It took some time, but we all seemed to find a groove for us all to work in. We formed as a team and actually worked really well together, much to my surprise. We went from 3 separate departments of roughly 20 to 30 members each to a single department of roughly 70 to 80 members. To maintain the proper span of control and keep EVERYTHING off of the Chief's shoulders as they traditionally would be, we formed battalions with individual responsibilities. Each battalion had a battalion chief, a captain, and either one or two lieutenants. I was assigned to the maintenance battalion, not sure why since I know absolutely zero about truck maintenance, but I didn't argue. I wasn't fighting many house fires due to the condition of my back getting worse. I mainly drove the trucks and operated the pumps. I would fight the occasional woods fires, but never put on an air mask and walked into a house. Sometimes, it killed me, but I kept the thought that it was better for everyone if I stayed out. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had gotten someone hurt because of my condition. I was proving myself, however, to be much more of an asset than to just put water on fire. The officers were noticing that I put forth more effort than some of the others would. I took this time to familiarize myself with the trucks acquired by the department in the merger that I had never driven before. Even though sitting killed me sometimes, I powered through the pain to do what was necessary. I had been through 2 failed tries at relationships and was in no real hurry to be disappointed again. Then out of nowhere, like it always comes, I happened to notice she was single..just not completely. She was a tiny concoction of sugar, spices, and other various personality seasonings baked into this bubbly personality and voice at every meeting. Yep, I was interested in a girl at the station. From the very beginning, it was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. I don't particularly care for coasters, they make me sick. So this was ultimately not for me. Fact of the matter was, I was single, in every sense of the word. Until I was actually serious with someone, I was going to do as I pleased. Although it wasn't like anything was working out for me in that department anyway. My schedule didn't help matters because I had been transferred back to night shift a few months prior so day shift could train new hires, I had been promised my spot back as soon as training was complete. I learned never to believe a promise from anyone in government work.
What did keep coming back and forth was a sweet little country thing from the next town over. She was everything that I had ever wanted and more. I worked on her for months, but could never seem to motivate her enough to be mine, maybe she never wanted to be. Assuming there was no interest, I moved on. There was this social website that my friend had turned me onto called Myyearbook. I had been a member for quite some time, only active when I was looking for someone to waste time with..which only resulted in failed attempts. I would find girls on there, however, who I would meet, take out, and develop a wonderful friendship with. To this day, I'm still friends with most of them. I had reached the point where I was tired of working straight nights. I was ready for a new trade, a closer location, and a new opportunity. I applied as a corrections officer in the city to the south of where I lived, close to the beach. I had plenty of good words going for me, so I was almost sure I'd get the job. At the end of may, I got formally offered the position. I put in my two weeks at my current department and said my goodbyes. It definitely wasn't an easy thing to do. A couple of days after my last shift, my little sister became a married woman. To this day, I'm still not used to it. That night, I got to dance with one of the prettiest girls in the building, other than my little girl. Again, the little country thing was around again, making her moves and making it look like we would one day be an item. Once again, I believed it, but the dance was nice. A couple days after the wedding, I started work at my new police department
Training for this job would be easy, I already knew half of it. My field training flew by and was offered high honor by my training officer. The building was small, but it served it's purpose, barely. I was still battling back problems and they seemed to be getting worse. People were starting to really notice too. Essentially, I was a city police officer, but I only had certain authority, which seemed to change from month to month. Whatever. With this new trade, I had new state training to attend. I was scheduled for C.O. class in mid August. The night before I was due in class, I was in bed in whatever position seemed to be comfortable. I woke up in the early hours and couldn't seem to get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. In an attempt to roll over, I twisted around. That's when I felt and heard a pop in my back. Pain shot all down my lower back and right leg. I couldn't move, it was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I figured maybe it would go away after some time and that I had aggravated it somehow. I attempted to relieve some pain and pressure by laying on the living room couch since it had worked very well before. Even the most comfortable surface in the house was of no comfort. I was out of options, I couldn't stay like that. Lets go back a bit, the pain in my back was just enough that laughing, sneezing, coughing, running, and even yelling made it worse. Yelling for help was no option. Luckily, I had my phone. It sounds completely dumb, but the only way I could get my sister's attention was to call her....from the living room. After having to be carried to the car, which hurt like hell, we were off to the hospital. An x-ray (which did nothing) and shot of Demerol later, I was on my way back home. The next day, I asked my doctor's nurse to send me a steroid to take away the inflammation, making rehab easier. 2 days later, I was up, walking around, taking out the trash, and letting the dogs out to the bathroom. Life had returned for me. The police department wasn't too happy that I skipped out on class, but slightly understood the reason. Although, they didn't seem to happy about that either.
After a week out with no pay, I returned to work ready to take on the job..again. Rehab was going OK, although, that stuff is expensive. I had to pay for the rehab on my own since my insurance had not yet kicked in. I was using the money I had been paid by my previous job from accrued vacation and sick leave I had not used. Once the money ran out, I could no longer attend rehab. The good news was that I felt a ton better. I was in no more pain and my movement had tremendously increased. I was back to normal. I was ready to start fighting fire again, but because I had put myself on medical leave, I had to get a letter from the doctor saying that I was well enough to perform my duties. I know that the specialist wasn't going to recommend me for full duty since I had forgot to follow up with him and I was unable to complete rehab. What now? I was able to convince my lieutenant and the Chief to allow me to return to light duty until I could get a note from the doctor. I was allowed back on calls as a driver and in a support function only. Not really what I wanted , but I'd take it. Work was going well, I was making myself an asset to my shift lieutenant and my officers. It wasn't an easy job by any stretch, no matter what the description read. I was able to be rescheduled for class in September so off to jail school I went. Of course, it was time for the little country thing to peep in again. I was beginning to feel like a George Straight song "thought I was doing fine, about to get you off my mind. I see your face and then I'm wrapped around your pretty little finger again". Enough said. My work shift and I began to grow closer as the days went on. It made me feel better to get text messages and posts on Facebook asking me when I was coming back to work. Apparently, I was such an asset in the shift that they couldn't stand when I went away for any length of time.
I was growing tired of the constant on and off business that was transpiring with little southern. What made it worse was that she was now working with me. It became blatantly obvious that she was out to date around. I was pulled aside by one of my guys and told that I needed to make my move or someone else was likely to slide in to my place. He was not subtle in the way that he said that there was some shady badges in the building. I was not surprised at all, it seemed to me that almost everyone that carried a badge and a radio (police or fire) was a little shady. What I was quick to learn was that it wasn't necessarily the badges that were shady, but if the female is convinced that she's going to do the single thing, she's going to move around with whoever she wants. I eventually got tired of waiting around for her to make up her mind and went my own way. This usually made her ask why I was so distance. Women! School was over, time to get back on shift, work must go on. In a very odd set of circumstances, I was able to reconnect with an old friend that I had lost touch with for a very long time. We spent hours catching up, which calmed her nerves from the position that she found herself in. Working in the jail, you tend to hear a lot of head shaking comments. I can remember releasing someone one afternoon, and as we were walking out, I heard someone shout "ey bro, hit me up on facebook!". I was a very popular jailer in my city. My name moved around quickly. I was described as an honest, fair, and cool officer. It wasn't that hard, all I did was treat them as people. If they acted like they were supposed to, they were treated as though the bars didn't separate us. I would stand in the hall way each day for about 5 minutes and have a conversation with those in the cells. Usually, I was already there doing a check. What most people in the jail setting don't understand, these are people too. Lock yourself in a room without the things you're used to on a daily basis, it will mess with your head. Sometimes, these people just want a little conversation. I have been able to stop a jail protest before by talking those that were about to protest down. I had more compliance on my shift than anyone else in our corner, and not one rule was broken. Not all that walked through those doors wanted things smooth, some just wanted to push back. That don't work. I learned a lot there. I learned about brotherhood, family, society, crime, and the importance of meal planning.
Not that I was really expecting anything out of it, regardless of all the sweet little words she was saying, but I happened to be noticing that little southern had gotten with one of the detectives in the department. Even though we were never going to be an item in my mind, we were still very good friends. Having her hide this from me bothered me as both a friend, and as the guy that had her sitting at his house only a couple weeks prior eating dinner. I say again, Women! Speaking of women, I didn't let the roller coaster of the female mindset keep me from exploring my other options, especially in this case. I found myself attracted to a sweet, young, college student from a couple towns over. We had been talking as friends for quite a few months, even joking about meeting one day. I had met her on the Myyearbook website I had for a long time. After some time and work, I was able to get her to agree to go on a dinner date with me in Mobile. Between losing track of time, waiting until the last minute, and taking a detour to my friend at the other police department, I was cruising through Ms to make it to mobile on time. We met at the Olive Garden. She had one of the prettiest faces I had ever seen, she was well mannered, soft spoken, had a sweet voice, and dressed with class. She was a keeper. After we ate, we decided to go see a movie, I don't remember exactly which one. She actually felt safe enough with me, at this point, to ride along with me to the movie. I had a hand from my friend at the other police department though. Afterwards, I drove her back to her car which was in the parking lot of the Olive Garden still. We stayed and talked in the parking lot until 1 in the morning. I had rang in my birthday on a date with a great girl, I couldn't have asked for better at the time. We had a few more dates after that, which usually lasted until at least midnight. I guess we just enjoyed each other's company that much.
I was still on light duty with the fire dept, unable to fight any structures, but offered my driving skills and woods fire experience where I could. I continued to rack my brain, trying to find a way to get a doctor's note to return to regular duty. I wanted back. For years, I had always wanted a traditional style helmet. Christmas of '11, my mother surprised me with one for Christmas. I couldn't use it for a while, but it would be ready for when I could! I couldn't wait to take it in with me. I was still seeing the girl from my birthday, and shortly after new years, I decided to try taking a step further. Everything seemed to be working, although, she was quite a bit younger than I was and it was definitely present in her actions. I'm not exactly sure what motivated me to make the move, because we had very little in common when it came to interests, music, and personality. She was a good girl though. The ones that leave, generally will come back, they always come back. Who decided to pop her head back in and try to occupy her spare time, yep! Clearly though, she picked the wrong time to figure her mess out because she was too late. Clearly whatever motivated me to make the move to the current girlfriend wasn't enough for me to stay, because it only lasted a month. I became single again, Back on the hunt!! I turned my social focus back to Myyearbook, cause its worked so well before.
Although, it was no worse than the way I met one of the hottest blondes in town! That was sure fun while it lasted, but I knew that there was no way she would want anymore to do with me than a secret fun thing. Back on the fire side. One night, while going out to dinner with family, my aunt chased me down the street to tell me that smoke was coming from a house that sat behind ours. I immediately radioed my brother in law, who was a firefighter with us, and told him what I was told. He confirmed that a fire had, in fact, been set inside of an unoccupied house. Fire department's fastest time ever, Immediate and on foot!!
No matter when, no matter where...your fire department is ready to run off, at the drop of a hat. Leaving dinner on the table, family at home, and fear on the truck. These brave men and women fight what you fear day in and day out. Some of these men and women do all of this for no pay at all, just like I do. When you see these folks in the streets, take a second to thank them for what they do, you never know when a simple "thank you" will make their day.
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