Patched this together over a few pints of Hop Rod Rye.
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Having been on the “outside” of EMS for over a year now, I can’t honestly say how I feel coming up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Yeah, it was the one major reason I got into EMS in the first place, but having put over 6 years of my life into it, and after running the gamut of ups and downs, code 3 runs and 24 hour shifts without a single call, I suppose the best descriptor I can come up with would be “blank”.
That’s right.
Blank.
I’m not sad, proud, patriotic, or otherwise emotional in any sense of the word. As we’ve all been force-fed the same nauseating images of that day on TV, I can’t help but wonder why we need to be reminded about events which we will, more than likely, never forget. Shock value has become utterly meaningless, and we (as a nation) have become zombie-fied in a way to simply expect this kind of treatment from our TV’s. We have 24-hour news agencies broadcasting the same interviews, live footage and overly-biased opinions as they did just an hour prior, and in the end, we’re becoming a nation of chubby, desensitized bastards.
Either way, back to the topic at-hand. I decided to take a leap of faith by enrolling in the RN program at Cuesta College, and I did so mainly because I realized how much I enjoyed being an EMT. I won’t try to explain it, because all I would likey spout off would be the stereotypical “I like helping people” and “I enjoy the rush”, and using those excuses would be a complete cop-out on my part. Some EMT’s & medics really are adrenaline junkies. I’m not one of them. Some do it for the sense of power when they're holding someone’s life in their hands. Not me. I’ve seen people die, I’ve helped a few people live, I’ve assisted quite a few with minor medical problems, and I should be able to walk away from that career feeling upbeat & positive about it. That just isn’t the case here.
In fact, I couldn’t say why I loved being an EMT, the same way I can’t say why hundreds of firefighters, EMT’s, medics, police, public utility personnel and ordinary citizens went willingly into 2 burning skyscrapers to save people they didn’t know. Maybe it’s some kind of affirmation that we’re simply f*cking alive? Perhaps “living in the moment” or “helping your fellow man” has something to do with it? I don’t know. In my time as an EMT, if I was ever called on to make the same choice those hundreds of EMS workers and civilians did, I like to think that I would be able to do the same.
RIP the 3,497.
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Having been on the “outside” of EMS for over a year now, I can’t honestly say how I feel coming up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Yeah, it was the one major reason I got into EMS in the first place, but having put over 6 years of my life into it, and after running the gamut of ups and downs, code 3 runs and 24 hour shifts without a single call, I suppose the best descriptor I can come up with would be “blank”.
That’s right.
Blank.
I’m not sad, proud, patriotic, or otherwise emotional in any sense of the word. As we’ve all been force-fed the same nauseating images of that day on TV, I can’t help but wonder why we need to be reminded about events which we will, more than likely, never forget. Shock value has become utterly meaningless, and we (as a nation) have become zombie-fied in a way to simply expect this kind of treatment from our TV’s. We have 24-hour news agencies broadcasting the same interviews, live footage and overly-biased opinions as they did just an hour prior, and in the end, we’re becoming a nation of chubby, desensitized bastards.
Either way, back to the topic at-hand. I decided to take a leap of faith by enrolling in the RN program at Cuesta College, and I did so mainly because I realized how much I enjoyed being an EMT. I won’t try to explain it, because all I would likey spout off would be the stereotypical “I like helping people” and “I enjoy the rush”, and using those excuses would be a complete cop-out on my part. Some EMT’s & medics really are adrenaline junkies. I’m not one of them. Some do it for the sense of power when they're holding someone’s life in their hands. Not me. I’ve seen people die, I’ve helped a few people live, I’ve assisted quite a few with minor medical problems, and I should be able to walk away from that career feeling upbeat & positive about it. That just isn’t the case here.
In fact, I couldn’t say why I loved being an EMT, the same way I can’t say why hundreds of firefighters, EMT’s, medics, police, public utility personnel and ordinary citizens went willingly into 2 burning skyscrapers to save people they didn’t know. Maybe it’s some kind of affirmation that we’re simply f*cking alive? Perhaps “living in the moment” or “helping your fellow man” has something to do with it? I don’t know. In my time as an EMT, if I was ever called on to make the same choice those hundreds of EMS workers and civilians did, I like to think that I would be able to do the same.
RIP the 3,497.