Every once in awhile you have to slip the bonds of your normal life and just get away from it all. As you may have heard, "… all work and no play make Jack a dull boy." In line with that, I packed up my wife, my necessities and two tubas, gassed up the car and headed west to Wisconsin for a few days of living in the past.
I joined with 250 other musicians of the Windjammers Unlimited, a circus music preservation group, and went back to the days of mud floors and traveling circuses. For four days we played the music that set the stage for circuses from the 1850's through the 1970's.
It was a trip to a time that no longer exists. For you see, modern circuses used canned music, or only a severely limited number of musicians. Sounds like the emergency service world doesn't it. Trying to do the job of twelve people with a force of three. As I sat amongst the sawdust and circus smells in the center ring at the Circus World Circus in Baraboo, Wisconsin, I drifted back to about 1910. It was just my tuba and I against the world.
I just want to let you know, though, that your website editor was never far away from doing your work while on vacation. I passed a great many highway traffic stops and highway work sites as my wife and I sped through, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. I got to see how a variety of states handle highway safety in a number of different situations.
In many of these states roadside signage indicates that their laws mandate motor vehicles to move over one lane and slow down while passing stopped emergency vehicles. I could not even begin to count the number of these signs that whizzed by my car. However, I want to assure you of their impact. A number of people have spent a great deal of time diligently pursuing the creation of improved highway safety legislation for our emergency responders.
I saw the motorists around me doing just what the signs demanded. When we had to, we all moved over a lane and slowed down. I can't help but think that this is having a positive impact upon highway scene safety. Proper laws, enforced by dedicated law enforcement can do wonders.
It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that I saw no accidents in my many days on the interstate highway system. Maybe it was good luck, or maybe it was the impact of certain laws.
As most of you probably know, when you are on vacation, you tend to lose contact with the events of the world. We see enough bad news every day. We want to get away from it while we are on vacation. But sometimes you cannot hide from the hard facts of highway safety.
Our summer circus music meet was held at an Indian Nation Casino near Baraboo, Wisconsin. My associates and I spent many hours every day playing and recording music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What a great way to drift away from the daily cares of 21st Century life. However, reality is always lurking in the shadows.
During one afternoon break from our rehearsal schedule, I stopped by the lounge at the casino where our event was being held. I was in search of a small salad and a diet soda. I was really not paying much attention to the television in the corner, until I began to hear the strains of bagpipes wailing a familiar mournful dirge. I know Amazing Grace when I hear it, you can bet on that.
I moved forward toward the TV and began to pay a lot closer attention. It seems that the TV station was delivering the local coverage of a funeral for two members of the Hobart, Wisconsin Police Department who had been killed by a motorist.
They had been sitting on the side of the road in their patrol cruiser when they were struck and killed by a passing motorist. I could not believe what I was hearing. This horrid individual had rammed their patrol car, as they sat by the side of road. Why would a person do such a thing? What a real, senseless tragedy. Why do things like this happen?
Tragedy has many levels. There will be hole left in the family of each of these men. Children will grow to adulthood with the guidance of a kind and loving father. The community will no longer be able to count on these men to protect them. Beyond the human tragedy lies the fact that the individual who killed these people also destroyed police protection for that community. For you see, there was but one car in the Hobart Police Department fleet.
It took a bit of effort to tear myself away from the TV and return to the world of circus music. Needless to say, I had a great deal on my mind.
As I work to create this column, I am in Wilson, North Carolina, helping the Highway Safety Institute present a highway safety-training course for Wilson Technical College. Jack Sullivan of Chesterfield, Virginia, and Ron Moore of Plano, Texas delivered an interesting combination of classroom knowledge and practical highway safety skills.
The practical evolutions held during the afternoon session included staged accident simulations involving wrecked motor vehicles, local fire apparatus from the Wilson Fire/Rescue Department, as well as police and EMS vehicles.
Each of the students came away from this course with a new realization of the problems they will continue to face while operating on the highways of North Carolina. They were exposed to the latest information on this topic, the newest signage, and the latest safety vests available for use at highway safety emergencies.
They were also challenged to think their way through the series of highway incident simulations. Jack and Ron gave the students the necessary information and thought processes essential to helping them operate in highway emergency situations.
This is the latest effort of our training director, Jack Sullivan. Jack has delivered countless programs on how to safely operate in highway emergency situations. His dedicated efforts are a beacon to all of us.
In a tremendous show of support, our seminar was honored by the presence of President John Buckman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. It was great to spend a few moments with John discussing the vital highway safety issues facing us all.
I want to thank a few people for their efforts in making the Wilson, North Carolina endeavor a success:
- Chief Don Oliver - Wilson Fire/ Rescue Department
- Steve Austin - Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association
- Mike Young - Volunteer Fireman's Insurance Service
- Bob Cumberland - National Volunteer Fireman's Council
- Jack Sullivan - Responder Highway Safety Institute
- Ron Moore - Plano, Texas Fire Department
We are making progress. However, there is a great deal more to do. We will continue our efforts at the Fire Rescue International Conference in Kansas City from August 23 to August 25. If you are in town for the conference, please stop by and see Steve Austin or me at our Respondersafety.com booth. Take care and stay safe.