Out and About Town Today
Some guy named Jim turned 50 today. In his front yard and the two neighboring yards were 25 white signs with big bold red letters “Ain’t it Nifty that Jim is 50!” It did make me laugh, but, damn, that’s a lot of money on signs, isn’t it? They weren’t hand printed, but custom made. If my husband did something like that ‘for’ me, I would be tempted to say, “Wow. Thanks for the thought. However, there is this really cute mini-kilt I found on-line that the cash could have been used for…” Some women just aren’t appreciative, huh? (Which is why I always tell him in advance what I want to for my birthday and Christmas. Alleviates ALL stress on his part. OH and I'm not asking for the mini-kilt. It's way beyond the set limit I've put for Birthdays and Christmas.)
Also, as I was driving home from a budget meeting (damn Treasurer label is already starting to stick) I saw a Palm Beach County Bomb Squad truck. Hmm. Didn’t know they had those. Hooked up to it was this trailer with a big metal (steel?) sphere, with an opening on the top. I guess this is for exploding bombs that cannot be defused.
So I was thinking as I passed all this… what type of person signs up to be on a bomb squad? This isn’t meant as a slam. I just know that person is not me. I picture someone who is smart as hell about mechanics and electronics, nerves of steel, and lives way way on the edge! Way on the edge. Yeah, not me. I can get smart enough about mechanics and electronics, but I’d be vomiting, shaking and hyperventilating. Praying, too. Not the chick you want on the bomb squad.
When I saw that big green (color of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office) sphere, I figured you throw that bad boy bomb in there (well maybe not throw), seal it up, yell “Fire in the hole” then run for cover. I could be the person who yells “Fire in the Hole!”...from my Megaphone Sound system… located 2 miles away… while sitting in my bomb proof casing.
posted by Bou | 7:22 PM
5 Comments:
I knew people in the Navy that did this sort of thing. In my experience, two types of people do this job. On one hand you have the guy who just can't get enough of a challenge from "ordinary things". On the other you have the guy who has the skills and nerve neccesary for the job, and the desire for extra pay.
I could have been one of the first type in the Navy, I actually qualified for, and started BUDS training, until that nagging claustrophobia got in the way.
I believe that sphere is only for transporting bombs to a safe location to detonate them. It's been a while since I talked with any bomb squad guys, but I remember they had a similar trailer and I made that verbal assumption and they laughed at me explaining how yes it could handle the blast on many explosives through the venting system and it would contain the shrapnel and debris, however it would pretty much screw up the trailer.
As for the guys that want to do that, they seem to be adrenaline junkies, guys that want a challange or ones that where trained to do that in the military and thats what they know best.
Bou, you do know a bomb guy. Remember my old roommate, Maria. Her husband worked with me at the SO. He was on the SWAT team and bomb squad. Great guy, smart, extremely easy going and loved being slightly on the edge.
Morrigan
Adrenaline junkies. Yeah, that about sums it up. I'm not one of those. Endorphine junky maybe, adrenaline, I'll pass, thank you very much. I hate that shaking feeling I get when I come down off an adrenaline rush.
I didn't know Maria's hubby worked with that. See, now I wouldn't marry one either. Not that I had any bomb squad men knocking on my door when I was looking for a mate, but I just have no desire to be a widow and for that job, it just rings out as seriously seriously high risk to not be long in this world.
May God Bless all those who sign up for it, because God only knows we need those folks around, especially nowadays. I'll bake 'em all cookies to show them my appreciation after they're finished. I can do that.
My sister is a fire fighter, paramedic and certified in just about anything you can be certified in that line of work. One day, Mom sends me a package at work. Included is the local paper. Front page picture? My baby sister, dressed in the hazmat stuff, carrying a bomb out of a movie theater! Yeah - and Mom adds a note saying - "I told you to stop picking on her when you girls were growing up. Thanks to you, she thinks she can do anything!"
My sister - runs into burning buildings and carrys bombs around. I don't get it. But she loves it.
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