Mutual Aid

Ya know, we're kinda big. We can get a few units staffed and out the door for mutual aid strike team assignments. We have sent units throughout the state over the years. Once, we sent an engine to Yellowstone National park way up in Wyoming.

As I get older, strike team assignments have less appeal to me. Actively working for 24 hours, then having to sleep on a cot in an open field isn't as fun as it used to be. Especially when the open field is under a blazing sun and rigs are constantly driving by. Let the young pups do that, I'll stay home and back-fill.

There is however, one department that I would be happy to drive several hours to assist.

Should things ever become so dire at Tom's Place that the services of K.B.F.P.D. E226 were truly needed, count me in.

First, you have to understand a few things about Tom's Place. Tom's is a fishing camp located on Hwy 395, up in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I have never stayed there, but I have gone there every time I have camped in the Sierras.

Tom's has a lodge, cabins, a store, a restaurant and a bar. It is popular with the anglers who fish nearby Crowley lake and Rock creek. Campers and off-roaders stop by there as well. In the afternoon, the bar and restaurant are usually busy, with both tourists and locals sating their hunger and quenching their thirst. It's a friendly place, one with a sense of humor.

As they have their own engine, I might not even need to bring mine.

Much like me, it's '60s vintage, a little rough around the edges and lights up when it has to go to work.

With a little luck, I might be able to figure out how to get it into pump! Note the engine number - Engine 5150. 5150 is the section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code that allows somebody to be placed on an involuntary  72 hr. hold for evaluation and treatment. The term has been bastardized by EMS and LE personnel to mean crazy. It is the perfect number for the Tom's Place engine.

In hopes that my services will some day be needed up at Tom's place, I have purchased the appropriate vehicle identification symbol and placed it on my truck.

Not only does it look cool, but I'm hoping it will get me out of a ticket or two.

They have had some significant fires at Tom's place over the years. The original lodge burned down in 1947 and there was a large forest fire that burned within a mile or so several years ago. Their engine is the perfect tool to kill dragons when they're small.

Hopefully, Tom's place will never again be threatened by the ravages of fire. Should it happen, I'm ready to respond. I won't even mind sleeping on a cot.

Thanks for reading,
Schmoe

The Amazing Sourdough Saloon Omni-Mug

We stood atop the high plateau looking to the west. The vast expanse of Death Valley was spread before us, nearly 4500 feet below. Some of the areas that we had explored in the week prior to this gray morning were visible, the mineral tinted hues presenting us a wonderful palette of earth-toned color.

A large storm was visible across the valley, the dark clouds and heavy precipitation warning me that the good roads we had enjoyed up to the remains of Chloride City might soon be gone. We had driven through several snow flurries on our trip up, some of it sticking enough to make the rocky, mid-slope road slippery. I had put the truck in four wheel drive as I didn't want to start sliding as we climbed the trail. Looking at the approaching storm, I decided that he had better start down, rather than spend a cold night in the Chloride cliffs.

Looking at the map, determined that if we dropped into the canyon then turned east, rather than west, several dirt roads would lead us to Beatty Nevada. We had never been to Beatty, so that is the path I chose. Little did I know, that decision would change my recreational life.

An hour or two later, we rolled into Beatty. Beatty is a small town, about 1100 people call it home. It is a typical desert small town, built to support an industry no longer around - surviving in hopes that a new one will spring up. After checking our culinary options, we decided on a place called the Sourdough Saloon.

I wish I could tell you that we decided on the Sourdough because of the unique exterior of the place or the several cars in the lot despite it being mid-afternoon. Though those might have been factors, it was the sign that read "PIZZA" that sealed the deal.

We entered the saloon and found a charming bar with the usual suspects enjoying a brew at the bar. As we had kids, we were required to go to the "restaurant" at the back of the place. We were served promptly, ate a great pie and enjoyed the warmth of place. Of course, I enjoyed a cold frosty adult beverage along with my meal. I didn't pay too much attention to the container it was served in, though it did it's job well.

It wasn't until we had paid the tab and were leaving the place that I saw the sign. "Sourdough Saloon mugs for sale - $6". Suddenly, I had an epiphany. That WAS a damn fine mug. Only six bucks, I'll buy two.

The rest is history, my camping life was dramatically improved.

My Sourdough Saloon mug is such a handy and versatile device that I have renamed it the "Omni-Mug"

I use it throughout the day while camping, it's mere presence makes my recreational experience so much better.

Who would have thought a container designed to hold beer would

be such a fantastic coffee cup. It holds lots and it enhances the

flavor and texture of the fire - brewed coffee.

I know the original designer of the Omni-Mug would likely not 

approve of lowly water being used in a vessel made for beer.

 I must say however, that each glass tastes as if was pulled from a 

mountain stream.

Another use for the Omni-Mug is for eating cheerios. It holds slightly over a single serving, and it easily transitions from a coffee drinking device to a cereal eating device. Remarkable. I apologize, I neglected to photographically document this handy use of the Omni-Mug. My bad.

The versatile Omni-Mug really shines when used for what it was

designed. It is nearly ergonomically perfect and enhances the

complex flavors and textures of finely brewed beverages. I think

it photographs well too!

If you ever get to Beatty Nevada, stop in and purchase one of these fine camping implements . It is equally as handy around the house and almost as handy at work. If you have the time, give it a test run while at the Sourdough. You will be pleasantly surprised. 

A word of  caution however. If you do test-drive the Omni-Mug at the Sourdough, be careful not to sit in front of the Mercedes Benz front end that hangs on the wall to the right of the bar. It's haunted or something.

Thanks for reading,

Schmoe

Re-Run

We were requested for a person ill, the dispatcher keeping the information to a minimum. It wasn't until I was in the rig and looking at the MDC that I read further details of our patient's illness.

We arrived on scene and the patient's wife met us at the door. She told us what her husband was suffering from, the mere mention of it filled my heart with sadness. We walked through the door, a familiar look was present. The look of a household disrupted by the ravages of a terminal disease, a formerly orderly environment now disheveled due to more important things to handle, exhaustion and illness.

Our patient was laying in a hospital bed, one that was placed in a room where beds are not normally found. Though I had never met our patient before, I was familiar with his scars, his swollen face and the pain in his eyes.

I recognized the weakness in his voice and his searching for words, words that he knew, but  that were no longer available for him to remember.

As I took down the patients history and information from his wife, I recognized the words of a wife who was somehow holding it all together despite her living on the edge of tragedy. She explained the many medications that our patient was taking, one to do this, one to counteract that. The causes and effects were all too familiar to me, I had heard of these before.

The ambulance arrived, our patient was soon loaded onto the gurney. We talked with the patient's wife as the ambulance crew prepared to depart. She told us about how their lives had changed in the few short months since an unusual symptom had appeared. About how the symptom had quickly evolved into a diagnosis, a course of treatments and surgeries and how the multitude of adverse effects was wearing down on her husband.

She also knew the inevitable outcome, though she still held hope in her heart that some miracle treatment was coming in the next few weeks, one that would somehow save her husband.

As we left the scene, the similarity between this call and the experience of a friend of mine was so close,  It choked me up. It was like watching a scene from a re-run. I know what is in store for our patient and his wife, I have seen this show. I wish I could ensure a different ending, but I know that is not to be.

Thanks for reading,
Schmoe