As we go through life, many words we hear strike us and remain with us throughout our life for many reasons. They may be life changing; they may be simply words of wisdom; they could have taught us a lesson; they may just have been catchy and just stuck in our cranium for further usage. A few favorites of mine, over the years, have been, "Plan your work and work your plan" , "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, then to open it and remove all doubt" and "If you can't dazzle th…
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Added by Andy Marsh on October 12, 2009 at 2:59am —
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So many roads, so many people. several choices, some free and some with tolls.
Being careful in picking both is wise.
We travel short and long journeys together with both.
Signals appear with both and it's important that you use them appropriately.
Crossroads appear in both. Sometimes leading in one direction when you need to back up to get on the other .
Both need taken care of as potholes in our paths occur in both.
Every once in a while you get to a curve. It's up to you how to handle that cu…
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Added by Andy Marsh on October 8, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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Many years ago, one of my favorite newspaper columnists was a gentleman named Phil Musick. Occassionally, he would write an article titled the same way as I did mine today. I enjoyed most of those articles. Here's another version of mine.
October brings grilled cheese, chili, and other comfort foods that are good for the soul.
The temperature changes remind me of my dad and his sweaters, and Mister Rogers too. May they both rest in peace!
October brings leave color changes, wind shift change…
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Added by Andy Marsh on October 3, 2009 at 5:59pm —
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As I get older, I seem to be less intolerant of irresponsible people
Topping that list of irresponsibility is deadbeat dads
Sometimes when you extend that olive branch you get smacked with it
The sun rising on a cloudless day is a beautiful thing
Having said that, I'm glad I work midnights so I see more of them
My kids,grandkids and my friends keep my heart warm and alive with love
Self infliction of pain does not change much and just adds to the initial pain you had
Sometimes working…
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Added by Andy Marsh on August 10, 2009 at 12:58am —
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HELP
IS A NICE FOUR LETTER WORD
CAN BRING OUT THE BEST IN SOMEONE
MAY BRING A WORSE CASE SCENARIO TO A HAPPY OUTCOME
OFTEN GOES UNNOTICED
MAY BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED
MAY COME FROM ALL DIRECTIONS OR JUST ONE
IS AS CLOSE AS A PHONE CALL
MAY BE DRIVEN AWAY DUE TO PRIDE
KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
IS AS SIMPLE AS IT IS COMPLEX
MAY BE HEALING
MAY BE ENABLING
MAY BE LENDING
MAY BE PROVIDING
IS WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF
INCLUDES LOVE
HELP, YEP, A NICE FOUR LETTER WORD
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Added by Andy Marsh on August 9, 2009 at 11:04am —
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Many years ago, one of my favorite newspaper columnists was a gentleman named Phil Musick. Occassionally, he would write an article titled the same way as I did mine today. I enjoyed most of those articles. Here's a version of mine.
Somethings I think I think.......
You may know this already, but, there is no respect for anyone or anything anymore.
Life is too short. Believe what they say and value everyday as if it was your last.
As we get older, our attendances at funerals increases.
Coff…
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Added by Andy Marsh on July 26, 2009 at 1:30am —
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I had planned two drills this week for the 2009 Fire and EMS Safety and Survival week. One was cancelled due to severe weather responses and the other should go on as planned today. A fellow instructor and friend of mine were discussing that as we were trying to promote the "Courage to be Safe" program, we were met with statements such as "Oh we had that class" or "We had that once". For us, it is disheartening to hear. For the fire service, it is much more than disheartening. A colleague of min…
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Added by Andy Marsh on June 19, 2009 at 8:33am —
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Since I joined the fire service in 1980, well over 3000 firefighters have died in the line of duty. Some of our better years, if you can call them that, were in 1992,, 1993, 1996, and 1998 when we were below 100 lodds. Approximate numbers tell us that 50% are due to cardiovascular stresses, heart attacks and strokes, 25% are attributed to vehicle collisions, and the rest fall into categories of trauma due to collapses, gun shots and falls. So far in 2009, we are at 46 lodds. Sadly it looks like…
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Added by Andy Marsh on June 15, 2009 at 4:55am —
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Next week is the National Fire/EMS Safety and Survival Week. To my brothers and sisters in Emergency Services, let's focus on reducing line of duty injuries and deaths, and keep that focus ongoing throughout the year and always! I have always said, "Plan your work and work your plan". The work is in how to prevent these line of duty injuries and deaths. The plan is to make sure that Everyone Goes Home! Stay SMART and Stay SAFE!!! Continue
Added by Andy Marsh on June 13, 2009 at 3:28am —
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Sadly, and tragically, 3 Pittsburgh Police Officers lost their lives on April 4th, 2009, in the line of duty, at approximately 0715 hours. 2 other Pittsburgh Police Officers were injured in the line of duty. Officers Eric Kelly, Stephan Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III were shot and killed as they responded to a domestic dispute in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh. Officer Kelly was actually on his way home, a block or two away, but responded to back up his comrades unselfis…
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Added by Andy Marsh on April 5, 2009 at 2:08am —
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A 6 year old and a 4 year old are upstairs in their bedroom. 'You know what?' says the 6 year old. 'I think it's about time we started cussing. The 4 year old nods his head in approval. The 6 year old continues, 'When we go > downstairs for breakfast, I'm gonna say something with hell and you say something with *ss..' The 4 year old agrees with enthusiasm.
When the mother walks into the kitchen and asks the 6 year old what he wants for breakfast, he replies, 'Aw, hell, Mom, I guess I'll have…
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Added by Andy Marsh on March 15, 2009 at 12:58am —
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The story of Ralph and Edna...
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool. Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end.
He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.
Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's he…
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Added by Andy Marsh on March 12, 2009 at 9:22pm —
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Recently, during a church service, my Pastor got me to thinking. He was preaching about baptism. He was explaining to us his belief that some faiths baptize at too early of an age. Now before you spout off how wrong he is, or whatever opinion you may have about baptism, or other faiths, here me out first as I try to relate and tie in what he had to say in terms of being a firefighter. I mean this not to be a lesson in religion as the pastor did, simply an analogy, nothing else. First off, you ne…
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Added by Andy Marsh on March 2, 2009 at 8:44pm —
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Both my boys made honor roll. Andy Jr. made high honor roll. I wondered how to describe how he retains his knowledge. Then I thought, he absorbs it. Then I thought, hmmm absorbing junior. Nah, I further thought. I better leave this one lie. :D
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Added by Andy Marsh on February 28, 2009 at 4:14am —
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Our Father,
Who Art in Pittsburgh,
Football Be Thy Game.
The Kingdom Come,
5 Super Bowls Won,
On Earth as it is in Heinz Field.
Give us this Day a playoff Victory,
And forgive us our penalties,
As we defeat those who play against us.
But lead us into a victory,
And deliver us to Tampa!
A-Ben
Go STEELERS
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Added by Andy Marsh on February 2, 2009 at 1:35am —
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PITTSBURGH GIRLS
A Pittsburgh girl knows just as much
about football as her guy friend
in some cases, even more.
She drinks beer because it tastes good
but knows when to be classy and drink
something more sophisticated.
She owns a Steeler jersey not just
because it's cute but because she
supports her team and understands the game.
She loves Kennywood and isn't afraid to
order cheese fries from the Potato Patch
because, let's face it.........
Pittsburgh girls wear winter coats and
scarves a…
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Added by Andy Marsh on February 2, 2009 at 1:33am —
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If you know of Myron Cope, you get this. Myron Cope was a colorful, radio analyst for our Steelers and a long time sports radio talk show host. He was the voice of the Steelers.
Twas the Night Before the Super Bowl
‘Twas the night before the Super Bowl, when along the gulf shore,
Steelers fans were praying for “just one more;”
The players were nestled all snug in the sack,
With visions of the first NFL Six-Pack;
Coach Tomlin was young, but wise for his years,
So I drifted off to sle…
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Added by Andy Marsh on February 2, 2009 at 1:21am —
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Many years ago, there was a writer for the Pittsburgh Press. His name was Phil Musick. He wrote a column that had the same title as my subject title. Every once in a while, I'll write some stuff down. It's mainly for my amusement and bemusement. I have been thinking on some things, recently and in general and I want to share. Respond if you like, but no need to. This is just me, not one of those funky forwarding e-mails.
There is no limit to how many friends you have.
Communicating is one thi…
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Added by Andy Marsh on January 30, 2009 at 2:00am —
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Here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, we have been experiencing colder than average temperatures lately. Potentially, we will be responding to more furnace malfunctioning calls, CO calls, water break calls, wires down calls, in addition to our fire calls and vehicle crashes. Please take care and buckle up when responding to the fire station. We need you to arrive safely in order for us to do the job efficiently.
Some tips:
Dress in layers when responding and just in general during these extrem…
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Added by Andy Marsh on January 18, 2009 at 7:15am —
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To all;
A few of us attended the Pittsburgh Fire / EMS Expo. Some of us attended classes. The fire dept. picked up
the tab for the training,with the caveat being, those of us who did attend classes were requested to bring
something back to share with our department. So I will share this. What I have listed below may be
repetitious for some, however, with as many firefighter injuries and deaths we suffer from locally, and as a State, and as a Nation, it begs to be repeated. But first, a word fro…
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Added by Andy Marsh on September 20, 2008 at 5:19am —
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