places that will do it.  One has a 13 page contract for services we have to sign.  The applicant has to fill out and sign a 4 page release form.

The other looks more user friendly.  Group Publishing (they do a lot of Sunday School and VBS material) has a division doing that.  It looks more like what a church needs.

We're making important decisions based on limited information.  You think deciding to borrow a half million dollars to buy farm ground keeps you up at night?  Try this.  Speaking of which, I think I'll try and get some sleep.  I'll schedule this to post in the morning and maybe I'll add or change it before than.

Later Y'all