The new Ekom Fire Station is taking shape, from the ground up:

Something for y’all to think about:

Recently I heard a discussion on the radio about how we define success in various endeavors. That got me thinking (dangerous, I know, but sometimes I’m quite the risk-taker) about how one might define success as a caregiver. If you’re caring for or supporting a friend or loved one, how do you define “success”? How can you know if you’re doing a good job? Particularly if you’re caring for someone who may be near the end of their days, when the end comes, does it even make sense to wonder if you “succeeded”?

Another program I heard on NPR talked about when we tip, and when we don’t. A criteria suggested is that we should tip when the customer is the best one to evaluate if the job was done satisfactorily. For example, while a restaurant manager might have some idea if food is being delivered to tables in a timely manner and the money is being collected, only the customer can say if they received the right degree of attention. Some diners might just want their food and to be left alone, maybe to ponder weighty matters (like how to define success…) or discuss Important Things with a companion. To the boss, it might seem that that customer is being neglected, but in reality, the server is doing a Good Job. So the customer leaves a tip to indicate their degree of satisfaction.

While it’d be ludicrous to expect tips from those we’re caring for, perhaps that’s the perspective to take. If the cared-for is happy, maybe that’s all that matters. “The customer is always right”.

Whatchy’all think?

Almost a year ago I noted the destruction of the Ekom Fire Station on Neely Ferry Rd. I’m happy to report that construction of the new station has begun:

Hopefully our first responders will have a new home Soon.

Please check this out:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20131223/OPINION03/312230012/Letter-Some-advice-make-New-Year-better-all

On May 21, 2013, my Dad, Vince Adametz, spoke to a group of students at the Ford Elementary School in Laurens, SC, about his experiences in World War II. I finally found the right incantations to get it all posted to YouTube Here.

Last week my employer sent me out to the far coast to assist on a project, so I haven’t had a chance to do much photography, or anything else, lately. There is, however, one thing I’d like to share.

I’ve mentioned a couple of recent encounters I’ve had with people who have inspired me by their persistence through what can easily be called tragedy. My Sister caring for her terminally-ill husband, and the cyclists who rode the 62-mile Flight of the Dove pedaling with their hands and arms and who finished before I did. These sorts of stories seem to be all around us.

I had the opportunity to meet a co-worker in person who I had heard was having vision issues. I didn’t realize the extent of the issues: this person now uses a cane and is on track to get a guide dog. And yet, they are still a very capable and valued member of our team. That someone can encounter this kind of life-changing event, and continue to work and, at least in our encounters, seem to not be slowed down by it, is inspiring to me. I’m sure they’re dealing with many resulting issues, but what I see is, again, a perseverance and fortitude that I’m not sure I could ever match. I am encouraged when I see these people successfully dealing problems like this.

Oh, here’s one picture I did get on the trip:

I’m not much of a runner (ever watch a Blue Jay on the ground?), but I had a blast running in the Take Flight 5K at the Greenville Downtown Airport last Saturday. As mentioned in an earlier post, this was held to raise money for the community park being built at the airport, and the run was on the actual airport itself. It was a whole different perspective going down the runway on foot rather than on landing gear and wings.

As I was getting ready to exit runway 1, I noticed a lot of the runners were cutting off the corner rather than following the lead-off line. I told a course worker “I’m a pilot, I have to follow the line”.

This was billed as the flattest 5k in Greenville, and that took about 3 minutes off my typical 5k time.

I found this picture on Facebook. No, I’m not any of the good-looking ones :P.

Links to results and more here.

Yesterday I wrote about Honor Flight and why they do what they do. If you haven’t read that post, please do so now. I’ll wait … … …

Ok, glad you’re back. Now that you know about Honor Flight, I’ll write more specifically about Tuesday’s trip.

My Veteran and I arrived at the Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport just before 07:00 in the morning. We were told to not arrive before 7, but coming from a good distance away, I wanted to have some slack in case one of the roads along the way got balled up or something, but we made good time. I dropped my Dad off at the the arrival point, where he was warmly greeted while I parked the car.

The guardians are responsible for looking after the Veterans. We’re assigned Veterans to take care of, but it’s also a team effort. After I collected our credentials and materials, I helped my Dad get ready and fetched coffee (there was plenty of coffee and donuts) for him and another Veteran and awaited the call to board our chartered US Airways 737.

Of course, we’re flying on a big jet into our nation’s capital, so the TSA was there, but they had everyone’s names in advance and cut us a lot of slack.

Snack bags were already on board when we got on. Rather healthy fare, I thought: yogurt, fruit, and muffin. Water was also available in copious quantities throughout the day. I tend to drink a good bit of water, and I never lacked.

We were using the north cargo ramp due to some construction in the main terminal, so after the water canon salute from the GSP fire department, we had a long ride to get to runway 4, but we made good time from there, and arrived at Washington National after a little over an hour in the air. Another water canon salute and off the airplane, where the Veterans were greeted by cheering crowds and the Washington Honor Flight volunteers.

I know the picture above looks like we had a splendid day for this, but Washington was all clouds and rain. Fortunately we came prepared for rain and there were boxes of ponchos for those who needed them.

This organization knows what’s required to get these Veterans around. There were always at least two guardians on hand whenever one was getting on or off the buses, and wheelchairs were available for every Veteran, whether they needed them or not. By the end of the day, with all the walking around, most of them did.

A police escort got us to the first stop. We had a police escort all day, and clearly they know how to move a motorcade through that city.

Like I said, the day was all on-and-off rain. The first stop, the one everyone wanted to be at, was the WWII Memorial.

I held my breath for just a moment when I saw the inscription listing the major battles of Europe. Then I saw Anzio, where my Dad first entered combat and the battle he talks the most about. He saw it too.

After a group photo, we loaded up for lunch while we motored over to the Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Memorial.

The weather pushed us into just drive-by tours of the Iwo Jima Memorial, and then we were over to the Women In Military Service For America Memorial. I mentioned in my other post that women were in the line of fire. One story my Dad tells is about the German’s big railroad guns that could lob a shell 11 miles, and they dropped a bunch of them on the Anzio beachhead and the hospital there. Many nurses lost their lives there, and many more were decorated for bravery.

Our last stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where we witnessed the changing of the guard. The ceremony is very precise and exacting. Since the guards can’t deviate from this, they obviously can’t acknowledge a group such as our Veterans in a conventional way, but to do so, they’ll just lightly scuff their shoe as they walk as a way of honoring someone or a group such as
our Veterans.

During this ceremony, this was about the quietest crowd I’d been in.

Before we left, my Dad spotted this:


My Dad served in the Third Infantry Division.

From there we did a drive-by of the Air Force Monument, and then back to the airport.

By now there were very few Veterans who weren’t on wheels, and it takes a really long time to load a 737 when half the passengers “need assistance”. But we had a swing band playing some military theme songs and some swing-era favorites to help us pass the time.

Between the time needed to get loaded up and a weather delay, we were about an hour late getting back to GSP. Along the way we had some dinner and the Veterans received some souvenirs. They also received letters from some local politicians, and most special, letters from school kids. My Dad still hasn’t read through all the ones he received.

Even with the delay and the rain that developed over the upstate, we had a rousing welcome when we arrived back at GSP. As each Veteran left the boarding ramp their name was announced and the crowd cheered. Rows of military personnel saluted them as they made their way back through the terminal building and to the departure area.

While there my Dad struck up a conversation with one of the women Veterans. He always asks the question, “have you ever heard of Anzio?”, and almost no one has. This time he was surprised when she answered “Oh Yes!”. Turns out she was a nurse on Anzio. I need to try and get them together.

I brought the car around and a police officer escorted my Dad to the car. I called out “That’s him officer!”. She asked if she should arrest him, but I said she could release him into my custody.

I took one wrong turn getting back to I-85, but that didn’t cost but a couple minutes, and we eventually arrived back home around 23:15. Tired, but happy. It took both of us a while to wind down and get to sleep.

I’m sure I missed a thousand things in this brief account, and had I been touring myself I’d have taken a a lot more pictures, but that wasn’t my purpose.

Here’s links to some more coverage from WYFF4 TV and WSPA TV.