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COOL PIXS
MORE COOL PIXS
  ~Colleen MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 2, 2006) -- Karla Comfort received a lot
of looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted,
custom Hummer H3 March 2. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and
nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who where all killed by the same
improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December. For Comfort, having the vehicle air brushed with the image
of the 10 Marines was a way to pay homage to her hero and his fellow comrades who fell on Iraq's urban battlefield. "I wanted
to let people know (Marines) are doing their jobs honorably, and some of them die," said the 39-year-old from Portland, Ore.
"I don't want people to forget the sacrifices that my son and the other Marines made." Leading up to her son's death, Comfort
had received several letters from him prior to his return. He had been deployed for five months, and Comfort "worried everyday
he was gone until she got the letters and found out the date he was coming home," she said. Marines knocked on the front door
of her home in Farmington, Mich., at 3 a.m. with the dreadful news. "I let my guard down when I found out he was coming home,"
she said. "There are times that I still cannot believe it happened. It's very hard to deal with." Comfort came up with the
idea for the rolling memorial when she and her two other sons attended John's funeral in Portland, Ore. "I saw a Vietnam (War)
memorial on a car, and I said to my son Josh, 'we should do something like that for John,' she recalled. "He loved Hummers."
She purchased the vehicle in January and immediately took it to AirbrushGuy & Co. in Benton, Ark., where artist Robert
Powell went to work on changing the plain, black vehicle into a decorative, mobile, art piece. "I only had the vehicle for
two days before we took it in," she joked. Two hundred and fifty man-hours later, Powell had completed the vehicle. The custom
job would have cost $25,000. Out of respect for Comfort's loss and the sacrifices the Marines made, AirbrushGuy & Co.
did it for free. Comfort only had to purchase the paint, which cost $3,000. "I love it," she said. "I'm really impressed with
it, and I think John would be happy with the vehicle. He would have a big smile on his face because he loved Hummers." Comfort
gave Powell basic instructions on what to include in the paint job. But in addition to the image of her son in Dress Blues
and the faces of the nine other Marines, there were several surprises. "He put a lot more on than I expected," she said. "I
think my favorite part is the heaven scene." On the left side of the vehicle, a detail of Marines are depicted carrying their
fallen comrades through the clouds to their final resting place. The American flag drapes across the hood, the words, "Semper
Fi" crown the front windshield and the spare tire cover carries the same Eagle Globe and Anchor design that her son had tattooed
on his back. "All the support I have been getting is wonderful," she said. Comfort decided to move back to her hometown of
Portland, and making the cross-country trip from Arkansas was a way for her to share her son's story. It's also her way of
coping with the loss. "Along the way I got nothing but positive feedback from people," she said. "What got to me was when
people would salute the guys (Marines). It's hard to look at his picture. I still cry and try to get used to the idea, but
it's hard to grasp the idea that he's really gone."
“To the brave”
This is for all the brothers we lost in 2001 and now in 2002 in the line of life’s duties. I as a firefighter for
26 years have seen a lot of firefighters come and go. The best have staid to do the job. This is true of both paid and volunteer
firefighters. So let me tell you my story.
We loose our brothers to a wild creature we call fire, we loose our brothers
to wild gunfire. We loose our brothers to car wrecks. We loose our brothers to terrorism. We loose every day, but we have
never truly lost. You see firefighters never die; we just climb a higher ladder. We never make the last call, we never hear
the last bell toll, we are not here but we are here. You see us but do not see us. You see the firefighters guardian angels,
who is that? It is us. We are still fighting fires. We fight the dragon right there with you. We fight the dragons in your
souls. We fight the master of fire and all those dragons and demons. We are the few, the proud, the chosen ones who have reached
the pentacle of our training and have been taken into the biggest fire department in all the lands. We are there and here
at all times when our brothers are in the way of the fiery dragon. We are the guardian angels. Do not cry for me for I am
not gone. I am here. I am in your heart. If you look hard when you see a firefighter you will see us, all of us. The last
bell will never toll on our brothers or us, as long as we all remember and are in need of a firefighter.
May GOD bless
you and keep you.
Amen
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Hello,
My name is Andy and I live in Maine.
I have lived in Maine all my life born and raised in the Southern part of the state in a small town called Lebanon.
You know you’re a Volunteer Firefighter When:
1. ... You refer to a car fire as a “car-beque.”
2. ... You think Backdraft is a comedy and wish every
fire you are in had no smoke!!
3. ... Every vehicle in your family’s fleet have the little fire helmet sticker on
them
4. ... When you get pissed watching other cars ignore an apparatus going code 3..
5. ... When your 4 or 6-days
are always spent at the river
6. ...If you’ve ever made a campfire and told everyone, “Trust me, I work with
fire everyday; I’ll get it to light”
7. ...You refer to "stupid people"... (Aka...possible unfortunate victims)
as "Job Security"!
8. ...You hear about a fire on the news and no matter how far away it is you hope that the department
working the fire calls your department to come and help out.
9. ...When you drive down a major highway and you can recite
what type (make and model) of car hit what tree.
10. ...If you leave your house to drive 30 minutes to another town just
because they have a working fire just so you can say, "Yeah, I was there."
11. ...You get upset when your pager doesn't
go off when your spouse is making you do something you don't want to do.
12. ...When your in-laws are over and you fake
a call to get out of the house.
13. ...You know you're a female VFF when you don't worry about your butt looking too big
in your bunker pants!
14. ...Dinner is over at home and you break out the playing cards for dishes.
15. ...Your girlfriend/wife
plays the TONES just to get your attention!!
16. ...You are constantly looking for a switch to speed up your dash light
on your P.O.V. when it never really slowed down.
17. ...You're so into work that shift, that when it's time to go home,
you forgot to take off your radio, and get in trouble the next day.
18. ...You leave your spouse with a full cart of groceries,
in the checkout line of the grocery store to go to a structure fire. (Oops!)
19. ...Your kids are afraid to get in a water
gun fight with you!
20. ...You have ever run out of the diner across from the station when the tones go off without paying....
Yelling back to them, "Ill be right back!!"
21. ...You complain about all the calls you are getting but secretly wish
there were more!
22. ...You would rather be packing up then driving, till you get to the scene and notice the fire could
be put out by your 4 year old.
23. ...When you use... "Honey I'm on call," instead of "Not tonight, I have a headache."
24. ...You know you’re a female VFF when you wear sports bras ALL THE TIME.
25. ... If you have ever not been
able to sleep because you have a feeling that "big one" will occur tonight!
26. ...You buy the station wagon/minivan/SUV
just so that you have enough room in your car for all your gear.
27. ...You're children own their own "real" bunker gear
and think it is their right to go with you to a call (our son actually gets mad if one of us leaves and doesn't give him enough
time to gear up and go along!)!
28. ...You spend a great deal of time explaining to your friends what it means to be a
volunteer- "Yes, I'm ALWAYS on duty. No, I'm not kidding!"
29. ... You've ever purchased a full set of mirrors for your
red light so that it MIGHT trip the opticom!
30. ... You can hear that the siren will go off even before your dog does.
31. ...The microwave goes off and you're already out of the house thinking it was your pager... when you realize the popcorn
is done.
32. ...You have ever stomped out a fire with your boots because you couldn't wait for water.
33. ...Your
wife/girlfriend or husband/boyfriend has learned to duck and take cover when they hear the pager go off for fear of being
run down.
34. ...You have ever gotten jammed in the doorway with your spouse as you both respond to the pager call.
35.
...You had to extricate someone by cutting the car doors off on one side and realized there was nothing wrong with the doors
on the other side.
36. ...You have more toy fire trucks than your kids do.
37. ...You take great joy in smashing the
windows of a car parked in a fire zone or in front of a hydrant.
38. ...You can tell what type of fire it is by the smell
of smoke 10 miles away.
39. ... You have ever had a heated debate over the color of fire trucks.
40. ...You lay out
your clothes from that day so if there is a call at night you can find them quickly.
41. ...You carry enough in your car
to extinguish a minor blaze.
42. ...You take pride in the fact that you haven't washed your gear in years.
43. ...All
the shirts you own say you are a firefighter.
44. ...The smell of a fire excites you more than sex does.
45. ...You
have ever been airborne without an aircraft and water was your thrust.
46. ...A great stop has nothing to do with a moving
vehicle.
47. ...Your wife or husband voluntarily chooses the lumpy side of the bed to avoid being trampled en-route to
a call!
48. ...You always wear red suspenders.
49. ...All your friends give you t-shirts from their departments for
your birthday, Christmas, anniversary, etc.
50. ...You have ever called a person found after a fire a "crispy critter".
51. ...You are in the 'middle of something' with your wife/girlfriend or husband/boyfriend and the pager goes off for
a call. (Whew!)
52. ...You carry a ton of specially modified tools in your pocket (including D sized batteries).
53.
...You ever cursed out someone for Armor-Alling the seats to make them look nice.
54. ...You have ever played jingle bells
at Xmas time on the air horns to clear traffic.
55. ...You have ever said, "She’s hot tonight" and NOT been talking
about a girl.
56. ...You have ever smoked and there wasn't a cigarette in sight.
57. ...You have ever walked 3 miles
into the woods in 100 degree heat in full turnout gear and a 5 gallon or more water can strapped on your back just to put
out a fire.
58. ...Your kids are afraid to get into water fights with you.
59. ...Your own vehicle has more lights
than a Christmas tree.
60. ... "Climbing the corporate ladder" has nothing to do with career advancement.
61. ...You
have ever spent 10 minutes trying to force open a door only to have someone come along and open it by turning the handle.
62. ...Your work gear makes you sound like Darth Vader. (Luke, I am your father....)
63. ...You roll around in anything
that just burned to make your new gear look old.
64. ...You have ever juggled hot coals with your gloves.
65. ...You've
ever clung to the air horn chord for dear life because the driver is insane.
66. ...You have more pagers than money in
your wallet.
67. ...You've woken up thinking your pager went off and as you look at it..., it does.
68. ...You carry
enough in your pockets to give the Swiss army knives competition.
69. ...You think that rusty old hydrant would look like
a good addition in the garden, right next to the petunias.
70. ...You have taken more than 10 showers in a day.
71.
...You have ever slept in the hose bed.
72. ...You find yourself living at the firehouse 365 days a year!
73. ...You
had ever tried to patent a 911 blocker with the phone company. (haha)
74. ...You had ever woken up next to a CO2 extinguisher.
(haha)
75. ...You had ever dried your gloves with diesel exhaust from the fire trucks! (hey, it's worth a shot)
76.
...You think that the old rusty hydrant down the street would look good in your garden!
77. ...When you have ever made
a Jacuzzi out of a 2100 gallon dump tank and a rescue boat motor (15 horse Merc). ..It was hot!.............Watch yer toes!
78. ...You take all of your important stuff (wallets/pagers) out of your pockets before going into a portable tank.
79.
...You have ever tripped over one of the kids' toys at 3 AM running out of the house, done summersaults, landed on your feet
and then got into your car to respond as if nothing ever happened! (hehe)
80. ...You could punch holes into ceilings and
walls because you could (FUN)
81. ...You don't understand why it is necessary for a cop to park his car in front of a
fire building and run in and out again when he sees smoke!
82. ...You have ever rubbed soot on your face to make it look
like you were really working! (ooo, fun times)
83. ...You seen a sticker and thought about how cool it would look on your
car or the back of your helmet!
84. ...You've refused to go home no matter what time it is, how long you've been at work,
how wet or cold you are because the job wasn't done.
85. ...You have ever been so drunk on New Year's Day that you couldn't
remember which engine you came on.
86. .... Been so drunk at a firefighter's convention that you've done a strip tease
in front of people you've never met before.
87. ...You cry every time you hear 'Amazing Grace' on the bagpipes.
88.
...You've ever cursed out a security guard for not knowing exactly what smoke head was activated at 1am.
89. ...You have
ever looked around for the guy/girl with less time on the job than you when it comes time for packing hose.
90. ... You
have more than 10,000,000 brothers and sisters and don’t know them!
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| Rolling Out |
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| Engine 2 heading to the big one! |
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