Day Shift (unfinished)

Day Shift

Sleeping bags rustle
in the chilly morning dew
just before day break;
blurry men and women drag their aching bodies
from the warmth and comfort of fluffy down
to force their bruised and swollen feet
into leather boots hardened by the night’s cold.
They lumber toward the chow line
wearing knitted beanies,
curling their frozen hands
into stiff dusty pockets
or holding hot coffee in a Styrofoam cup;
their breaths dance out in front of their mouths.
A hot breakfast of mass produced
eggs, sausages and hash brown patties
are slathered with heaps of salsa for taste- or perhaps to hide it.
One cup of coffee becomes two or three
as eyes peel open to face
a pink and blue sky;
work boots mill around a damp field of dry grass and hard packed dirt
lined with pop-up tents, portable toilets and trailers.
The smoke is finally visible in the pale morning light
as the night’s inversion breaks into wisps
that dissolve into the crisp air.

A crowd converges on a color coded display of maps;
a tired man in a dirty yellow shirt speaks into a microphone
with too much cheer
for the exhausted morning mass.
The message is the same as the day before
with structures threatened, roads closed
and the fire crossing containment lines.
Assignments are handed out to soot stained hands
as high wind advisories ring in their ears.
The gathering splits off into trucks, engines and crew hauls
to form a convoy up the dusty mountain road
toward the rising column of charcoal gray smoke
while the night shift awaits relief.

A crew haul parks on a bare landing away from brush and grass
as bodies stumble out, don their gear, fire up chain saws
and line up like soldiers out to march.
Boots pound up the mountain side,
heavy with burden,
unleashing clouds of dust and ash onto sweaty brows
that squint into the morning sun that now sits above the horizon.
They nod to the night crew that’s passing on their way down:
faces streaked with black soot
wearing dusky yellow shirts crusted over with the ash and perspiration
from a week’s worth of pounding and digging at smoldering vegetation.

White Fingers!

I'm either approaching old age, or my body is protesting the cold. Or both. While researching Thoracic Outlet Syndrome last summer, I came across some information about Raynaud's Syndrome and how it can be caused by Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Imagine my dismay when I came back from a run a couple weeks ago and noticed my right hand (not the side that was operated on) looked like this:

No, those aren't my hands, I was too busy trying to rewarm them to be taking pictures, but maybe one day I will.

Anyway, it was only my right hand, so I got to thinking maybe I have thoracic outlet syndrome on my right side too (really not good). But I haven't had any other symptoms. I discussed it with Shelly who informed me that her and her friend also have Raynaud's and it's not really a big deal. I was still skeptical until the next time I ran and it happened to both hands. It's the weirdest thing. However, I do know that I no longer have a rib on the left side that can pinch my blood vessels and limit blood flow to my hand, so if it's happening on my left side, it isn't caused by Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, and if it isn't caused by that on my left side, it probably isn't caused by it on my right side.

I decided to look up this crazy phenomenon, and it turns out it really isn't such a big deal... until you get prolonged lack of oxygen to your fingers, but we won't go there. I notice it mostly after a run in the cold weather (yes, I wear gloves when I run, it doesn't help much apparently) but I've also noticed it after washing my hands in cold water or taking an ice bath (after my long runs to decrease the inflammation in my leg muscles). It doesn't hurt unless my fingers get really cold, and then it hurts like hell as they warm back up. They just get numb and tingly and then as they rewarm they itch a little bit. Here's a couple more interesting pictures that look similar to mine:

The funny part about all this is that when I started reading about it, it mentioned it usually started in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th decade of life. In a couple of months, I will have been on this earth for 3 decades. The scary part about it all is that it may be the start of rheumatoid arthritis or other weird diseases.... or it may just be completely on it's own. With all the weird things that run in my family, it wouldn't be completely out there for me to develop painfully deformed feet and severe rheumatoid arthritis. As I get older I start to worry a little about all these things. I mean, what is the likelyhood of me being able to dodge all this stuff?

Anyway, just thought I'd share. There's a reason I belong in warmer climates.

New Possibilities

I wanted to update everyone on what's going on in my life. Most of you know I've applied to hotshot crews in Arizona, Colorado and Northern California. I sent in my application and resume in to everyone and then made some follow-up calls.

The superintendent of Roosevelt Hotshots in Ft. Collins, CO wasn't as receptive as I would have liked. Supe's can be like that though. He was just very brief and didn't seem like he wanted to talk. Because of the location, they were my first choice.

The supe of San Juan Hotshots in Durango was much more open and willing to chat. I asked a bunch of questions and then he sprung some pretty good interview questions on me. Everyone in the room thought I answered them fairly well, and he even commented that I had provided a great answer to one particularly tough one.

Klamath Hotshots up in Northern California has been somewhat persuing me for weeks now and I've been avoiding them because of where they're located. I'm quite the city girl and was hesitant because Northern California does not have cities. However, one of the captains and several people on the crew live in Ashland, OR and it's just under an hour drive to work. Because of the drive from pretty much anywhere up there, most of the crew carpools. There's a few people who live in Yreka, CA and a few who live in Ashland, so they share the load. Yreka is about 45 min from the station.

It's starting to look pretty good for Klamath Hotshots. They seem pretty set on me coming up there, and I'm really excited to go. They're a great crew with a great group of guys (and possibly 2 other girls!). During the winter, my training opportunities will be pretty much endless. Whatever I want to persue, they'll support me. That's a very different attitude than what I'm used to, probably because I've been on districts with a lot more employees to cater to. That and I'm currently on one that could care less about my growth and training.

Nothing is written in stone yet, no one has made an official job offer, but things are looking pretty good. I'll keep everyone posted on anything I hear.