In my endeavor to go back to college, I got rid of my pickup trucks, or just parked them. At one time I had four of them. They get shitty mileage, and I was starting to do some heavy commuting to make college, school bus driving, ambulance work, and the Alzheimer's Center all work out at the same time.
My Mom, ever watchful, fronted me the seed money to get a little compact car - a 1994 Geo Metro. Straight away the little beast took a beating and kept on running. One day, in the spring of 1996, I went out to the parking lot for a break to get away from my Alzheimer's patients. They could not follow me out there without setting off a tornado-esque alarm.
I was performing some task on the little car like putting a new whipper on it or something and a gray-haired gentlemanly fellow in an Eisenhower jacket came up behind me and admired my little blue car.
"Nice car," he said. "I used to have one. I am thinking about getting one for my son. They get good mileage."
"Thanks," I said and smiled after realizing this was not some con artist.
"A fellow like you must be pretty smart to drive a car like this," he continued.
I smiled like a stripper had just told me how handsome I was.
"In fact, a smart ass like you probably stole this fucking car from my son," he said with a glower.
Was I hearing what I thought I was now?
"You dirty bastard, you stole my son's car. Perhaps I should shove a tire iron up your ass - how would you like that...car thief?"
Suddenly another voice appeared; a young man said, "Oh, there you are Bill. You had me worried. Walk is over, let's go."
"I work in the unit a couple over," said the young man. "This is my patient, Bill. He is able to just barely still take walks outside, but only with an attendant."
Ol' Bill was reaching the combative stage in his Alzheimer's progression. Often they would also digress to physical outbursts. Some of the girl attendants got bruised, cut, or worse. I could usually fend off the patients' violence. The girls would often call on me to be at their sides when they did cares for an aggressive patient.
You guessed it. That shit took its toll on me. I quit by just fazing myself out of the schedule a day per week. The semester was over. I had finished the Fire Academy - I was 20 years older than the next oldest student in the class. And also, I had, to everyone's surprise, finished and passed the two-credit lifeguard class at Madison Area Technical College.
The stage was set for job 26.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Private First Class Grant A. Dampier, 25, of Merrill, Wisconsin, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, May 15, 2006, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat patrol operations. Private First Class Dampier was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colorado. Dampier was one of two soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Grant Dampier was born in Wisconsin Rapids; there he wrestled in grade school; he came to Merrill when his family moved about the time he was beginning high school. He joined the Merrill High School wrestling Bluejays; competing at a weight of between 150 and 160 pounds. He graduated in 2000. The Journal Sentinel quoted Dampier's wife as saying he was very fond of his children and took great joy in taking his girls fishing on the Wisconsin River. He also took his wife's 7-year-old cousin under his wing and treated the boy like a son. Before joining the Army, Grant worked for Marathon Electric in Wausau. He enjoyed the Green Bay Packers, hip-hop music, and the Crandon Brush Run off-road truck races in Forest County. He joined the Army in September of 2004. Dampier was deployed to Iraq in December of 2005. The Wisconsin 2007 Assembly Joint Resolution 44 indicated Grant had been promoted to Specialist E-4 and was serving as a gunner during combat operations in Balad, Iraq. At the time of his death, Grant Dampier was survived by his wife Heidi; three daughters Alexis, Starr, and Kylee; mother Karen Goulee; stepfather Pat Goulee; father Richard Dampier; stepmother Gwen Dampier; brother and sister Jamie and Rae Ann Dampier; and, five half-brothers and one half-sister. Specialist Grant A. Dampier was laid to rest on May 26th, 2006, at the Merrill Memorial Park Cemetery in Merrill, Wisconsin. Grant Dampier was the 56th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
96,813 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,519 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,408 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1139 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
746 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,860 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
6,355 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
