By
Disclaimer: I don't own the guys from Emergency so please don't sue me. I promise to put them back in one piece when I'm done with them. I don't own anything belonging to the DCFD or the United States Army. I'm just borrowing them so please don't sue me.
An interesting shift leads to interesting dreams as seen through Hank's eyes.
Good early morning thought keeper,
I see you have been quite busy tonight. After the shift we've had so far I can't say I'm surprised. Let me comment on the others before I explain why I am awake at 0615, almost two hours before I need to be.
Roy, thank you and Johnny again for the baseball. Your dream sounds amazing. Big blue will be lucky to have you. Can I have a ticket please?
Johnny, words cannot express my frustration for the way you were treated growing up. Anytime you want to go for a run give me a holler. I'll gladly go with you. If you do get the chance to run competitively again you bet we'll be there.
Marco, that sounds amazing! I am glad to hear Jorge is doing much better. Go Mexico! We will definitely be there if you get the chance to play.
Mike, Lieutenant I never would have guessed you to be a Blue Angel type. I'm glad to hear that Lieutenant Sapp is doing well. I know the blue, gold and white mean as much to you as the green, gold and black mean to me. I you ever want to talk about the service my ears are open. You get the chance to fly with the Blue Angels you bet we'll be there.
Chet, first of all thank you for your help on that call. I never knew you liked hockey, let alone could skate. Can you teach me about the game? Can I have a ticket to your next game?
Okay comments done let me explain what I am doing awake right now. There are two reasons actually. Professionally, I have a mountain of paperwork to do thanks to the insane afternoon we had had yesterday. Ugh. Right now though I am here because of my personal reason for being awake, the dream I just had.
Before I get into the dream set up and the dream I will warn you this may be quite emotional to read. Don't tell me I didn't warn you! That said let me get this show on the road.
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I arrived at the station at my usual time, one hour before actual reporting time. I slipped in as quiet as I could so I didn't wake the sleeping members of C shift. I changed and headed for the day room. I started the coffee then headed for the office, having seen the light on, I knocked.
Captain John Smith was on duty, he called from behind the door, “Come in.”
I opened the door and walked in, “Morning Smitty.”
“Morning Hank.”
“I started the coffee.”
Smitty said tiredly, “You're a god, Hank.”
I smiled, “Rough night?”
“A bit. Small calls mostly, but we're all muddy and exhausted.”
“We'll clean up.
“Thanks Hank.”
“No problem Smitty. Want some coffee”
“Sure.”
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I left the office. Minutes later I returned with my coffee and one for Smitty. I handed his to him.
“Thanks Hank.”
“You're welcome.”
I grabbed my book and left the office.
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Welcome back to the present for a quick minute. I am going to skip ahead to after roll call.
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The guys started their chores. I retreated to the quiet of my office, but kept the door open in case anybody wanted to visit. Of all the shifts I've worked with these guys are the closest to a family I've seen.
I looked over at my pile of mail. Luckily, there wasn't much to go through. The first half of the pile was junk mail. Then it happened, I found the piece of mail that would be on my mind the rest of the day.
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Just past all of the junk mail I saw an envelope with the department seal on it. Uh oh, this might not be good. I quickly forgot about the rest of the mail and opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter, which I unfolded. A letter from Chief McConnikee, talk about a fast way to get the adrenaline going in the morning. The letter read:
“From Battalion Chief Pat McConnikee
To: Captain Hank Stanley 51's A Shift
Re: Trip to Washington
Good Morning Hank,
“Relax, none of your boys or you are in trouble.” I let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding.
The letter continued, “Actually I am writing you this morning to ask your help in something. It is well known through the department that your shift is one of the strongest.” I blushed at the compliment.
The letter picked up, “Therefore the department feels you will work well as ambassadors. We want to send you and your crew to Washington DC.”
To say I was stunned was an understatement. No, I was not stunned that they wanted us to be ambassadors, I was honored and thrilled. I was stunned, however, as to where they wanted us to go. Without realizing it the department was sending me home. Okay, focus on the professional Hank, before the personal.
I bit back my emotions as I picked the letter up again, “The trip will be ten days long. It will include some personal time for you guys. It will also include some meetings with their department brass in general and on the paramedic program. Once you agree to the trip I will come by with more specifics.
You will depart Saturday, November 2nd and return Wednesday, November 12th. You will depart the 2 nd at 0800 Pacific. You depart the 12 th at 1900 Eastern. If you and your men agree to the trip, please contact me at my headquarters at station 10 as soon as possible. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Battalion Chief Patrick T. McConnikee”
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Wow! I needed a few minutes to pull myself together before I even went to talk to the guys. I put the letter down. My goodness I was finally going home. The tears stung my eyes.
I thought, ‘What the guys are about to learn about me will probably shock them. You see I was a Captain before I joined the fire department. A Captain armed with a journalism degree in the United States Army. I was stationed at Ft. Belvior which is just outside of Washington DC. This was going to be one helluva trip down memory lane. I have to ask Mike, Roy and Chet if their military dress uniforms still fit. Heck, I need to make sure mine still fits.'
Then I took a deep breath and thought, “Alright Hank pull yourself together time to go talk to the guys.”
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Welcome back to the present. To be honest I am still stunned. Anyway, I have to get moving on this paperwork, but first I want to tell you about my dream from last night. Hopefully, this will explain why I am a Captain with the LA County Fire Department instead of in the United States Army. Enjoy!
I call lights out not too long after Johnny and Roy had come back from the game. We are all so over-tired I'm afraid that if I don't tell them to lie down we'll all fall down.
Completely exhausted I fell into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
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As I finally got some much needed rest my mind kicked in. Having had the Army on my mind all day I was curious as to where I was going to end up.
My eyes opened, but I was no longer surrounded by the guys. For that matter it wasn't even nighttime. It was a bright summer day.
I looked down to see what I was wearing and figure out what I was doing. I was wearing my dress greens carrying my notebook and pen. Ah one of my favorite kinds of days working for the base paper, assignment day. I headed for my office and quickly got organized. As a feature writer I covered quite an array of things on base and off. I always looked forward to assignment day because it was good to find what my next challenge will be.
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0730 My desk phone rang. I picked it up, “Captain Stanley.”
Colonel Jax, my Commander spoke, “Hank, report to the editors office' ready to go. Civilian topic.”
“Yes sir.”
I quickly hung up and grabbed my notebook, pens, and gym bag. The bag had my camera, extra film, a suit bag, and two sets of civilian clothes in it. While my initial meeting with my next subject would be in uniform, I changed after it to fit in more. My gear in hand I headed for the editors' office.
I knocked on the open door to get his attention. Colonel Jax looked up. I quickly asked, “You wanted to see me sir?”
“Yeah Hank, come on in.”
I walked in the office and stood at parade rest, ready to write my notes down.
Colonel Jax asked, “You ready to go?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. The base commander wants you to do a feature on the DC Fire Department.”
The base commander was my father, Brigadier General Stanley. I was confused by the request. “He wants huh? Did my dad say why?”
“Something about wanting to know what a big city department is like before he moves west.”
I smiled tightly, “Yes sir, after my enlistment is up he is going to put in his papers and retire. He wants to move to California. He said the winters here have finally taken their toll on him.”
“Can't blame him there.”
“Neither can I sir.”
“As far as your article is concerned, I want you to do a Shift in the Life of Piece.”
My ears perked up. I loved writing those kinds of pieces, “Yes sir. When and where do I report?”
“You leave now and report to DC Fire Headquarters. It's at 1923 Vermont Ave NW Suite 102, ask for Chief Jackson.”
I was quickly writing the information down as Colonel Jax gave it to me, “Yes sir.”
“You'll have twenty-four hours after the end of the shift to file the story.”
“Understood.”
Colonel Jax smiled, “Good luck, Hank.”
I smiled, “Thank you sir.”
“Dismissed.”
I snapped to attention, “Yes sir.”
I picked up my gym bag; clicked my heels, turned and left.
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As I double-timed it to my car I thought, ‘A shift in the life of the DC Fire Department, this was certainly going to be interesting. My father being a Brigadier General and post commander definitely kept me on my toes.'
I didn't know if I have an exact reporting time, but I wanted to get there ASAP. As I pulled off post I turned on the tape recorder I have rigged up in my car. I called it my traveling notebook.
I spoke, “Things to find out: Command structure of the department, command structure of the station, types of equipment, history of the station, members of the shift any special quirks about the station, call info and details.”
I shut the tape recorder off. Yay traffic wasn't the usual nightmare, thankfully! I was happy I knew the city so well; it could be a confusing place for a newbie. With a little bit of luck and skill I made it to DCFD headquarters at 0745. Luckily finding a parking spot was easy.
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I climbed out, quickly checked my uniform, grabbed my stuff and headed inside. I only made it about six steps inside when I heard Chief Jackson, “Captain Stanley.”
I jumped slightly in bed as I do whenever a Chief calls my name.
In my dream I spun on my heel and saw a distinguished looking man walking towards me. I met him halfway, “Chief Jackson?”
He smiled, “Yes sir. Thanks for coming so fast.”
“You're welcome sir.”
Chief Jackson saw my uniform and grinned, “You don't plan on working in that at that at the station do you?”
I chuckled, “No sir. I have clothes in my car to change into. I do this out of respect for whoever I am writing about.”
“That's understandable. Are you ready to go?”
“When you are sir.”
“Let's go.”
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We turned and headed for the doors.
As we walked Chief Jackson spoke, “I called ahead to Engine Company 8. They are looking forward to having you join them for this shift.”
I smiled, “Thank you sir.”
Chief Jackson smiled, “You're welcome.”
We left headquarters.
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My brain jumped ahead a few days. The joys of sleeping on shift, ha!
The next thing I knew I was staring down at the newspaper article I had written on Engine Company 8 under the direction of Captain Nick Davies. I have a framed copy of it at home in my office, because it was the reason I joined the department after I got out of the service. I felt myself starting to wake up as I read the article.
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By the time I was done reading the article I was wide awake. It all started with a simple letter yesterday morning and the memories flooded back. It's going to be an interesting trip. As much as I would love to spend the day writing my flood of memories down, I know I can't.
Till I can write again
US Army Captain and Cap 51's A Shift Hank