As usual this fine Wednesday, there is another edition of Cereal Wednesday up for your breakfasting pleasure. This week I was graced with the prescence of my long time friend and partner, X. We’ve known each other… well… since as long as I’ve been an EMT and longer than he has been an EMT. He once told his boss that I taught him everything he knows about EMS. Needless to say, that thoroughly ruined my reputation at that hospital. Whateva.
It also comes on a day that saw X receive a citation for 20 years of service as an Auxilliary Police Officer (APO) with the NYPD. There was a big ceremony at 1 Police Plaza, with the Commissioner handing out the plagues. A bunch of us went (The Terrorist, The Steff, Beaner, and of course Mother X to name a few) to applaud and celebrate this auspicious occasion. Why is it so great and important? Had X been on the payroll of the city as a regular officer, he would be able to retire now with 20 years on. Yet, that won’t happen. As an APO, you don’t receive a paycheck. Everything you do is as a volunteer.
I know that from a volunteer EMS standpoint, volunteerism is down. It isn’t just down in the city, its down state wide. In fact, a number of volunteer organizations charged with the well being of their communities have had to do what was once considered the unthinkable… pay people. Part of the problem is a lack of a sense of community among its inhabitants. Different cultures bring different priorities, and not always are they the same. Another part of the problem being the fact that people rarely stay where they live for more than 10 years or so at a time… or at least the younger ones don’t.
So 20 years of service to this volunteer agency is a big deal. I think its a bigger deal now than it would have been 20 years ago. Times change, people in theory change (or is it more like an evolution?), but luckily some things stay the same. So here’s to you X, thanks for serving 20+ years in a thankless job for which I do nothing but harass you about how the tin foil my sandwich is wrapped in is worth more than your star shield.
You’ll always be my favorite square badge.
