WHEELING~~ This was our very first visit to West Virginia. In fact, the first time either of us had been there. It is a beautiful part of the country with lush greenery, and really good people.
Wheeling is a picturesque town with old buildings, a really beautiful bridge and downtown, and an ornery sense of humor ... at least at the fire department. We got to be part of the tradition of soaking the rookies, which is great fun! Turns out the locals are very aware of the tradition, and they are all ready for it as the new guys stand proudly for photos in front of the firehouse while the old hands stand overhead with buckets of cold water.
And so it was that we got them to pose for us and got the action shots of the dousing as the business people across the street laughed and clapped. It was a blast ... of course we can say that, as we were nice and dry! Sorry guys, but thanks for being such great sports.
We stayed local to the station for the shots in Wheeling, but that was perfect as right across from them is a beautiful church with a high steeple from which they rescued ... and dropped & caught! ... Stunt Bear. And of course they set each other up, as one guy got blasted with the smoke and returned the favor by keeping that guy in the basket up in the air for a few extra seconds.
But I think the most favorite moment was when the Chief asked if we would take a special photo. He had the picture of his father and his son ... both in military uniform ... set up on the rear of the rig. He told us the history behind the pictures and we watched the pride in his face speaking of his father serving under General MacArthur. He explained that the uniform tie was not put on to look spiffy in the photo, but that the General expected his men to wear ties and look sharp at all times. Looks like he knew what he was talking about, the man looked great! And the Chief's son looked dashing in his Academy uniform. There is a history of service in this family, and indeed in this part of the country. The respect is apparent.
We thankand salute Wheeling. It was an honor spending this short time with you, and we would absolutely love to return and stay a lil longer as you requested!
**And remember, Chief, if your son deploys we want to adopt his unit and send shirts out to him and his fellow Troops!
And so we said so long and headed west to Columbus, Ohio. I had met firefighter Clem Thurm at the IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial in September '05, and he asked right then if we would come visit them. Hey, how can you say no to the "Cleminator"?!? ( ;
As if this one contact wasn't enough, turned out that we had another connection to Columbus from a local source. One of the other efforts I do for the Troops is called Operation HeartStone ... www.PatrioticPastime.com Wherein I have made and given away about 60,000 small clay hearts to the Troops. (This has helped fund H2H) Well, it turns out that one of the women who have supported this part of the effort is Lynda Drygas, sister of Columbus City Council President Matt Habash ... A reallllllllly great guy!
So when we pulled in to Columbus, a little late after the water fun in Wheeling ... there was a wonderful representation from the Fire Department, City Council, and the local media! There are just some wonderful people out there! We were welcomed with a great meal, big smiles and lots of laughs.
We even got to meet "Captain Bill", he is a gentleman who comes in and spends time with the firefighters at the station, and they make part of their family. It is obvious he admires them all, and they make him feel very special while he is there with them.
There was a warm feel to this visit, and we were able to feel the pride in the city as it is growing. Matt was warm and welcoming and gracious and invited us to return to do it up right ... and we are more than interested! And we are pretty excited about the whole helicopter idea, buddy! ( ;
We do have one question that we can't answer, and are asked often, as y'all are in the photo album that we share everywhere ... "What's the deal with Top Gun?" No, we really want to know!
Clem, you were right. There are some pretty great people in Columbus! Thank you so much for inviting us (and I missed you in Colorado Springs this year).
Lynda & Matt, you rock! Thank you for supporting us, and being the people you are.
Hey Lynda, coffee? Starbucks ... on me! You have the number. ( ;
But the tour continued, and this was a three-stop day. So as the rain poured around us, we headed on to Cincinnati.
We pulled in to a smaller station just off the freeway and found one guy in house while the others were on a run. It was pretty quiet, and we aren't certain that this poor guy had any idea who we were or what we were doing, or for that matter, why were we there?! So we spread the banner out on the table, after we moved the Sudoku puzzles out of the way ... Oh and btw, thanks, I am now addicted to those danged things! lol
We weren't sure the rest of the guys would make it back before we had to hit the road once more ... but they did! So we got the banner signed, shared the photo album and learned 'em a thing or two about H2H. They were great sports and we got them outside for a couple quick shots before the sky unzipped once more!
Of course we did get "chastised" lightly for having never visited before, as Cincinnati Fire Department has the history of being The Nation's First Career Firefighters. Honestly guys, had we known ...
A question though, I wanted to learn a little more about y'all so I went to your site at http://www.cfdhistory.com/ and was looking at some of the photos and more. My question is, which house were we at? Is it in one of the photos? It didn't seem to be a new house, and seemed like there might be some history there. Would love to know.
No matter the answer, you guys were great, and we appreciate your hospitality. Ohio is pretty high on our list of favorite states, and some of the reasons are ... Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus & Cincinnati! You have represented very well that you support our Troops ... Now, let's see what you can do in the shirt department. We need your shirts by Valentine's Day, and we have proof that you are officially in the shirt drive! lol
We will hit the road again in May, hope to see some familiar faces out there next time around! The next tour is called the "Passport Tour", and the official stops will have foreign names, like Paris, Texas. So where are YOUR foreign cities in Ohio? We can still come see old friends, they will be our "heart stops".
We salute West Virginia, and Ohio ... YOU ARE WONDERFUL!
lj
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