Alas, my friends, my well of creativity has encountered a slight dry spell. When I started this blog in December of 2020, it was all I could do to not publish a new post two or three times a day! However, I find that in recent months I have slowed down. I told myself early on that if (and when) this should happen I would devote some time to publishing stories that my father wrote. Maybe then you will see that I am just a chip off the old block.

My father was a member of what we then called the “Rescue Squad” from 1960 to 2008, and in his later years he set about writing down all the stories that he could remember, printing laboriously with his right hand. Side note: he was born left-handed but was forced to learn to write with the right. Historical/linguistic note: the Latin word for “left” is “sinister,” and when he was growing up people took that seriously.

Anyhoo, after he died in 2018, I set about typing up and collecting his stories into a booklet which I had the local business store print and bind for me. I gave them as gifts to the family.

Today I will share the introduction that he wrote to his collection:

In the thirty-odd years in the rescue squad, I have answered hundreds of calls. The nature of which includes the ridiculous, the amusing, the boring, the mysterious, the heartwarming, the heartbreaking, and the gruesome. In the few episodes that have been picked at random, I shall attempt to provide some insight as to the scope of the squad activity.

To survive and be effective in this effort, one must keep one’s sense of humor. Refuse steadfastly to become emotionally involved while being quietly sympathetic to people’s woe. Further, as you apply your skills, forever bear in mind that however awful the destruction wrought by accident or illness in the patient before you, your mission is to play a tiny role in the process of building back. In those cases where the patient is obviously beyond earthly aid, do what you can to comfort the dying and the bereaved. This may best be accomplished by exhibiting quiet and diplomatic concern.

No one can enjoy all the situations one encounters in the rescue squad, but one may take satisfaction in easing the suffering of a fellow creature.

Names and places have been altered or omitted to protect privacy, but all episodes herein set forth actually occurred.

                                                                                          William Palmer Jervey, Jr.

Food for thought: Sinister Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster