There are few things that get people going more than politics. If you are an elephant, then you are evil. If you are a donkey, then you are going to hell. This is the reality of our country today. The amazing thing is that so few of us fit into the Republican or Democrat parties. Oh, make no mistake, that most people state they are one or the other, just like I use to do. Forever, I was a GOPer. Breathed, lived, died with whoever the GOP choice was. I'm not sure when that changed, but I am glad it did.
Today I view myself as a Libertarian. The funny thing about this party is how it is viewed by the big two. Republicans call us far left wing, while Democrats call us ultra conservative.Ok, how can you be far left wing AND far right wing at the same time??? That's right, when the big two feel that you are a free thinker. They seem to be scared when you don't fall into one of the convenient categories they have set up. When you express yourself, their people tell you that your views and vote are wasted on someone who can't possibly win. I say, why can't they. If enough people "wasted" their vote this cycle, their candidate may not win, but their voice would be heard. In the next election, if even more people "wasted" their vote, the voice would be louder. Come the next election, is their vote wasted, or has it become a powerful voice where one didn't exist before.
We speak of how we want to leave of children a better future. Yet, when it comes to a better future in directing our country, we ask, which is the lesser of two evils, instead of who represents my beliefs the most. I am proud to say that when primary season came around, I voted that way. He may have received very few votes, but it was what I believed in. I wish more people would do this.
Let me touch on something here, on why I wont be welcomed by the big two.
Why I can't be a Democrat:
I am fiscally conservative
I don't believe in entitlements
Welfare should have a time limit on it
I am anti abortion
I am a believer in the free market system
I don't believe the rich should be taxed more, just because they have made the most of the American dream
I believe Social Security should be privatized
I believe in a strong military
I believe the United Nations is a waste
I believe that homosexuality is a sin
Why I can't be a Republican
I believe Marijuana should be legalized
I believe no court should tell a woman what to do with her body
I believe that the only soldiers overseas should be one guarding the embassies
I believe in war only if we are attacked first or evidence that a forthcoming attack is about to happen
I believe in civil unions, no matter the sex of the partners
These are just some of my beliefs. Some seem to contradict each other and some can argue that point, but I am more than willing to argue mine. I am not ashamed of any of the things I just listed. These are me.
All this being said, you do have a choice. You don't have to wait to November to make that choice. I want to encourage each of you to check out www.americanselect.org This is a website where you determine who the candidate for their party is. Every state is important, because every state carries the same weight. One vote=One voice. I won't ask you to support a particular person. Just because you support them, doesn't mean you have to vote for them come election time, BUT it may help you find someone who believes as you do. There is no such thing as a wasted vote unless of course, you are voting for the lesser of two evils.
Gabe
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Stories, Snakes and Family
Do you have that family member, or group of them, that you don't see very often? The ones that if you run into them at the family reunion, you are able to sit down and just talk the day away, while at the same time, not knowing much about them at all? Yeah, that's what I thought, we all do. Well, a family reunion is one thing, but three days with them is something totally different.
A little about my family. I come from a blended family. Two divorcee's who already had children of their own. My father had myself and two other sons. My stepmother had three sons and one girl. There really has never been a "this is my step-...." mentality. These are my brothers and sister.These people are our family. I love each of them, mainly for the uniqueness that each has. We each have different view points on life, and we have learned to embrace what differences that we have. A little about each....
J: 40 yo brother who is an RN, but at one point was an EMT and firefighter. He has a wife and three children, two girls, one boy. He is a great father who has helped raise some awesome kids.
J: 38 yo brother who helps run a national communications company. He has a wife and three kids as well. Two girls and one boy. I've looked up to him for many years. He is quick with a laugh and a wonderful listener who doesn't judge and offers great insight from an outsiders view
A: 34 yo sister. Her and her husband own their own big rig mechanic business. She is married to my favorite brother in law and have one boy and one girl. We had differences when growing up. We raised our voice a time or two at each other without a doubt. She is someone I love. Christine and I have discussed that if anything happened to us and to my sister in law Dawn, that we would want A to take care of our girls. She is that good.
J: 34 yo brother. He is a SFC in the national guard and works as a recruiter. I hope sometimes, that I am one of the reasons he joined the service. You know, the whole following big brother thing. I wish i had been a 1/4 of the soldier that he is. He has done several tours overseas. He is single and has two beautiful girls. We don't see each other much, but when we do, it seems like only a day has passed when we last talked. Best storyteller I have ever met.
D: 33yo brother. New Orleans police officer. He is engaged with four boys. Yep four. D was injured during a police pursuit two yeas ago when the suspect T-boned his cruiser. He was named officer of the month three times in one calendar year. He was good at what he did. He is no longer able to serve due to his injuries. He is the asshole of the family. He comes up with one liners and zingers that are truly awesome.
M: 33yo brother. He is a produce manager at a supermarket. He is married and has four kids, two and two. My brother is a unique individual. He is a wonderful dad. He is the one family member you just have to meet, because words can't express him.
These are my brothers and sister. We know each other. We hang with each other. We laugh, play, pray, cry and love each other. This is the life, the family we are use to.
Then there is my cousin B. He is 34yo and lives in Boston. He works with computer and is a non meat eater. He hasn't fired a weapon since he was five years old. He has never picked food from a country sized garden. He grew up an hour outside of Houston, TX and an hour outside of San Fransisco. It is safe to say he is a city boy. This weekend, he brought along his girlfriend (a Harvard educated lawyer and fellow city girl) to the family farm near Brookhaven. This was a weekend that I think may have changed the way he looked at family. He has one brother who is the total opposite of him. His father is a very matter of fact person. His mom is a wonderful woman who fits in well with us and we are happy she is part of this family. B though, well Im not sure any of us were sure where he fit in, him included. I am very happy to say I learned quite a few things about him over the last few days. He is a great storyteller, which is a trait in this family. While he didn't know our grandfather as well as we did, he admired him greatly. He enjoys being part of something bigger than just his parents and brother.
This weekend, was a time of laughs and fun. Anytime you can gather with your family, it should be a joyous time. (I wish Christine could have been there all three days, but she was off seeing South Pacific on stage) This weekend, it was different, but in a very good way. While B has been our cousin, I believe it was these last few days, that he became family. He is a welcomed addition to our family, and I hope we showed him that. If B is reading this, I hope you know that any of us are here if you ever need help with anything. We may not be the wealthiest of people, but you are us, and if its the shirt off of our back that you need, then it is yours. I hope you felt welcome being around us. I know we can be crazy sometimes, but that is the wonderful part about family, you can be crazy and loved none the less.
I hope we didn't scare him away with our crazy ways. I hope he will consider making this a yearly excursion. I know he would be more than welcome any time.
Its great to have a family as wonderful as mine. My wife, my children. My parents and my brothers and sisters. I am blessed.
Gabe
P.S. The part about snakes....you see, B's gf M isn't the biggest fan of snakes. Sooooooooooo we were asked not to mention that a 5 ft rattler had been killed a couple of days before they arrived. As a gift to M, my brother M had cut the rattles off and presented it to her right before she left. Well, thats how it happened in life, but we are hoping she shares with her friends how she stared down that rattlesnake and took a Kaiser blade too it.
A little about my family. I come from a blended family. Two divorcee's who already had children of their own. My father had myself and two other sons. My stepmother had three sons and one girl. There really has never been a "this is my step-...." mentality. These are my brothers and sister.These people are our family. I love each of them, mainly for the uniqueness that each has. We each have different view points on life, and we have learned to embrace what differences that we have. A little about each....
J: 40 yo brother who is an RN, but at one point was an EMT and firefighter. He has a wife and three children, two girls, one boy. He is a great father who has helped raise some awesome kids.
J: 38 yo brother who helps run a national communications company. He has a wife and three kids as well. Two girls and one boy. I've looked up to him for many years. He is quick with a laugh and a wonderful listener who doesn't judge and offers great insight from an outsiders view
A: 34 yo sister. Her and her husband own their own big rig mechanic business. She is married to my favorite brother in law and have one boy and one girl. We had differences when growing up. We raised our voice a time or two at each other without a doubt. She is someone I love. Christine and I have discussed that if anything happened to us and to my sister in law Dawn, that we would want A to take care of our girls. She is that good.
J: 34 yo brother. He is a SFC in the national guard and works as a recruiter. I hope sometimes, that I am one of the reasons he joined the service. You know, the whole following big brother thing. I wish i had been a 1/4 of the soldier that he is. He has done several tours overseas. He is single and has two beautiful girls. We don't see each other much, but when we do, it seems like only a day has passed when we last talked. Best storyteller I have ever met.
D: 33yo brother. New Orleans police officer. He is engaged with four boys. Yep four. D was injured during a police pursuit two yeas ago when the suspect T-boned his cruiser. He was named officer of the month three times in one calendar year. He was good at what he did. He is no longer able to serve due to his injuries. He is the asshole of the family. He comes up with one liners and zingers that are truly awesome.
M: 33yo brother. He is a produce manager at a supermarket. He is married and has four kids, two and two. My brother is a unique individual. He is a wonderful dad. He is the one family member you just have to meet, because words can't express him.
These are my brothers and sister. We know each other. We hang with each other. We laugh, play, pray, cry and love each other. This is the life, the family we are use to.
Then there is my cousin B. He is 34yo and lives in Boston. He works with computer and is a non meat eater. He hasn't fired a weapon since he was five years old. He has never picked food from a country sized garden. He grew up an hour outside of Houston, TX and an hour outside of San Fransisco. It is safe to say he is a city boy. This weekend, he brought along his girlfriend (a Harvard educated lawyer and fellow city girl) to the family farm near Brookhaven. This was a weekend that I think may have changed the way he looked at family. He has one brother who is the total opposite of him. His father is a very matter of fact person. His mom is a wonderful woman who fits in well with us and we are happy she is part of this family. B though, well Im not sure any of us were sure where he fit in, him included. I am very happy to say I learned quite a few things about him over the last few days. He is a great storyteller, which is a trait in this family. While he didn't know our grandfather as well as we did, he admired him greatly. He enjoys being part of something bigger than just his parents and brother.
This weekend, was a time of laughs and fun. Anytime you can gather with your family, it should be a joyous time. (I wish Christine could have been there all three days, but she was off seeing South Pacific on stage) This weekend, it was different, but in a very good way. While B has been our cousin, I believe it was these last few days, that he became family. He is a welcomed addition to our family, and I hope we showed him that. If B is reading this, I hope you know that any of us are here if you ever need help with anything. We may not be the wealthiest of people, but you are us, and if its the shirt off of our back that you need, then it is yours. I hope you felt welcome being around us. I know we can be crazy sometimes, but that is the wonderful part about family, you can be crazy and loved none the less.
I hope we didn't scare him away with our crazy ways. I hope he will consider making this a yearly excursion. I know he would be more than welcome any time.
Its great to have a family as wonderful as mine. My wife, my children. My parents and my brothers and sisters. I am blessed.
Gabe
P.S. The part about snakes....you see, B's gf M isn't the biggest fan of snakes. Sooooooooooo we were asked not to mention that a 5 ft rattler had been killed a couple of days before they arrived. As a gift to M, my brother M had cut the rattles off and presented it to her right before she left. Well, thats how it happened in life, but we are hoping she shares with her friends how she stared down that rattlesnake and took a Kaiser blade too it.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
As the Waffle House turns....
It amazes me the type of people who call us for their "emergencies". You would think that after 7 years of doing this, I would be use to it, but tonight was a first. Tonight, someone was arrested for the abuse of the 911 system. Yep, you read that right, someone in the state of Mississippi was arrested for 911 abuse. I couldn't believe it either.
Its sorta sad what this girl is doing, but at the same time, you just want to smack her and say snap out of it. She had been making false abuse reports against her mother throughout the day for assault against her. The patient (and I use this term very very loosely) lost custody of her 5 month old due to drug use and her mother took custody of her. This woman doesn't have a pot to piss in, and yet she is taking in her grandchild to make sure it is raised in somewhat stable structure. This apparently pisses the patient off. I transported her earlier in the day,which was very interesting. She wouldn't let me do any examination, she just talked on the phone. Spoke about how,despite being 14 weeks preggers, she was surprised to have passed her drug test. Continued on about how the cops are out to get her and her boyfriend just because he led the police on a pursuit chase that led to the bf crashing and breaking both his legs.
After speaking to a med control dr, he said to have her arrested. I gave her a shot and said if she called back she would be arrested. The deputy said that wouldn't be needed, as he was handling it right now. This person could not grasp the concept of what she did wrong, with calling 911 or making false claims against someone. These are the people you aren't sure whether to pat on the back or have committed. Well, I know we wont have to deal with her again tonight.....until she gets to jail and starts complaining about chest pain that is.
Its sorta sad what this girl is doing, but at the same time, you just want to smack her and say snap out of it. She had been making false abuse reports against her mother throughout the day for assault against her. The patient (and I use this term very very loosely) lost custody of her 5 month old due to drug use and her mother took custody of her. This woman doesn't have a pot to piss in, and yet she is taking in her grandchild to make sure it is raised in somewhat stable structure. This apparently pisses the patient off. I transported her earlier in the day,which was very interesting. She wouldn't let me do any examination, she just talked on the phone. Spoke about how,despite being 14 weeks preggers, she was surprised to have passed her drug test. Continued on about how the cops are out to get her and her boyfriend just because he led the police on a pursuit chase that led to the bf crashing and breaking both his legs.
After speaking to a med control dr, he said to have her arrested. I gave her a shot and said if she called back she would be arrested. The deputy said that wouldn't be needed, as he was handling it right now. This person could not grasp the concept of what she did wrong, with calling 911 or making false claims against someone. These are the people you aren't sure whether to pat on the back or have committed. Well, I know we wont have to deal with her again tonight.....until she gets to jail and starts complaining about chest pain that is.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wow, where to begin? Most of you know me as Gabe, and I'm a paramedic in the great state of Mississippi. I have a job I love, a family that loves and supports me despite my shortcomings. I have been in EMS (emergency medical services) since August 16th, 2005. I started out as an ambulance janitor, became an EMT and eventually wound up where I am today, a paramedic.
During this time, I have gone to college, responded to my own home for my daughter not breathing, been blessed with another daughter. I've nearly lost the best thing to ever happen to me, while during the same time, made what we have even stronger. I have made some incredible friends, met wonderful people, seen some really really weird stuff, and cried myself to sleep after a shift. I have been truly blessed, through the good and bad times.
One thing that has been a constant during this time though, has been something that was not really mentioned much and I never really paid attention to. That issue is and has been my weight. I have always had a problem with it. When I was in the military, I was 220 lbs at my discharge. that was almost 15 years ago. In that time, I gain 110lbs. Yes, I gained a Karen Carpenter and a 20lb bowling ball.It snuck up, slowly on me. I've always known I was fat, but 330lb is huge. When you are only 5'8" its even worse. This blog is about my life and the battle I face in losing this weight.
Right now I am one month and one week into losing weight. At this time I am now at 301lbs as of my last weigh in. I use to have a 58" waist, which has no shrunk to 54". I use to have a problem walking 1 mile, but now I am up to 6 miles at a time. I am now jogging a little over a mile at a time. I have a goal of running in the New Orleans half marathon next march. I have no true weight lose goal, but when I get there, I am sure I will know. This is going to be my written part of my journey. I will share my highs and lows, my days of EMS and the stories of my family at home. Thank you for taking the time to check out the first post on my blog. I hope I can keep you entertained and keep you coming back. Thank you for your support.
Gabe Smith
NREMT-P, father, friend, and soon to be a not fat guy
During this time, I have gone to college, responded to my own home for my daughter not breathing, been blessed with another daughter. I've nearly lost the best thing to ever happen to me, while during the same time, made what we have even stronger. I have made some incredible friends, met wonderful people, seen some really really weird stuff, and cried myself to sleep after a shift. I have been truly blessed, through the good and bad times.
One thing that has been a constant during this time though, has been something that was not really mentioned much and I never really paid attention to. That issue is and has been my weight. I have always had a problem with it. When I was in the military, I was 220 lbs at my discharge. that was almost 15 years ago. In that time, I gain 110lbs. Yes, I gained a Karen Carpenter and a 20lb bowling ball.It snuck up, slowly on me. I've always known I was fat, but 330lb is huge. When you are only 5'8" its even worse. This blog is about my life and the battle I face in losing this weight.
Right now I am one month and one week into losing weight. At this time I am now at 301lbs as of my last weigh in. I use to have a 58" waist, which has no shrunk to 54". I use to have a problem walking 1 mile, but now I am up to 6 miles at a time. I am now jogging a little over a mile at a time. I have a goal of running in the New Orleans half marathon next march. I have no true weight lose goal, but when I get there, I am sure I will know. This is going to be my written part of my journey. I will share my highs and lows, my days of EMS and the stories of my family at home. Thank you for taking the time to check out the first post on my blog. I hope I can keep you entertained and keep you coming back. Thank you for your support.
Gabe Smith
NREMT-P, father, friend, and soon to be a not fat guy
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