Good kids
I got home late last evening because I had to teach a class of young volunteer fire fighters how to treat and transport special needs residents in times of disaster. Once again I was reminded just how fortunate we are to have a generation of such young people looking out for our well-being.
Most of the approximately 50 volunteers, young men and women, are veterans of activation during Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. They worked through those horrible times without payment or glory and still returned this year to offer their services should they be needed. These are the kids that went out during the storms and transported our elderly residents who required special life-support assistance or rides to emergency shelters, assisted shelter staff in the care and feeding of evacuees, and then transported them back home after the storms had passed. Transported those that still had homes left standing, that is.
Short of military combat, what these young people did was as stressful and dangerous as any public service you can name - you have to experience the destructive power of hurricanes up close and personal to truly understand what I mean. Yet they gladly went out into the storms, sortie after sortie, and did so until all of the 840 residents registered for special needs were safely tucked away in emergency shelters or otherwise accounted for.
So while I thoroughly enjoy pretending to complain about the stuff that is my life, there are no jests this morning about my late evening. I appreciate these young people more than they know; I marvel at their enthusiasm, dedication, and toughness. They are all good kids and they are awesome.