I just got off of my first 12 hour shift at the Airport. Today I worked 12:00 - Midnight, which I will be working again tommorrow. Although a strange set of hours, it was pretty interesting and not near as bad as I thought it would be. I will be going to 'my' shift, which is Shift 3, on Friday night. My call sign will be '303'. I got to meet my new lieutenant tonight, as he came on at 18:00 (6:00 P.M.). He seems like a really great guy, and I liked him instantly. The more that I got to talk to him, the more I liked him. I am excited about my new shift, and I think everything is going to work out really well.

On a sad note, however, over the past week-end, my old shift at the Carter County Sheriff Dept., had to cover a three day week-end, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday (on the day shift), with 2 Deputies on the road. Think about that for a minute. 2 Deputies to cover a County the size of Carter County. Unbelievable. That's really great planning on the part of the new 'Management Team'. I wonder if the Citizens of Carter County have any idea, whatsoever, on what is going on at that Department. Not only is it unsafe for the Citizens, it is unsafe for the TWO Deputies on duty!

Maybe one of these days the truth will emerge. More later.

Today is Saturday, March 10, 2007. I had a busy week, starting the new job, and all. I had all the usual administrative tasks to complete, (W-2, Insurance, etc.), plus I had to learn as much about the Airport as I could. They usually keep 'new guys' in training for 2 weeks, but I got cut loose after one. I worked Monday through Friday on day shift. There is definitely alot of new stuff for me to learn. Taxi-way and Runway designations for one thing. Being part of a Public Safety Dept., I have to get up to speed on all of the fire stuff. They call it ARFF (Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting). The Fire Apparatus at the Airport is truly impresive. The cockpit looks like the cockpit of the Space Shuttle to me, with all of the various controls, switches and buttons.

They are sending me to ARFF school in Salt Lake City, Utah next month. I am definitely looking forward to it, as it will be a new experience, along with the fact that I have never been to that part of the country. I also get to fly out there, which I am looking forward to. (I love to fly).

Everyone at the Department has been so nice to me this week. It really seems like a great bunch of guys. Chief Barron is a trip, and really fun to be around. Lt. Wiley and Lt. Barnsworth have been very helpful on my first week. PSO's Sells, Greenway, & Harrell (Scooby) have been great to work with. Sgt. R. Stout (who is another Carter Countian), has been most gracious. I really feel like this is gonna be a great job, and great Department to be a part of.

I love aircraft, as I have mentioned before. This week I got to board (and check out the cockpits) of an ATR, a DeHavilland Dash-8, as well as a Delta Connection Regional Jet Embracer. It was really cool. I also got to talk with some of the flight crews. I also got to check out some general aviation aircraft, including a Cirrus (which was really nice), a Rockwell Commander, several Pipers, including Barrons & King Airs, and got to watch an old Rockwell Sabreliner power up, taxi & take off.

Overall, it was a very interesting week. I am working a kinda weird shift Monday & Tuesday, 12:00 noon till 12:oo midnight. After that, I start on 'my shift', which is Shift 3, on night shift Friday night. I am sure that I have left a bunch of stuff out, but I wanted to get something posted here, about my first week. More later.

Here's a pic of my old buddy (and former sargeant) T. Lowe in his new Honda S2000. Very nice car. T. came over yesterday, and he drove me the back way to the Airport. I had been that way once before, but I couldn't remember the exact route. Anyway, I think it's a little closer than going through Johnson City. I sure am going to miss working with T. We were partners in the Carter Co. Jail, years ago, when only 2 jailors were on duty at any given time. These last couple of years, when I have been on shift 2, were the first time that we have gotten to work directly together, since we were in the jail.

Anyway, just wanted to post the pic. More later.

Hey, I guess it's time to post my 'Big News'. If you haven't already figured it out on your own, or heard it through the rumor mill, well here goes......drumroll, please....

My association with the Carter County Sheriff's Dept. is coming to an end, and I am starting a new chapter in my life as a Police Officer for the Tri-Cities Regional Airport. I had to wait until I turned in my official notice to the Sheriff's Department (which I did this morning), before posting my news here. I will certainly miss all of my friends at the Sheriff's Department, along with all by buds from the Elizabethton Police Department, and the great folks at Carter County Emergency Communications District (9-1-1). I hope to keep in touch with all you guys, but it still won't be the same as working with you every day. This announcement, is, naturally, bittersweet at this time, simply because of all the great people that I have had the privelege of working with.

I start at the Airport Dept. of Public Safety on Monday, March 5, 2007. I am looking very forward to my new job, and all the new challenges it will present. I am sure that I will get to meet a lot of great new people. I have always been an aviation buff, and I love being around planes, airports, airbases, or anything to do with aviation. Maybe, someday, I will even get my own pilot's liscense, who knows! The Chief of my new Department has been very friendly and warm. I look forward to working for him.

I am scheduled to attend an aircraft/airport firefighter's school in Salt Lake City, Utah in the middle of April. I think it will be very interesting, and I look forward to the flight out there. I have never been to that part of the country before. I will include a link to the school below.

Anyway, I will close for now, and will post more later, as developments unfold.

http://www.slcairport.com/arff/index.htm

Haven't posted anything recent. I will make a bigger post real soon, so check back, ladies and gentlemen!

Check out this picture. It was developed in August of 1966. The picture is of my Great Uncle Jack (the Brother of my beloved Granny), and his wife, my Great Aunt Margaret. They are both dead, at this point in time.

The interesting thing that I wish to point out, is the Boston Terrier. Uncle Jack always had Bostons and Bulldogs. The Boston Terrier in this picture looks alot like my little Tommie Girl. No, I don't remember this particular dog, (I had just turned 2 years old at the time), but I do remember 'Uncle' Jack having Bostons. Anyway, the picture was taken on my Grand-Dad's & Granny's Carport.

Anyway, I (hopefully), will be releasing some BIG NEWS on Monday or Tuesday. So check back.

Peace, Out!

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. It is the day that I would normally start my three night shifts on "Hell Week". However, I took them off, so I don't have to go back to work until next Monday on our long set of day shifts.

I just wanted to post a quick update about Blogger's new interface. It makes it a lot easier to control the blog without punching in a bunch of HTML code. Hence, I was able to post the picture of Tommie Girl on the top right of the blog, as well as edit my links. I will change the links from time to time, but I just put a sampling up to see how they worked on the new system.

I hope to be able to make this blog a little bit more interesting. I'm still trying to figure out the 'Google Widgets', and when I get that figured out, I should be able to add even more intesting content.

On an unrelated note, I would like to wish my lovely wife, Rusti, a very Happy Valentines Day! I love you, Sweetie, and you make my life complete. More later.

Hey, it's Thursday, the 8th of February. I have to start my 3 dayshifts tommorrow. Yuck! I absolutely HATE days. I would rather have a tooth pulled as to work a day shift.

Not much to say today (even tho it's been a little while since my last update). Props to my buddy JRAM on quitting smoking. Who knows, maybe one of these days, I'll decide to quit again. Or maybe not.

I think that we will have a full crew thru our day shifts. I'm planning on taking the following night shifts off. Rusti is working today, and has to work late, due to her D.U.I. class. I'll be glad when she gets home. The new season of 'Survivor' starts tonight, and we are planning on watching it.

Anyway, even tho this is a boring update, I am outta here!

Today is Saturday, the second day of my long break. I'm glad that it's finally here...could use a few days off. We were short (as usual) on our day shifts. Luckily, we only had one mental transport going to Knoxville. It was on Wednesday morning, and yours truly had the 'honor' of taking it. I was back in Carter County by about 9:30 a.m., so it wasn't too awfully disruptive. We stayed pretty busy on the day shifts, but, all-in-all, we did o.k. to have been working short.

You may (or perhaps, may not) be wondering what's up with the pic of the New York Strips. Well, here's the deal. I don't normally go out of my way to 'plug' a product, however, I must make a rare exception. A couple of years ago, my wife, Rusti, ordered some steaks off of the internet from a company called 'The Tender Filet'. I actually kind of dogged her for ordering steaks from the internet. I quickly changed my position after eating one of them. We have been regularly ordering their products ever since. If you love a good steak, Please try this company. I don't know how they do it, but every product we have ordered from them has been of SUPERIOR quality! These are the best steaks you will ever eat. They are consistently tender, tasty, and fat-free. We have ordered almost every variety they carry, and they are soooooo much better than anything you will ever find in a grocery store or steakhouse! To beat it all, they are priced comprably to anything you will find in a grocery store. I have become totally spoiled by their products, and can't stand to eat a grocery store steak anymore. They also feature pork barbecue that is absolutely to-die-for!

The only reason I point this out, is that I want to spread the word to anyone who may encounter this lame-a$$ blog. Do yourself a favor, and order you some steaks from them. I will enclose a link to their website.

Peace-out!

http://www.tenderfilet.com/home.jsp

Today is early Tuesday Morning, Late Monday Night. It is our 'hell week', working 3 12 hour day shifts, followed by one day off, then 3 12 hour night shifts.

If you haven't noticed, I've re-skinned this blog. Trying some new stuff. I don't know if I'll stick with it or not, but I thought I'd try something new.

Anyway, Rusti and I went to Lowe's this afternoon and found a really cool storm door to cover our front entry door. It is a Pella Storm Door and has a lot of cool features. We will probably go back next Saturday and buy it.