The Same Old Story

I'm not in the business of helping people. I have compassion, I just care for the bullshit. Pleas allow me to explain.
I was at the Wawa today, as I am most mornings, and saw a couple standing on the side of the building hugging ans talking. I parked and walked across the lot and noticed the man hugging what seemed to be his girl fried watching me. As I walked passed, I heard the man say "I just wish the dam taxi would just come and get us. Baby, I know how far from home we are." O.k. seems innocent enough, right? Wrong! This is the set up. Pay attention. I go in the store and do my thing, all the while knowing that the couple out side is running a hustle and I'm going to be a target. So , I come back out side, and get in my truck. Before I can start the motor and drive away, here comes the man waving in me down just in time to stop me. I knew this was going to happen. Call it intuition, call it street wise, call it what you will, but I called it when I pulled into the lot. Now some of you would probably have waved to him to indicate you can't help before you herd his story, but not me! I like to hear the bullshit. Some times I even play along to make them believe I am going to help (witch usually requires money). Alright, I'm a dick. But for all the times that I was in need of help, and noooo onnneee helped me, I'm just saying is all. So I roll down the window and say this is going to be good.
The man, mid twenties early thirty's, about 5' 7, 150 lb, short black hair, tattoo on left side of neck, wearing a black fitted hat with safety pins vertically around it, small studded ear rings in both ears, black bandanna on head under hat, dirty loose fitting blue jeans and black low cut running shoes. The woman, same age range, long dirty blond hair in pony tail with a pink streak in it. Light brown waist length coat, 00 gage silver plugs in both ears, black jeans and white low cut tennis shoes. Now, she is not important to the story any more, but, if I needed to give a police report, I can. As you can tell, I've done this before. Never talk to a stranger or hustler with out getting a good look at them.
So the man is now standing on the passenger side of my truck and I'm backed into the parking spot (I always back in just in case I need to get out fast). In his right hand he is holding a phone and a pack of cigarettes, and nothing in his left. As I look at him with my I don't give a fuck about your bullshit story eyes, he proceeds. The man tells me that he never had to ask for help before, and he wouldn't ask, but they are desperate. Well there is the first lie. He then tells me there car broke down on I95 on their way back home to Maryland, and that they spent the last four hours walking to this Wawa. He also told me he got $20 out from the ATM, but the taxi ride was going to be more than that. He said he need to get home to find his friend who just so happens to have a tow truck so they can come back and get the car that is on the highway. So now I start to ask some questions. First, every one's car always breaks down and is never any where near by, or when you offer to help them fix it, they can't remember where it is or they are waiting for some one and can't leave the area. Keep in mind I'm in Delaware, this guy said they walked for four hours from where they broke down to the Wawa in Wilmington. You can walk to the other end of the state in four hours. So I asked what state did you break down in? He said Delaware, on 95. I said, 95 is right be hind us a half mile away and we are on the state Pa state line, how did it take you four hours to walk a half mile? He said, I'm from Maryland I don't know where I am right now. I said, So how will you find your car if you don't know where you are. He said it's on the highway, you can't miss it. I said, what part of Maryland do you need to get to. He said Rising Sun. (this is less than an hour away from where we are). I said does your friend with the tow truck have a phone. He said yes. I said did you call him? Yes, but he did not answer. So you are going back to try to find him so you can come back to get your car. Yes, we cant walk any more and North east is too far away. Wait, you said you were going to Rising Sun (North East is one town over). He said, well my friend lives in North East. I asked, what time did your car break down? He said, around 6am. This conversation took place at 7:45. Well that was less than two hours ago, you said you walked for four hours to get to this point. He said, well I don't have a watch, I don't know what time it was. I said, you have a phone in your hand, that has a clock on it. Now at this point, I don't know why he didn't just walk away, obviously I/m not going to help him, I'm just busting his balls. He then said to me, I'm not asking for a ride or any thing I just need to get my girlfriend home, is can you help us out with any thing at all. I told him I never carry cash, and all I have is a Wawa gift card. But If you want, I have to go to work and I'm going to Maryland any way, I can come back in ten minuets and give you a ride back to....Baltimore, was it? He said No, Middle river. But we called a taxi and just need to get enough to pay for it. I said, well if I take you, you save all that money. He then said no, stepped back shaking his head and mumbling. He then acted like he was getting upset and crying. He waled past the front of my car and passed a woman that was getting in the car next to me. I rolled down my window and yelled out, "Hey, you didn't ask her" as I pointed to the car next to me. He shook his head and walked away.
So if you think I'm a dick because I fucked with this guy and didn't help him, I feel sorry for you. And if you would have drove off before he could tell you his story, you are no different then I am, you didn't help him either. And just so you know, I have talked to this guy before. About a week ago, he approached me at a different location with a different story. He needed money to get to another state to pick up his kids because his car broke down. I think it's time for this guy to get another car.

I've Paid My Dues, Is It My Turn Yet?!?!

It's hard to keep positive when your wife, lover and best friend are going through hell. As I blogged about before, my wife, Kristina, is going through a rough time in her life. And as we wait for the march 4th Biopsy to finally know what the diagnosis is, I can't help but want to take all the pain from her and put it in me.

Most of my life has been a struggle and I have been through a few rough times my self. Yea I know I may not have had it as bad as some other's, but never the less, I have paid my dues and want to know.....Is it my turn yet!? I would like to cash in on whats due to me and pass that good fortune on to Kristina. Is this a possibility or am I barking up the wrong tree.

Lady Luck is a Bitch if she can't allow me to do this.

For as bitter as I have become and for as pissed off at life as I have been for skipping over me, I would give all this hostility up in exchange for this one pay day. I'm no magician and can't turn the clock back and change the past. All I can do is hope that that one in a million shot is directed our way and the Lady Luck slaps us in our faces.

You can argue that "God does things for a reason" and will tell you to Fuck off. I'm not a religious guy and don't believe in fairy tails. My intent is not to piss you off, This is my blog and my feelings, you chose to read this so deal with it. There is no reason for any one to go through this. She pad her dues and then some. This is a woman that went from knocking dudes out, to feeding the homeless and giving the shirt off her back. Kristina has a big heart and really wants to help every one she can. So is this her pay back for all the good she tries to do? Is this the reward from your god? If this is how that religion thing works then keep it. I'll keep doing what I'm doing cause it seems to work just as well.

I'm not looking for a religious debate here, I'm venting on the internet and your reading it.

I need to get this out.

It's been a while since I have posted, I know. This past week has been some what of a whirl wind for me. I did want to talk about some thing in particular that happen this week. Lets just call this my debriefing if you will.

As an EMS responder, we are trained to deal with emergency situations, and see people at their worst. We are trained to keep calm and let our training take over. All of this is true, but sometimes, when you think you are prepared to see some one at their worst, you get a little shock of sorts. allow me to tell the story. Don't worry, I will not use any names or reveal any specifics about the incident, H.I.P.P.A is protecting that, and like i said, I need to get it out. This is my way of dealing with it.

My partner and I were in the ambulance out side of the hospital when a man came running over to us waving his arms frantically. my partner and i jumped out and asked the man what was wrong. the man just dropped to his knees and started to cry. i asked him again what was wrong and then some one across the lot yelled over to us that there was some one in the car that needed help. We jumped back in the ambulance and drove the 100 yards or so to the car. I approached the vertical, and saw a man sitting in the passenger seat with his head back between th seats. I opened the door on the passenger side and asked the man if he could hear me as I shook his leg. The man just made some noise, but said nothing. i noticed blood splatter on his shirt, and what appeared to be bone tooth fragments. At that point hospital security showed up and called for the police. That's when I noticed bullet holes in the back window. I grabbed my stethoscope and listened to the mans chest, and verified he was still alive. His head was still back between the seats and I was looking at the bottom of his chin. I then grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him forward. as his head came up and swung towards me I saw blood running down the side of his face and a ping-pong ball size mass sticking out of his forehead between his eyes. At that instant, I knew the mass I was looking at was the mans brain coming out of his head. I kept my calm, and displayed professionalism, but in my mind, I had a grim feeling about the outcome of this situation. I then asked security to help me get this man out of the car. My partner and I slid a back board under his butt, i then opened the back door of the car, stood on the edge of the floor and leaned over the door, reached in the front and grabbed the man by the shirt. I then looked around and saw a nurse had come up to help. t gave the order and we spun the man and pulled him out of the car and slid him up the back board. As we were doing that, out of the back of his bloody head, some chunks of brain fell out onto the back board. We put the man on a stretcher. My partner, the nurse and myself , physically ran the 100 yards to the entrance of the hospital and took the right in to a trauma room. We put the man on the bed and took the back board out from under him. There were chunks of brain sliding off of it. The trauma team descended on the room, and as the man laid on the bed with a mass of brain coming out of hid fore head, all I could think about was how tragic this all was. We helped the team out with cutting off the mans cloths and bagging him until the team was in place.

now, it takes longer to tell this story than it actually took. From the time the first man ran over to the ambulance until the time we got the patient to the trauma room was all of five minutes. As this situation unfolded and I had a grim feeling from the time I got to the car, I did all that I could do to help that patient. I don't doubt what I did, I just don't think we as EMS are always prepared for what we see. I don't have nightmares about it, I did not get sick over it, I just can't get the vision out of my mind. It's not every day you see that sort of thing.

It truly was a tragic event and by the way, the driver of the car, the man who ran over to us, did not even have a scratch on him. How tragic is that for him.