First Person: Work Shenanigans
Sometimes it's okay to let your guard down and have a little fun
John started to laugh with us.
"You're all a bunch of bastards for this. But it was a good one," Richard said, smiling.
As I was leaving that evening thinking about the nine-day cruise my wife and I were going on, I passed the EMS room. Richard, with an evil look in his eye and his mustache twitching, was talking to Kevin who had been off for three days and knew nothing of what had happened over the last 24 hours.
"Hey Kevin," said Richard. "Have you heard about the new 24-hour shifts some of the guys are trialing?"
"Really?" Kevin answered in a surprised voice. "I don't know about being able to do that, although it has possibilities."
Smiling on my walk to the car, I thought some days I really like my job.
Mike Kennard has been in EMS for 33 years. He currently works as a paramedic at Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NH, and is a program coordinator for the State of NH Bureau of EMS. Married with two daughters and five grandchildren, Mike is a retired assistant chief from the Nottingham (NH) Fire and Rescue Department. Contact Mike at grumpy1medic@gmail.com.
