Kilted to Kick Cancer

I'll be posting more on this as we get closer to September, but for those unaware the sign-ups are starting.

Let's get this thing rolling early for 2012 and double last year's totals.

Link here at Ambulance Driver's.

Remember

Hoarding, guilt trips and other fun

As some of you know, I spent the entirety of last weekend dealing with a callout and the associated issues, then attempting to recover from the same (technically still not done, as there is one report left I need to re-type). Very very fortunately for me, my Lovely Wife was in a position to deal with the kids and everything else for the time involved, and more appreciated, to support me when needed.

The short version of the story is that we had an elderly gentleman pass away & not get found for over a week. He was a MAJOR hoarder - literally the worst I've ever seen or heard of. Trash piled up from at least fifteen years, over three feet deep throughout the house - food, assorted items, guns, ammo, feces, etc.  This combined with the smell of a body which had been left alone that long in the heat. Oh - and the reason for our attendance - rumors of booby traps and old military explosives. Which means that we spent the next two days first getting a safe access to the inside, clearing the body, and then clearing each and every room of all this stuff.

In the interests of privacy and decency I won't share many more of the details. Yes, we did recover some things out of the house which had to be taken care of. Being confident in your skills is a good thing when stuff like this shows up. Explosive breaching works. For those who aren't aware, I don't care what the label says - chemical suits don't keep the smell of decomposition out. Supportive wives and families are irreplaceable. So is supervision that gives you support & stays out of your way. Some days the overtime money isn't enough for what you have to deal with.

Anyway - when all was done finally, we cleared things up & the body removal people took care of their end. The house was boarded up waiting on inspection and final determination on what to do and how to manage the cleanup. Which is where the other fun afterward came in. 

Apparently, after two days effort, they found a next of kin - a daughter who flew into town. Apparently, when she went out with the building inspector they weren't happy with how the body removal service had done their work - and she called in a complaint to the chief's office. Oh, and also was in a rampage as to how soon she could get all his guns out of property so as to sell them off.

Really? W. T. F. ?????

#1 - it's not our job. All the police do is clear the scene, determine if there is a crime which was involved, and then the body service and the mortuary take care of the remains. Take a little personal responsibility for cleaning.

#2 - more importantly. WTFing F???? 

This didn't happen overnight. Your dad lived like this for years. This trash building up, this lack of care and concern - the mental issues and everything else - but suddenly now that he's gone & you feel guilty you want to pass the blame off on someone else?  Go find a doughnut and perform an appropriate act as it rolls along the ground... While I am sorry for your loss, I in no way am willing to ride on your guilt train for the issues from your father's death.

So yeah, that was my week.

Semi-Bleg

OK - it looks as if I have a good possibility of being able to go to Blogorado this year (thanks for the invite BTW!).  Here's the deal - #1 I don't want to deal with the hassle of flying w/guns; #2 I hate TSA, #3 I'd like to save some money...

SOOOOoooooo....

If any of my readers in the "mid-Atlantic" area (Virginia particularly, but if close by...) are driving out there & have any interest in carpooling, sharing gas/lodging expenses etc. I'd be interested.

Hit me up in comments.

Not sure if I'm feeling pride or terror...

Tonight the Biscuit spent her after-dinner craft time gleefully painting "Zombie Dora" pictures as she talked with me.

Musical request

For insane reasons of my own, I'd be curious as to everyone's suggestions for Steampunk-genre music... groups, albums or individual songs. Explanations as to why will be extra-appreciated.

Lesson learned

Apparently lawnmower and similar engines don't do well with newer gasoline & the higher ethanol content. Our old mower has died an ignominious death, and now been replaced - with the new mower having a very prominent "don't use high ETOH in this" set of warnings about the documentation and mower itself.

Good to know now. Would have been even nicer to know six months ago with the old one.

National Police Week

This is the start of National Police Week, a part of which is spent remembering those officers who died in the line of duty over the past year.

163 officers gave their lives last year in service to their communities. Please take a moment to honor them and the families they left behind. 

I laughed :D

More of a long week

First off, I'd like to apologize to those residents of the continental United States who were stunned by the high-pitched screaming for a half-hour earlier tonight... the Wee Biscuit had a fit the likes of which were extraordinary even for her talents. Fortunately we were able to sort it all out, and she went to bed smiling and happy again.

As for today's amusing quote, it was being told by a defense attorney "Officer, I don't need you to waste your time testifying. My client's a moron."

Some things you just can't comment on...