And speaking of pulling over and letting the emergency vehicle pass…the next time one of you yahoos gets behind me and blasts the siren and scares the shit out of me and nearly gives me a heart attack I'm going to pull over, then follow you to whatever "emergency" you saw fit to endanger the […]

A chain-link fence separates my doctor's office parking lot from the Rhode Island Hospital ER loading dock. I park my car, hobble out, get a glimpse of my old life as a Providence Rescue 5 rolls past. I don't recognize the driver, and hold my wave at half staff, the realization that I'm old news […]

August 28, 1963. I was a little over a year old. A man made a speech, and they talk about it still. I need to reflect now and then, and keep in mind how things were then. My parents were alive and thriving when black people, or "coloreds" had their own bathrooms, sometimes a plank […]

I stuck the needle into his hand, immediately realized that my first choice was lousy and he was running out of time, pulled the needle out of him and stuck it into me. And I didn't care. It barely drew blood. I wiped the fleshy part of my left hand, just below the thumb with […]

If I can do it, so can you. You can figure out what you're doing, and show up with a store of knowledge that can actually help somebody in a crisis. Basic stuff. Give them some oxygen. Recognize CHF from an asthma attack. Stop the bleeding. Don't give D-50 to pregnant people. Carry diaphoretic people […]

I don't know about everybody else, but I've been "extra vigilant" this week, my speed dial is set to the State Police number they provided and I'm keeping my eye out for potential terrorist activity. Can't wait for the mystery "High Alert" to be over, and our embassies to re-open so I can get back […]