Monday Monday 1st day back for C-shift Misfits

I don't know why but it seems as though when you take a few days off and then return 9 days later, tasks which before seemed simple and routine now have become much more difficult. I usually arrive for duty first ohhh anytime between 06:30 and 06:40. My first chore is to put on a hot pot of coffee. Today... NOPE. We have a new combo lock on our food locker and guess who didn't get the memo. Result... no coffee. Next, I get my gear in shape and on the truck, do the computer work, check department e-mail then my favorite sites. As the boys arrive, they too get their gear on the trucks and begin to complete their morning checks while one of them prepares our morning egg sandwiches. This morning, 08:30 before the sandwiches were up. OK, one slow / late meal ain't so bad but we do try to maintain a schedule here..it is a firehouse you know. Lunch is at 11:30 so we catch the Price is Right showdown and the noon time local news. Dinner is at 17:30 so we don't miss Andy and then get to catch the evening news. Well tonight, as 17:30 rolled around, I was waiting for a pregnant lady to walk in. Why a pregnant lady you ask... cause this is what Wheezy had on the stove...

Enough water boiling to birth triplets but NOTHING to eat...GEEESH! I thought for a minute or two there that Wheezy has been taking lessons from the 'ol "Ninja Cook" Opie. Guess I was just a little impatient cause after throwing a weee weee weee tiny fit, tossing a few pots and pan etc. Wheezy produced a master piece... and well worth waiting for. Yard bird, stuffing with gravy, mac and cheese and a side of CROW for the Capt....lol

And, my little "I'm gonna starve" tantrum wasn't the only obstacle for Wheezy this evening. I guess the clock and my showing had him picking up the pace a little. Ok maybe turning up the heat instead of picking up the pace. The result of that... smoke. It got kinda bad at one point... so bad in fact that Coon had to take protective measures...

And again, seeing how fabtabulus the meal turned out, I guess we should have paid a little more attention to the sticker atop the Captains desk

(NO WHINING...and also note my Fire Geezer mug, I'm not sure how it manages to sneak its way into so many of our pics). So, Wheezy's cooking and riding backwards. Tyrone has been off to hunt camp since Friday and with no cell service, all we can do is pray that he has and is taking his medication. If he's not...well Highland County will never be the same. Opie is riding the box with our own little poop magnet Coon. Opie actually attended hunt camp with Tyrone Friday through Sunday. He slayed the big one from his mobile recliner, slept ON a wood stove (placed inside a tent by multiple firemen), showered outside in 30 degree weather and used a 5 gallon bucket for a toilet. Guess he had all the fun he could stand so he came on back home. A rainy / cool day here in the "NOKE", sitting on 8 runs total. Nothing too exciting, some local lumberjacks fell a tree across a service drop and didn't think enough of it to slow them from continuing their work. Downed line and all, they finished cutting the tree, loaded the wood and cleaned up debris before anyone called it in... and oh yea, the line was hot


Other news includes a HUGE date that we totally missed. Our house..station #9 located at 514 24th Street NW Roanoke, Va turned 80 years old last month. The station was completed October 2, 1929 so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY old gal. Like a fine wine, she gets better with age. Warm in the summer, cold in winter and, the roof only leaks when it rains. No, she's a good house and we'll miss her. Here's a pic of how she looks now. I'll also add the new station. Scheduled to open in March 2010, her replacement is well under way and we managed to snap a shot from across the street today. This pic is from the front or the Orange Ave side..check it out, a "measure of progress".


I also wanted to remind everyone that our Public Safety Football team will have it's 1st official practice a week from today. I CAN'T WAIT.... PUT ME IN COACH! Check out the Roanoke Rampage site here. Thanks to Captain Todd Stone and Assistant Fire Marshall Chris Price for all their hard work and effort.
I'll close with a very special announcement. Most of you have figured it out by now but today, we (ok..more like Rhett than "we") officially completed our "RSS" feed. What that means is that whenever we post here (to this blog) we automatically feed to "Networked Blogs" which takes the post to our newly built and under construction Face Book Fan and profile pages and then on to our Twitter page. WoooHoo, now all you "picture bookers" and "Churp Churps" can follow the Melrose Misfits as well. I hope you all enjoy the ride. That's it for tonight, We've got the Monday, Wednesday, Friday tours so we'll see ya again Wednesday night. Until then, stay safe and in the house. Captain Wines