Make Up Your Own Mind

I'm not one for standing on a soap box and stating certain causes.. BUT.. This one kind of makes sense to me.. watch the video and make up your own mind.... after all... we are the only species of the animal kingdom capable of wise decision making. Although this is an American commercial.. it applies to us as Canadians also.
The majority of us have experienced the pitfalls of our "health care" system. All too often we have seen others face the scenario of lost homes or lives made miserable based on the "Oh well, it won't happen to me" syndrome.
Apathy is our national "right" as Canadians; we practice it all too often and at the worst of times we deserve the consequences for our decisions. Maybe it's time to pay attention.

Merry Christmas

We wanted to touch base with our family and friends at this Special Season and decided the best way to reach all of you, because we are so computer dependent, was to set up a blog for you to view. http://jacknjeannie.blogspot.com/ It also comes to mind that we have saved a few trees in the process.

Our very best wishes to all of you!

The Clown Revealed

I really don't think the clown resembles Danny Simonitto, Barry Jones, Studley, or the worst comment that he looks like Pat Cushing! : )

Who's This Clown?

Ok... this is going back in time... who is this guy?

Old Officer's Class

This is interesting. Every one of these guys are now retired. I don't want to say when this picture was taken but check out the "cutting edge" technology.

Wow, a slide projector : ) If you look closer there's even an overhead projector! I bet they even had Underwood typewriters to practice on.

Another thing; BR has dark hair! What's with that??? Hummm..isn't that Bootnose before the operation or was it after? Oh well..hard to tell at times.

Blast From The Past Answers

A couple of you got only two of the guys pictured in the photo. Here's a shot with the names added to the shot. Again, to see the larger image, please click on the photo itself.

Hey... Although this isn't a "business" blog we can still advertise our own stuff : ) In the event that you enjoyed the Retirees' Banquet Video Presentation (posted November 7) you may want to visit our website http://digitaldesigns2dvd.blogspot.com/

Blast From The Past

Ok, here's one from way back in the "Ancient Days" of 1957!!! Some of the older guys may be able to figure out who's on the receiving end of the arrows. Who are they? I'll give you a hint; two of the guys are related. Hope that helps. Respond if you even have a half of a hint. Good luck!

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

Thanks to Jim Berthiaume for the photo... was it taken on a Brownie? : )

Beware of Drunken Brides

Any firefighters responding to sprinkler activation should be aware of any drunken brides running from the scene.
In October 2007, an inebriated bride caused mayhem at a hotel in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, merely by attempting to stow her wedding dress after the ceremony and reception. The tipsy bride returned to her hotel at about 1 a.m. (the manager at the Hilton Garden Inn recalls her needing to be helped upstairs), went to her room, and hung up her dress.


Her error was in choosing the sprinkler head in her room. The act of suspending her finery from that mechanism exerted enough pressure on the tiny glass vial it contained to cause it to break, thereby activating the sprinkler in her room. (The vial is set to shatter when the heat of a fire causes it to expand. It will also shatter when other pressures are exerted upon it, such as heavy objects being hung from its casing.)

Smelly, stagnant water housed in the sprinkler system shot out at high speed and quickly flooded both the bride's 4th room and the one next to it. Following the dictates of gravity, the deluge then soaked rooms on the 3rd and 2nd floors plus flowed down the elevator shaft before reaching the lobby. In all, six of the hotel's rooms were damaged by the flood.

But that wasn't the end of it. The sprinkler's activation caused fire alarms to go off, which in turn led to the middle-of-the-night evacuation of the entire 184-room hotel, where seven weddings had booked rooms for the evening.

The bride and groom responsible fled the scene.

A Different Kind Of Video

Sometimes it's not all about having a laugh at some of our friends. Sometimes it's just to watch something appropriate about Remembrance Day.

Retirees' Banquet Video Presentation

Thanks to all who supplied some of the Retirees' banquet photos for this presentation. Unfortunately I could only use so many or the video would have become a blur. Here are a few photos of the banquet presented in a different manner. We hope you enjoy them : ) In the event that I receive more photos there is a good chance that we'll produce another presentation. An encore if you will : )

Retirement Banquet '07 Photos Requested

Just a few shots of the "networking" that took place at this years Retirees' Banquet.

If you took photos of the evening please forward them to my email.

I will be posting a presentation of the evening on the blog in about a week or so. The more photos that I have to work with the better the video presentation

To watch a sample of the type of presentation here is the site:
http://jackandjeanswedding.blogspot.com/

Illinois Firefighter Dies After Responding - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty

Illinois Firefighter Dies After Responding - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty:

"Illinois firefighter POC Lt. Scott Mumm died Monday after responding to a fire call earlier that day. Mumm was 34 years old, and a 13 year veteran of the Mendota Fire Department. Mumm returned home around 8:15 p.m. from a fire call where his assignment was assisting with filling water tenders. He had gone to bed with intentions of reporting for work at his full-time job at midnight. When his wife tried to wake him, he did not respond. ALS efforts by members of the Mendota Fire Department and Mendota Community Hospital were unsuccessful."

Michigan Assistant Chief Collapses and Dies - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty

Michigan Assistant Chief Collapses and Dies - Firehouse.com In The Line Of Duty:

"The Charlevoix Township Fire Department in Charlevoix, Mich. is mourning the death of their assistant fire chief. Ralph Cross, 73, collapsed and died as he and other department members handed out fire prevention and education literature at a local K-Mart. It happened Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. His is believed to have died of a heart attack."

A Look Back At Lavender Forest

Here are a few photos of Lavender Forest's Miniature Railroad operated by Doug and Betty Patterson. Betty sold the property this year. There were a lot of good memories for all of us.

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So this is what happens after the retiree stag when the Famous Simian has had a little bit too much beer.. Now you know why they never allowed tourists direct contact with the animals on the Serengeti Plain. I feel that Mongo should now only be allowed at social functions where alcohol is served if he has a chaperone.

The next thing we'll know, if this isn't corrected, is that Mongo will be imitating the "Party Boy" from "Jackass; The Movie"!

S

A Few Retiree Limericks

Ahhh...now let's all sit back and listen to a few limericks of our retirees by our resident Limerick Fairy (Don't even think about making a comment!)

There once was a retiree named Loma Who was built like a light named Noma The peanut butter was spread Without the pleasure of any bread Poor Bill almost went into a coma		Tom Lebert was a fine Liberal He considered himself an electoral As he sat down to vote He voted on a municipal note And considered himself quite mayoral
A fine fellow retiree named Dann Was classified as a fine fire man He jumped on the hose Fell flat on his nose Now poor Dann is considered a stunt man		A new retired fellow named Greg Noticed one day he had a bowed leg He said in a mutter My heart’s in a flutter Pass the pencils: I need to beg
A retiree by the name of Tim Opted out of a trip to the gym Consuming beans to lose extra pounds And surprised by new vibrant sounds Tim’s wind can now play a hymn		There once was a gal named Karen Who loved the sound of the siren She hailed from the Isle of P.I Was an expert at the art of Private Eye Now she is tracking a Heron
A retiree by the name of Martin Gathered all of his stuff in a carton Working fire prevention he said Caused him so much darned dread That on the floor he would be startin’		An old retiree named Al Was sure he was everyone’s pal He retired as Assistant Chief But caused so much unnecessary grief That poor Al was put out to corral
The retiree by the name of Ron Would often take naps on his lawn Decided to give his technique a whirl He nicknamed it the Trofin Curl Challenge was chairs and try to stay on		An old retiree named Stroud Everyone knew he was rather proud He watched so much TV It was plain for everyone to see That he resided in somewhat of a cloud (Hey .. they're not always classics! You try and make up a limerick!!!)
There once was a retiree named Arpan To Headquarters apparatus floor he ran Trying to catch the descending door His judgment was rather poor Jim’s broken leg was never the plan		There once was a retiree named Vernes Who over the years had a few burns He’d itch and he’d scratch Sat at the hall waiting for a dispatch And discovered the law of diminishing returns

Gary Heikkinen's New Television Show

When asked about his new career, Chef Heikkinen shrugs his shoulders and replied, "I don't know how this happened actually. I always knew that my cooking skills were destined for greatness and here I am on The Food Channel on cable television. Being from the Lapland area didn't hurt either. I have a whole repertoire of Scandinavian delights that I can share with my new audience. Folks have never actually had such tantalizing Lapland dishes such as Braised Elk Hocks or Sauteed Penguin Flipper Au Jus."

When asked about his newest recipe he gloats about his recent concoction Hot Sauce Supreme. "It's a family secret that even my own son, Mike, doesn't know the recipe's contents.", claimed the little furry chef.

When questioned about his cooking "career" Rudy said, "Well, when I used to cook in the fire halls at the turn of the century the guys used to rave about my finesse in the kitchen. They just couldn't handle all the wonderful flavors at once so they used to get up collectively from the dinner table and rush to the washroom and actually push each other out of the way to get in. They would return a few minutes later with a contented look on their faces and claimed that they were so full they couldn't eat another bite after I offered them a second helping of the meal. I'm still quite confused as to the large amounts of Pepto Bismal that were consumed while I was on duty. Very strange coincidence indeed."

When prompted further regarding his new television show Rudy answered, "Well, I have a sample of video that you can use to demonstrate a short section of my show. It's the episode about the Hot Sauce we were discussing earlier. I'm calling the show 'Recapturing The Flavor'", Rudy Reported.

At the conclusion of the interview Rudy declared, "I'm actually thinking of inviting guest cooks on my show in the future. My first guest I hope will be Willoughby Woods. He is an excellent chef and some think his skills were even far better than mine. He basically perfected his art here in Canada when he was on the lam from the U.S authorities during the Viet Nam war. That's how he got the moniker 'Draftdodger'", Rudy laughed. "As for myself, I was a member of the Navy and taught the other sailors how to march on the deck of the ship. We didn't go for long treks and I taught them how to walk in circles very quickly. As a result of that training I still find myself walking in circles even to this very day!"

When last seen the "Chef" was on the phone while rubbing his antlers against the wall in his new kitchen. As I left the room I heard Rudy say, "Hello, Santa?"

Below is the sample video of Rudy's television show.

Another "Old Guy" Retires (Maybe)

Hey, who knows... Maybe even Bill "Grandmother" Ferguson will retire this year with the rest of the folks in the previous post. Hummm... What stories do I remember about Bill??? ...... let me think... Oh yessssssss.... any of you that work with Bill can ask him about the time he was "hiding" on the bed of the ladder at # 4 Station way back in the '70's.

WFD Retirees of 2007

Happy Retirement go out to the following folks:

James "accident waiting" Arpan
Karen "PEI Rocks" Morrison
Tim "Help ME" Berthiaume
Al "Big Al" Reaume
Dan "WOMD" Dancey
Greg "I wanna be a DC" Reitzel
Dave "Norbert Nostalgia" Stroud
Tom "Ex Snorkel Driver" Lebert
Al "I hate Fire Prevention" Martin
Don "Whaaat?" Vernes
Bill "I love Peanut Butter" Loma
Ron "Been Trofed yet?" Trofin

You're about to discover the world's best kept secret .. enjoy yourselves and the best of luck to all of you. : )