#emtstories

Memoir musings around the fire, Part 2

Hearing Death’s knock

It was a typical paramedic drive day, if that’s possible, on the streets of Birmingham. A call came to us from our station telling us we needed to roll to the scene of a cardiac arrest in an apartment complex; the fire department had just arrived. When we got there, I quickly saw that the apartment was on the second floor—and the surrounding scene was chaotic: firefighters…

Memoir musings around the fire, Part 1

I’m reminded that travel contains, between the lines of now and then, compressed memories and highlights that remained pinned like banners across life’s parade route.

While trading stories around our campfire with newfound nomadic friends, I recalled a hot summer 1972 day in Birmingham, Alabama, walking the streets, job hunting. How I got there is, well, another story. I found myself in a…