New Haven & Providence

New Haven brought us back to see Sgt Marty and some old friends in CT.  And that was a good thing.

The day we arrived they were pretty involved and things had been tense for them.  It was good to offer them a respite, and a chance to play a little bit before they got back to it.  They are always consummate professionals, but also know how to do the personality side of the job.  It's the old work hard, play hard theory.

Last time we visited it wa a no-notice stop in NHPD, but this time they brought us in, rolled out the banner and got it signed up as we did photos during roll call.  It was fun to ticket the cops here.  some of them were caught off guard, but all of them warmed right up and showed us the hospitality we expected from this great crew.

It's always fun to get to see the cops in a different light than is normally seen.  We have the honor of being taken inside and seeing them while they are still laughing and enjoying the comraderie of the profession.

We watch them pick on each other, and support each other.  Down here, the only tickets are the ones we pop on them, and these tickets make them laugh, so it's good all around.

And Sharen always brings smiles out of the toughest hombres out there!  Don't know what it is about that lil bear, but when she comes out, everyone wants to pay their respects.

This is one of those stops that has asked for , deserves, and will get more time for the visit next time around.

New Haven is a great place and we really would love to see more of it!  Thank you all.

Next up was another of our favorite repeat stops, Providence FD.  Danny Rinaldi has taken care of us for 2 years now, making sure we have a safe place to stay ... right there in the firehouse.  Danny has been a part of the calendar effort benefiting burn victims, He is a great chef and could make a living doing that as well.  so we are always honored when he comes out for us.  You can catch Danny on some of the cooking competitions on the food channel.

They always feed us great chow and let us ride along and it is always a time of laughter and fun in Providence.

Seeing Chris Brown (TheBravest.com) again was a bonus.  He is a crack-up and all around good guy.

This time they asked if I had ever seen Providence in the past visits, but the reality is that on these stops you rarely get to see a lot of the local sites due to the short time we are local and the fact that these first responders are on duty.  We spend as much time as possible with them, and get all the photo ops we can.

But when the offer was made to get out and see the city, we jumped at it.  Especially when we found out we would be seeing it from the PFD HazMat rig! 

One of our favorite memories will always be cruising through the college area as the sounds of Santana's "Oy Como Va" coursed through the speakers.  It had a surreal quality.  These guys have a solid, easy-going relationship with the community here, you can feel it.  So many smiles and waves.  And of course the ladies love the firefighters!

We left from the college area and headed on down to the Russian Submarine ... who knew?!  It was pitch black out, and pouring rain, but the crew did all they could for our photo ops, shining the lights on it ... Until ... a new call and we were off.  A roll over on the freeway.

We watched them up close and personal as they took control of the situation, treating and calming the teens in the car that had seen better days.  There is a personal touch that shines in a true professional.  We had seen a great example of it in Fairfax, VA., and again here in Providence.  These kids were obviously shaken, but this crew was able to take control and relax all involved.

The night was just starting for these guys, there is not much down time around here from what we have seen.  But, it was great getting to experience the small part we did.  We got some great pix, and 2 big boxes of shirts that Danny had arranged for us.

The next morning, after a nice breakfast it was time for the media.  This was one of the best stories done for H2H, and we credit the department for their support in making this happen.  They made it possible for the news crew to really get <SPAN class=spell id=sp-33 title="Click here to replace with: tithe, teethe" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px; BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; PADDING-LEFT: 2px; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://sdk.webmail.aol.com/sdk/20050527/images/bg_spellingErr.gif); PADDING-BOTTOM: 2px; CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 2px; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" _backupTitle="null"> feeling of the effort.  And the reporter was very good about attention to detail.  We truly appreciate that!

This firehouse is actually a dual facility, and the police are on the other side.  The motorcycle (and stable) cops came over to play a bit, and took some great pix with us.

They informed us that we were going to get an escort out of Providence to send us on our way north.  We weren't sure they would still do it when started raining before we it the road.

But the four of them donned bright yellow rain slickers, and led us out.  we passed the city limit sign and expected to be waved off, but no.  Then the state border approached and passed, and still they were with us.  Six miles into Massachusetts they signaled us that we were going to fly solo once more, but we felt so buoyed by there support that we were ready for the next stops.

Providence, you shine!  We are honored to visit, and we love learning more about your fair city with each return.  Be safe, and please accept our condolences for the loss of Deputy Assistant Chief Michael J. Day.

We will see you again!

lj

For the record, yes, we saw Big Blue and snapped a quick picture from the freeway as we arrived in the city limits.