letters

WHAT IS A FIRE FIGHTER

I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3 AM, 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 6 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I 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 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 a rescue 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 2 X 4 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 rescue truck, 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 daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What was her parents’ reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"
I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse or belittle us! 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 CPR done on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. 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 will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, who we are, or what our job really means to us........I wish you could though. Maybe then, you would not be so quick to criticize the emergency workers that dedicate their lives to trying to keep you safe.

Gerard Felice
Fire Fighter, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire Safety Inspector – Retired (and damned proud)

To the Editor,The secrets we were never told
There have been many wars that the USA has been involved in. But I would like to express my views about Vietnam. Many years has past for these men and women who served in this “police action”. To come home they were disgraced by their own country. As many of you remembered they were discharged and sent home in civilians clothes because our country did not believe in their service for our country. Americans were shooting our own soldiers because they were stationed in Vietnam. My husband Wayne was one of the thousands who came home feeling ashamed for serving their country and did what they were told by our own government.Many years after serving the Air Force he faces the torment memories of his term for the government. But the government “forgot” he was a member of a TDY in 1972 in Takhli, Thailand which was a secret mission from Okinawa. They say he was never there and after years of trying to prove he was there continue to say my husband is a “liar”. Who in this world in our government can call their soldiers “liars.” When my husband was TDY to Thailand, he wasn't ready for the many lies the government would tell him about his service time after woulds. Many men including my husband were sprayed by “Agent Orange”. It was a pesticide to later be a killer for our men who served in Viet man. But the government washes their hands of this and denies any and all accusations that Agent Orange is a killer. But there is a lot of factual information on this topic that our men and women suffer from various illnesses that eventually kill them. My husband now suffers from various illnesses that could be thought as old age ailments but we believe “Agent Orange” had some effects on his health.One of the missions Wayne was involved in was called “RED HORSE”. Many men were on this mission but there was no confirmation from the military saying this ever happened. Soldiers in the Vietnam war cannot get any information on this secret mission because there were no orders to provide prove they were there on this TDY. The military will not give any benefits to these men because of lack of information. Come on now we know they are leaving poignant information for these men who have suffered greatly for their country. I say we speak out for these men and women who were “ordered” to the things they had to do and give them the benefits belonging to them. Years have gone by and our veterans are without benefits because the government say there was no such thing as “RED HORSE” because of no such orders. There are still thousands of veterans fighting for their case but as long there is no such orders they are fighting a down hill battle. If there are anyone with information or want to write contact my husband at dadthegreat1959@yahoo.com subject Thailand, 1972.
Thank you for you hearing me out. Lorraine B.

To Kevin Morrish and his opinion titled ," Oh Mama," Now that was funny and yet so true. Let's face it Lindsay Lohan has yet to get the message. It seems to me Dina may not be doing her job as a mother.

Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans andimproves health care by lowering costs and improving quality. Itspeaks to American values, American families, and American jobs. It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices andlowering costs. If you're one of the tens of million Americans withoutcoverage or if you don't like the coverage you have, you will have achoice of plans to pick from and that coverage will be affordable. Ofcourse, if you like the plan you have, you can keep it. Affordable: Unlike the current health system where insurance premiumssend people into bankruptcy, the plan provides tax credits for workingfamilies to help them cover their costs. The tax credits will ensurethat working families never have to pay more than a limited percentageof their income for health care. Available: No discrimination. The insurance companies can't deny youcoverage if you have a pre-existing condition. Reliable: It's portable. If you change or lose your job, you keep yourhealth care. If you have a plan you like, you keep it. If you want to change plansor aren't currently covered, you can choose from dozens of the sameplans available to members of Congress, or you can opt into a publicplan option like Medicare. And working families will get tax creditsto help pay their premiums. Small businesses are the engine of new job growth in the U.S. economybut face bigger challenges when it comes to providing health care fortheir employees. Hillary would give tax credits to small businessesthat provide health care to their workers to help defray theircoverage costs. This will make small businesses more competitive andhelp create good jobs with health benefits that will stay here in theU.S. Insurance companies won't be able to deny you coverage or drop youbecause their computer model says you're not worth it. They will haveto offer and renew coverage to anyone who applies and pays theirpremium. And like other things that you buy, they will have to competefor your business based on quality and price. Families will have thesecurity of knowing that if they become ill or lose their jobs, theywon't lose their coverage. Nobody has worked harder or longer to improve health care than HillaryClinton. From her time in Arkansas when she improved rural health careto her successful effort to help create the SCHIP Children's HealthInsurance program which now covers six million children, Hillary hasthe strength and experience to ensure that every man, woman and childin America has quality, affordable health care. WORLD DEMOCRACY MEDIA GROUPM WAHEED JADOON

"In cooperation with Republic, Shelt-Air also has explained its proposal in detail to the community. With more than a dozen meetings so far, SheltAir has provided residents with more than a briefing, but the means to offer input and comments."
What a crock! Never heard of one meeting! This writer has been hanging around the airport too long. Too much exposure to the jet exhaust is not good. Just ask the people of East Farmingdale.

what we were never told wrote:

To the Editor,The secrets we were never told
There have been many wars that the USA has been involved in. But I would like to express my views about Vietnam. Many years has past for these men and women who served in this “police action”. To come home they were disgraced by their own country. As many of you remembered they were discharged and sent home in civilians clothes because our country did not believe in their service for our country. Americans were shooting our own soldiers because they were stationed in Vietnam. My husband Wayne was one of the thousands who came home feeling ashamed for serving their country and did what they were told by our own government.Many years after serving the Air Force he faces the torment memories of his term for the government. But the government “forgot” he was a member of a TDY in 1972 in Takhli, Thailand which was a secret mission from Okinawa. They say he was never there and after years of trying to prove he was there continue to say my husband is a “liar”. Who in this world in our government can call their soldiers “liars.” When my husband was TDY to Thailand, he wasn't ready for the many lies the government would tell him about his service time after woulds. Many men including my husband were sprayed by “Agent Orange”. It was a pesticide to later be a killer for our men who served in Viet man. But the government washes their hands of this and denies any and all accusations that Agent Orange is a killer. But there is a lot of factual information on this topic that our men and women suffer from various illnesses that eventually kill them. My husband now suffers from various illnesses that could be thought as old age ailments but we believe “Agent Orange” had some effects on his health.One of the missions Wayne was involved in was called “RED HORSE”. Many men were on this mission but there was no confirmation from the military saying this ever happened. Soldiers in the Vietnam war cannot get any information on this secret mission because there were no orders to provide prove they were there on this TDY. The military will not give any benefits to these men because of lack of information. Come on now we know they are leaving poignant information for these men who have suffered greatly for their country. I say we speak out for these men and women who were “ordered” to the things they had to do and give them the benefits belonging to them. Years have gone by and our veterans are without benefits because the government say there was no such thing as “RED HORSE” because of no such orders. There are still thousands of veterans fighting for their case but as long there is no such orders they are fighting a down hill battle. If there are anyone with information or want to write contact my husband at dadthegreat1959@yahoo.com subject Thailand, 1972.
Thank you for you hearing me out. Lorraine B.

Really makes one wonder why anyone would join the military...