Quests?

I have loved the look of these trucks ever since International switched to this chassis 15 years ago or so, maybe longer. The chassis before the current one is pretty cool too though. A lot had to go right for this to happen related to getting a grant and working around supply chain issues.

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This is a revenue source and recruitment tool. It took 8 or 9 years as chief to get the personnel that could do this and it finally happened. It was in part due to cultivating relationships and creating an environment where experienced firefighters would want to come on board in this capacity. Our engines get out frequently and we also have several people working on incident management teams (IMT).

I wrote about this earlier this week but this is something I've been kind of pursuing for a while. I say kind of because I could have done this quite a few years ago but the positions I would have taken might not have been as fun as what I did this past week as a liaison trainee. Liaison is pretty high up on the org chart which is pretty good considering I have no professional experience, it's all been as a volunteer. I had to get approved by a state committee to do this function, this happened in April. Other that getting my paperwork in order which took a little work, I was told I had no problem getting approved. If that was the case then I believe that was the result of long cultivated relationships. I know probably half the people on the committee, two of whom were part of the instructor cadre when I took my first class to be a wildland firefighter back in 2003.

I knew from my first visit here which was on my 2nd date with Joellyn (my wife) that I wanted to live here. The show Northern Exposure gave permission to live in a semi-rural location and for me, Walker was the spot. The internet didn't exist as a common household utility yet so I didn't know how it would come be. Then the internet came, then we bought a cabin as a weekend place, then I got laid off from Schwab, worked for a short time for a huge firm in California (held on to the cabin), accumulated a little bit of money and was ready to make a go living in Walker by 2002. Part of what made it easier was that the cabin only cost $88,000, we put a lot down and had a 15 year mortgage so our nut was only $600.

I don't know.

I started blogging in 2004 not expecting anything but it evolved quickly in to something that led to me doing some interesting things I would never have otherwise done and meeting people I would never have otherwise met. The picture is me right after having been part of a group that rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 2017 which ultimately came about through blogging.

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If this is a quest, there is no end game, no quantifiable final result. I was pre-diabetic, I helped myself and share how I did it for anyone who cares to listen. This has expanded to things like healthy/successful aging. This week one of the people I worked closely with on the fire was someone I hadn't met before. Part of our introduction he said "when I heard the chief from Walker was coming, I was expecting someone much older." At 57, I am not even close to being a young chief. I may not have even been a young chief when I started at 45. A little work on body composition (cut carbs and lift weights) and you will look much younger than your chronological age.