The man, whose name was not immediately released, entered the water in a designated swimming area, then disappeared below the surface about 8:20 p.m. and never resurfaced, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

The man reportedly could not swim, said Clark County Sgt. Scott Schanaker.

Rescue teams found the man's body just before 10:28 p.m.

The drowning is under investigation, Schanaker added.

(Text highlighted by me)

If you cannot swim, why go in the water?

If your balance is bad, would you attempt to walk a tightrope?

If you're afraid of heights, would you rock climb?

If you don't like loud noises, would you go shooting or play with fireworks?

If you are clumsy, would you try gymnastics?

If you have asthma, would you repeatedly go into a burning building?

Well, yes. Especially if alcohol is involved.

OK, OK.  I know.  I'm probably preaching to the choir.

And actually, I already know the answer.

People.  Are.  Stupid.

Headed East on I-84, we saw a bit of eastern Oregon.  Wind turbines, grassland (Hilda says it reminded her of Little House On The Prairie), and the incredible onion odors headed into Ontario, Oregon remain in my mind.

Our base of operations was at the White Buffalo Lodging in West Yellowstone, Montana.  It's owned by a nurse friend, and was a great place to stay.  The three-bedroom cabin we stayed in was warm, well-equipped and had all amenities of home.

Living room

Fully-equipped kitchen

Bedroom with natural gas fireplace

We liked it so much, we extended our stay from two nights to three.  We highly recommend it, and you can find more information here.

West Yellowstone, Montana, held some memories for me.  I was there 40 years ago - my great-aunt owned a restaurant & gift shop, and my grandfather ran the store.

I ventured into the gift shop and found that the lady working there was the widow of the man who bought the store from my aunt 39 years ago!  She was very kind, and I ended up being the recipient of some old documents and mementos from my family, courtesy of what she had stored in the basement.

This is what they look like now:

West Yellowstone also has some pretty interesting sights itself - the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center and the Historical Center, which is housed in the oldest building in town - the Union Pacific train depot.  My father has the very first telephone installed in West Yellowstone, which hung on the wall of the depot.

Yellowstone National Park, of course, is simply a huge, amazing place to visit.  We were most impressed with the waterfalls, the hot springs (especially Mammoth Hot Springs), and the animals.  Bison swirled around the Willy Wagon, and we saw grizzly bear, black bear, elk, the Yellow-Bellied Marmot, and others.  There was so much to see and experience - I've just got to get back.  I wanna try fishing, too!

Following our Yellowstone expedition, it was time to start heading West.  Our goal was to find garnets for Hilda.  We ventured through Virginia City, Montana, and stopped in Deer Lodge, at the Prospectors Playground.  There we sluiced for garnets and sapphires, and panned for gold.

Next stop was Garnet, Montana.  Garnet is a ghost town, but in the 1860's it was a bustling town full of gold miners.  Christopher, who had no luck panning for gold in Deer Lodge, redeemed himself.  It's a pretty remote place to find, but very interesting and full of photographic possibilities, especially in the old hotel.

Then it was off again, through Idaho and into Washington, our next destination:  Desert Winds Winery in Prosser.  We were booked for a Fathers Day lunch and winery tour.  Lunch was Red Wine & Ribs, and was a delight.  Damn, that was some good food!

The tour was very interesting, and we did some sampling from the aging wines.

Special thanks to Darrah, our tour guide/hostess, who made it a great afternoon!

The winery itself is spectacular.  Done in adobe style, it offers a large gift shop & tasting room, a demonstration kitchen, and very nice accommodations.  One interesting feature is that the public mens' room has small flat-screen televisions, broadcasting sports, hung over each urinal.  Benjamin & Christopher were particularly impressed by that offering.  Personally, I believe that, at least in this venue, you may find the men going to the bathroom in pairs, instead of the women, just to partake in their sports fix.  Hilda noted that there were no such reciprocates in the womens room...

But the best comment came from Benjamin, who noted that if they installed games, you could 'Wee-wee while you Wii'...

After spending the night there, pampered in our elegant room, and having a delicious, freshly prepared breakfast delivered, we checked out, took our case of Ruah, and headed West again, following the Columbia River Gorge.

What is Stonehenge doing overlooking the Columbia River, instead of the Salisbury Plains?  Well, it turns out that this replica is the very first WWI memorial in the U.S.  It's part of the Maryhill Museum of Art, which is just down the road from the Maryhill Winery.  So, of course, we stopped there, too, and joined their wine club...

After a quick lunch we were back in Oregon, skirting Mount Hood via the Apple Valley, and stopping again at the Rainbow Trout Farm in Sandy.  Filling our bucket full of fish, it was time for the final segment and home.

Oh, and even more images from the trip can be seen here!

After just one night back in my own bed, I was off one more time, this time for 4 days with my boys in Seattle. 

We took in two baseball games, watching the Seattle Mariners battle the San Diego Padres.  The first game was a loss for the M's, but the second game, a matinée, saw them win.

Neither Michael or Gaelen had seen a baseball game previously (I'd only seen two, myself), and so I got to explain the who, what, where, when & why to my boys.  We had a blast!

We did some sightseeing, rode the amphibious Duck tour, and checked out Archie McPhees for the second time (I passed on the bacon-flavored floss, and the bacon-patterned clothing, but DID score some bacon-patterned bandaids), but we also just hung out, played board games, and re-connected.  Of course, during the visit, the car crapped out & needed a new alternator. 

But now it's back home, working on personal stuff, photography stuff, sociology (the first step of my nursing classes), and trying to drum up some EMS shifts and maybe even some 'good' calls...

We're off to do some exploring and re-connecting.

Oh, and some results from recent caption contests...

#23 (Police Officer & Police Dog):  the winner is Sister Staci with "OK, my eyes are closed and I'm going to start counting, NOW GO HIDE!!!"

Also, there were some great Lols created here!

And for #24 (English Police Officer):  the winner is Drew with "*THWACK* HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP? *THUMP* HOW 'BOUT NOW???"

Great stuff, and another caption contest coming soon. 

In the meantime, I'm headed to Seattle to spend a few days with my boys. 

So here's a teaser...

The topic - how to explain why the saturation level stays the same when the affinity for oxygen molecules drops when you have a left shift in the Oxy-Hemaglobin Dissociation Curve?

Talk amongst yourselves...

There's been plenty of discussion since the event unfolded last month.

Essentially, what appears to have happened is that an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman was responding to an incident.  He overtook an ambulance that was transporting a patient suffering a heat-related medical problem.

After dealing with the incident, the trooper then located and pulled over the ambulance, apparently to discuss a failure to yield to his emergency vehicle.  The Paramedic, in the box with the patient, got out and attempted to interact with the trooper.

At some point, there were TWO physical altercations between the Highway Patrolman and the Paramedic. 

There is a video taken on a cell phone by a relative of the patient.  It can be seen here.

It wasn't until very recently that the dash cam video from the OHP patrol car was released.  It can be seen here.

The cell phone video only shows a small part of the event.  The dash cam video is much more revealing.

Some points (all my perspective and viewpoint from several different stories and comments I've read):

1)  The ambulance yielded to the patrol car in a reasonable amount of time, especially with the rapid approach of the patrol car.  Those of us who operate emergency vehicles know about a true failure to yield driver.  The driver of the ambulance appeared to be operating his vehicle in a safe, prudent manner.  There was another vehicle that was either stopped on the fog line or was already yielding to the patrol car.  It appeared to me that the driver of the ambulance smoothly went around that smaller car and appropriately pulled to the right when it was safe to do so.  If he had slammed on the brakes and/or jerked off to the right he would have a)  ran into that car, b) lost control, AND c) endangered his Paramedic and the patient with his erratic driving.

2)  The Highway Patrolman alleges that the 'ambulance driver' flipped him off as he passed him.  I seriously doubt this happened.  I cannot imagine any public safety professional acting in such a manner.  The ambulance driver made a statement that he did not see the approaching patrol car, and that he 'threw up his hand(s)" in an 'oops' type of gesture.  That I can believe, but I wasn't there.  The trooper then got on the radio and radioed the ambulance that they should check their rear view mirrors.

3)  It appears that the Highway Patrolman did not even get out of his vehicle at the original event, but was either cancelled by the other units already on scene, or left abruptly to chase down the ambulance.  I wonder what the emergency was that required a lights & siren response but did not require him to get out of his car.  Stuff happens, I understand that.  Emergency responders are often cancelled either enroute or just after arriving at a scene.  Dunno what happened here.

4)  The Highway Patrolman then chased down and pulled the ambulance over.  From watching the dash cam video, the Highway Patrolman charged the ambulance and in a very angry tone, told the driver that he was getting a ticket for failure to yield.  His whole demeanor was one of someone whose authoritiy has been challenged and was seriously pissed off.

5)  The Paramedic got out of the back.  Not sure if that was such a great idea.  I don't consider that abandonment, but it certainly escalated the event to white-hot levels.  The medic certainly seemed level-headed and tried to reason with the trooper, without success.  Once the incident escalated to a physical level, he should have not resisted.

6)  The initial official statements from OHP indicate that the Paramedic assaulted the Highway Patrolman.  I didn't see that in the dash cam video.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it appears to me that the trooper was the aggressor.

7)  Once the trooper had been advised that there was a patient in the back, being transported, he should have either immediately called for another ambulance or released the crew to continue the transport and then continue the investigation/citation process at the hospital (or elsewhere).

There's a lot more involved here.  From my point of view, and I've spent years as a police officer as well as a paramedic, the Oklahoma Highway Patrolman is at least 80% at fault in this incident.  He was abusive, aggressive and escalated this way beyond where it should have gone.  The dash cam video is indicative of that. 

The paramedic should not have exited the ambulance, and certainly not physically fought with the trooper. 

I can't believe that this event will foster better relations between EMS and Law Enforcement.  From some comments I've seen, the behavior exhibited by the trooper is common.  I hope not. 

Time will tell where this event goes and what it will lead to.  Let's just hope that everyone continues to do their jobs in a professional manner.

In the meantime, perhaps the Oklahoma EMS Office should reconfigure their EMT certification cards, with the backside looking like this:

    <whine> "This thing in my nose stiiiiiings!  Can't you take it out?  Ooooohhhhh, it's burrrrrrrning!  Take it out!  Take it out!" <whine continues>

From someone who just got a job-related class they've wanted for quite some time:

     "That'll be a feather in my resume."

From the same young studmuffin, apparently suffering from photophobia, but looking wide-eyed around the back of the ambulance (and before I turned the lights down):

      "Everytime I open my eyes, my head hurts more!"

"You got anything to stop a bloody nose?"  This from a truck driver, who saw our ambulance pass by and pull into the station. 

'Yup, you just sit down, lean forward and pinch your nose for 10 minutes.' was my response.  

"Well, I don't have time for that.  I gotta get my truck back to Portland."  He was slightly agitated, and refused to sit down or even stand still.  So after I inquired how he would navigate his truck 120 miles with a steadily bleeding nose, and not receiving an adequate answer, I offered a ride to the hospital. 

"I TOLD you I don't have time for that."  So, I escorted him to the small town clinic.  I knew I'd be seeing him again, due to the fact that it's a SMALL clinic, and with his medical history. 

Sure enough, 15 minutes later we got the call to transport him to the hospital.  We found him in the exam room, still bleeding. 

"I'm still bleeding!"

Finally loaded onto the gurney, I gave him very explicit instructions:  'Sit forward, and pinch your nose.  Don't let go.  Don't sneeze.  Don't blow your nose.  I want you to pinch until we get to the hospital (30 minutes away).'

5 minutes later, I look up.  He's not pinching.  He's merely holding his nose. 

     'Pinch your nose!'. 

     "I aaaaaam!" 

     'Uh, no you're not.  I want to see white knuckles.  Don't stop pinching.'

Repeat the last snippet of conversation x 2.

10 minutes later:  "Hey!  It stopped!  Wow - how'd that happen?"

Uhm, maybe it was the fact that I was finally able to get you sat down, calm, in an enclosed, controlled setting, and forced you to follow my directions...

"Are they walking, or are they on foot?"  This from a law enforcement officer, inquiring about the suspect...

In the meantime, here's #24:

And I declare Renee to be The Winnah.  "OK. I've covered my right eye. E F P T O Z L P E D... Can I drive the Popemobile now??? "

Great stuff - thanks Renee.

And now on to #23:

We started opening bags and pulling out supplies and equipment, while the Fire Captain took over compressions, kneeling at the patients side.

With one arm between his legs.

My job was IV & drugs.

During the manuevers to free his arm from between the Captains legs, I inadvertently groped the Captain.  With the dead guy patients hand.

I appologized and continued on with obtaining the IV and pushing drugs.

We were at the hospital, trying to clean up and document the fruitless effort, when I again appologized for the faux pas.  The Captain just laughed said it was no biggie, and then commented that he hadn't jumped, had he?

Apparently this was nothing new to him.

Now, on the other hand is my experience with one certain police officer and the dead guy grope.

Dispatch:  Possible DOA.

Assessment:  Definite DOA

So we're running a strip so that we can 'prove' he was dead, when the officer asked how long he had been deceased.  I explained that there was definite rigor in the fingers, had dependant lividity, and that his eyes were glassy.  I offered up his hand to demonstrate the rigor.

Nothin' doin'.  The officer wanted nothing to do with it. 

"I don't touch dead people."

There was definite teasing that followed, about being an officer and being afraid of dead bodies, and the progression to detective without needed 'training'.

After a short interlude, the officer was distracted by, oh, the sky. 

I then slyly brought up the dead guy's hand and started to stroke the officers' leg.

And moaning my best dead guy moan at the same time.

The officer jumped and screamed.  Like a girl.

I cringed and waited for the bullet in the back of my head.  Or a tazer shot.  Or a PR-24 strike.  Lets just say that my sense of humor was not reciprocated.  (My partner thought it was damned funny, though.)

But nothing like that happened.  My next thought was 'Hey, that was really stupid.  I could lose my job over this.  Jeez, I hope I don't get beefed over this."

And I didn't.

Luckily, the officer thought it was funny (after a while), and now is even a Facebook pal. 

Oh, and the reason the officer screamed like a girl?  Well, she IS a girl.

Hilda & I went to see Joe Cocker in concert last night.  We started out in the rear, elevated seats, but about 3 songs into the show, one of the staffers at the Spirit Mountain Casino approached us and asked if we were interested in sitting closer to the stage.

Hell yes!

So there we were, comped up forward, in Row G - a far cry from row KK.

And the show was so much better now that we could actually see him!  Well, we could see that there was an old white guy who sounded like Joe Cocker from Row KK, but from our new seat, we could actually see his expressions, his funky hand jive, and even see the sweat dropping off of him.

He did all of his classics, plus a great cover of 'Come Together'.  It was a hell of a concert.  Joe's voice is still there, and he was jumping around, and had a great band & backup singers

One thing I noticed was that the audience was O-L-D.  There were a few younger folks mixed in, but it was definitely a baby boomer show.

All in all, a great evening.  Thanks for the better seats, Spirit Mountain!

Hopefully my hearing (what was left of it) will come back sometime today...

Do I need to go back to politics?

So.  Mr. Rogers and #20.  Really no good captions there.  Gonna call it DOA.

#21.  Four responses, and ALL FROM ME!  Nobody loves me anymore.  That's it.  Well, then.  I WIN!  Yeah, dammit.  I win this one.  With #3 and the veiled reference to Airplane!  Hah. 

And now on to #22.  If I don't get any decent captions, I'm gonna take my ball and leave.  No more.  I'm not joking here, people.  Don't tempt me.  I'm serious.  As. A. Heart. Attack.  Yeah.

PleasePleasePleasePleasePlease give me some captions.  Even from Drew...

Seems that Benjamin had 'The Talk' during a break-out session at school.

He was not impressed.

Just last week, he told me that he had no use for... well, boobs.  He'd rather have his video games.

From Arlington National Cemetery:

From the World War II Memorial:

And from the Korean War Memorial:

And from the Vietnam Memorial:

And a link to some powerful photographs.

I was fortunate to meet two Korean War Veterans yesterday, when I transported them in my ambulance.  One was an ambulance driver and the other an infantryman.  He had been severely injured and was the recipient of two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.  The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States, by distinguishing oneself by extraordinary heroism.

Fortunately, he is still around to talk about his experiences.  There are far too many others with stilled voices.  They are who we honor every year on Memorial Day.

I have two links.

The first is to an essay.  Read it.  Read it to your children.  Make sure they understand that their freedom is because of those who gave their lives.

The second is to a music video.  'Arlington' is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard.  It also speaks volumes about the cost paid, usually by our young Americans.

"It's for my leg" was his response.

Personally, I'd have gone for the punch line...

Some of my co-workers are just too sick apparently a little demented.

And no, it's not real...

One of the new standards specifically deals with the ubiquitous 'Crash Cart', those fancy tool chests, usually painted white, with red drawers.  They're stuffed full of medications, airway supplies, and other sundry supplies needed in an emergency situation.

Up until now, they have been secured with small plastic twist-off seals on the outside, and in easy-to-tear open see-through inner packaging.

Now, JCAHO has decreed that all crash carts will need to be sealed as a unit.  Standard TX.3.5.5 requires that emergency medicines need to be 'secured', and that the simple seals used up until now are no longer adequate.

The new standard stipulates that all crash carts will be covered in a one-piece, 10 mil thick plastic 'envelope', which covers the entire cart.  It is dropped over the cart from the top, secured to the bottom of the cart by pull-off tab exposed adhesive tape, then 'shrunk wrapped' using hair dryers or similar devices.

You can see that the entire cart is covered and safe from the elements, prying hands, and any other hazards.

Here's an example provided by JCAHO:

Unfortunately, it is not easy to access the contents.  You'll need a set of trauma shears, which except for the 'Batman' belts of newbie Nurses and Paramedics, are generally found... inside the crash carts.

The plastic used is also combustible, which violates yet another JCAHO standard.

But, when the fire sprinklers discharge, the cart and contents will remain dry.

Here's #21:

Go ahead.  I know you want to.  You know you want to.  Give yourself to the Dark Side.

h/t to Jake.

And to really screw up the Karma Bank balance... a reprise of Terri Schiavo's Blog

Who woulda thought?

So - for the winner of #19.  Amazingly enough, I gotta give it to Drew!  Back-to-back wins!  But the repeat caption "Shhhhhh I'm trying to hear the ocean in this thing." is just too funny not to give it to him.  Congrats Drew, now lets try for some originality...

Go For It: