Busy 4 day!

We usually call it our 4 day “break” but I didn’t get much of a break on this one. Thursday and Friday was spent getting up hay and preparing the Farm for visitors and tours due to a community celebration. Everything worked out well and the Buckaroo even got in a little “creek time”.

Saturday morning, I met my Lieutenant George, his wife Caroline, sister Debra and her fiance’ Dave for a quick motorcycle ride down to Lexington. We rode down to participate in the  Sgt. Mark Riley Charity Poker Run.  Mark’s home was severely damaged in recent storms, flash flooding etc.

I couldn’t stay for the ride but Georgie did and said they had a GREAT time!  Our brothers and sisters from the Lexington Police and Fire Departments were very gracious hosts. The run took Georgie and the group through some scenic areas of my hometown … Rockbridge County. They made several stops along the way. They took in a couple of firehouses and even made it by Sgt. Riley’s house. I’m not sure of the official count but I think they had somewhere around 30 riders. I hope they were able to raise enough money to help Mark and his family get back on their feet.

That’s what brotherhood is all about! I’m glad we made the trip and I know that Sgt. Riley and his family were thankful. Georgie actually had the 3rd best hand of the run and donated his winnings back to the cause! Class act Georgie! The run ended in Buena Vista where they had a chicken dinner, live music, a raffle and silent auction. Georgie commented several times today on how much they enjoyed the day and that we plans to ride the route again. Thanks to Chief Ty Dickerson, The Lexington Fire and Police Departments for inviting us down.

I rode down to the registration (paid the fee and purchased 50/50, raffle tickets etc) but couldn’t stay for the actual ride. I spent a little time talking / visiting with Sgt. Riley, Chief Dickerson, good friends Chris and Cassie Potter and others. My visit was brief because I had to be in Charlotte, NC for a wedding.

Not just any wedding … my sister Marci’s wedding!

Marci lives in Charlotte with my mother and step father. Actually, they live just outside of the City in Indian Trail, NC.

Indian Trail is a beautiful, rural community.

They had the wedding at the house with the front yard pond as the back drop.

Family and friends did a ton of work to have everything looking “just right”.

They did an awesome job …. it was BEAUTIFUL!

The colors were purple and white with a “butterfly” theme.

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The only thing more beautiful than the setting was my little sister!

She made a stunning bride!

And yes …. I even got a little teary eyed (I do have a soft, gentle sensitive side too you know …LOL)

Everything went according to plan and off without a hitch.

Little Miss Marci Wines is now Mrs Aaron Barrier … I’m PROUD of them both and wish them MANY MANY happy years together.

There were several “neat” and “cool” things about the wedding but I’ll share just a few with ya.

First was the fact that she had 2 Grandmothers in attendance, both of which are 90+ years old.

The 2nd was the fact that she had “Granny Wines” and me sign the marriage certificate as witnesses. Mine name on there is not such a big deal but it was awesome that she thought to have Granny sign …. her signature and the memory of the signing will always be there!

Something else really cool was the Pergola Aaron (the groom) hand crafted for the ceremony.

He hand crafted this thing out of saplings and vine! It looked as if it had been there forever and fit perfectly with the decor (YES .. I just used the words “pergola” and “decor” in the same post….. see above mentioned “soft, gentle, sensitive side” comment).

The other really cool thing that I’ll share is the fact that my baby sister Jessie was in from California for the wedding!

You folks may remember Jessie for our Rampage Football trip out to California …. see that post  HERE   and HERE  .

She worked her tail off making sure all details were attended to.

Saturday, the day of the wedding; everyone was busy busy but I did get to spend a little time with her on Sunday.

The wedding was a HUGE success and everyone had a wonderful time.

CONGRATULATIONS and BEST WISHES to my sister and new husband Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Barrier!

Ok, on to Fire Department stuff. The earlier post announcing the Sgt. Mark Riley Charity Poker Run was titled “Brotherhood”. I had another example of “Brotherhood” during my trip to North Carolina. You folks may remember Firefighter Bill Shick of Charlotte’s Ladder Company #1.

See a previous post about Bill HERE

Bill is a self described “avid reader” of Ironfiremen.com and dropped by the station for a visit while traveling through back in early July. He even brought apple pie and ice cream!

Bill and I exchanged information and when he read that I was heading to Charlotte, he shot me an e-mail. Bill invited me out to his station for a visit and offered to show me around a bit. Sadly, this trip didn’t allow me the time to take him up on the offer but with family in the area, I assured him I’ll be back soon enough and we will definitely meet up for a tour, beer etc. THANKS to Firefighter Bill Shick for following the site and for the gracious offer!

My visit to NC was short because I had to be back for duty today. It’s been a fairly busy start to the dreaded Monday, Wednesday Friday tour!

We started out the morning with CPR training. The FULL EDITION of the new AHA  standards.

One person, two person, adult, child, infant … blah  blah  blah. Could they make these training videos any more BORING?

It was also a little embarrassing. You see, even though Randy is engaged to be married, I don’t think he’s kissed too many girls.

 He seemed to enjoy the “mouth to mouth” ventilation part of the class a little too much if you know what I mean. It was like watching  soft porn or something!  LMAO I felt like I needed a shower after watching it. That said, Dana is ONE LUCKY GAL because he sure looked like he knew what he was doing!

He was in HOG HEAVEN. He got to kiss a few gals he had never met (manikins) plus he got to cook!

We were late getting out of class so we were pushed for lunch. We decided to let him keep it quick and simple .. hot dogs, chili and fries.  EASY right?

Apparently NOT.

Who knew it took an hour and a half to bake a pan of fries and fix a few chili dogs? I thought we had adequately explained to him how we eat at noon and six. I though that’s why we chose dogs and fries. Hummm?

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Maybe he’d do better this evening?

I’m not sure how to answer that one.

It seems as though I have another “NINJA COOK” in my midst (that’s what I used to call Opie back in our Melrose Misfit days).

I call him a Ninja cook because  dinner hit the table at 6pm but I never seen Randy in the kitchen. It was almost like Boots helped did it for him.

Or maybe he really is a Ninja and was able to sneak in and out of the kitchen without  being detected? LMAO

All kidding aside, Randy did cook today. Boots helped him out a little bit this evening but all in all, and despite being late for lunch;  Randy did a good job. Once again I’m proud of him.

Apparently, I’m not the only one proud of Randy and his performance.

It’s seems as though Dana and his parents feel the same way.

He neglected to remind me that he had a birthday back on the 4th.  They threw him a nice surprise party over this 4 day break. Not only did they throw him a party, they also got him somethings he’s been wanting since getting on the job… A leather style helmet!

A brand new 1010 complete with a Fox Fire Illuminating Helmet Bandand New York “insert” style shield!  VERY NICE!!!   Ain’t he cute?

So, this evening; we have little Randy off learning to drive the Medic truck. He should be heading back to Lucky #13 any minute now and hopefully, we will have a quiet night. As I mentioned, we’re back Wednesday and Friday. I’ll check in as soon and often as possible. Until then, stay SAFE and IN HOUSE !

Captain Wines