I knew I was dating myself when I mentioned VCR. The video game connection did cross my mind, as did the “tool in the toolbox” concept. I started fire service at 15, everything was new skills. At the time there were zero automatic transmissions in the department. I learned to drive, to drive a stick, and back using only mirrors. The attempts to learn to back a trailer flopped. Still haven’t mastered that skill, though I haven’t tried in a couple decades. I suppose, the new technology just isn’t as unique as I perceived it. I once reached out to the officer who taught me to throw a ladder and safely work off it, just to thank him for that skill. He didn’t remember me, too many years and too many fires, he said.
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@Clayton everything in life we master through repetition - you started this skill when you were an infant.
@Ehoss84 - true - I owe my career for having great mentors at such a young age in my life and not being afraid to try different things. Ed McOrmond and Bill Smith set me up for success. On my hotshot side Monteil Tremaine RIP, @Old_DRHS man these guys gave me so much.
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AJ
The Leadership of Bat 15 at the FC level coupled with the patience to put up with me is something I’ll never forget and strive to pay forward the rest of my career.
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Forgot to add I would not know a damn thing about radios had it not been for Rick Roach when I was on El Cariso. Former army communicator on a slow shift sat under a tree with me and explained it all, simplex, duplex, repeaters, tones. That is how I became a radio nerd which then became geospatial nerd and eventually a TAK nerd and drone nerd.
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