Ben Toddles and Judy Parties in Slow Motion

Originally Posted March 4, 2002

So here's what's going on as we get this web site off of the ground; Ben had his second ever serving of corn on the cob tonight. He hasn't really learned to pick it up yet. Instead, he holds it down on the plate and takes his mouth to the cob. It's pretty amusing and he seems to really enjoy himself. We have pictures of it that will be in the gallery soon, so check back.

Ben also joined the National Bi-ped Association last week. He's totters, falls down, and then gets back up and continues on his way.

Paula hosted a gala event last Saturday evening as we celebrated her mother's birthday. We had about forty or so of Judy's friends and extended family over for drinks and hors d'vors. The award for the most interesting moment of the party went to a five minute Tai Chi exercise led by Judy's boss that resembled a line dance as brave party guests joined in. I'm not sure but I think that if Judy's boss was coming at me with those moves, hands and arms flying, I could get out of the way in time. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves except Ben who did not want to go to sleep and felt that the whole house should know about it. Special thanks go to Kristi Burnham who helped keep the silver platters stocked and the glasses full.

Dekalb EMS is once again a part of the Fire Department. This may seem pretty inconsequential on the surface but it in fact has far reaching ramifications to those of us that intend to make a career of fighting fire. The problem is that for a paramedic to become certified as a firefighter only takes fourteen weeks. For a firefighter like myself to become a paramedic would take a minimum of nine months. I and others like myself who are not within five years of retiring are faced with the decision of whether or not they think that not having paramedic certification will hurt their chances when promotions next come up. I think I need all the help I can get when competing for promotion so I am reluctantly currently in EMT orientation, which is a prelude to paramedic classes. EMT orientation is a class that is three weeks long (this is the second week now) and it will prepare me, I am afraid, to ride an ambulance instead of a fire truck. I won't have to ride an ambulance all of the time, but any amount of time is more than before.