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_ruffy_, 4cupcakes, a_ramsell, aleu1986, alisgranny, amayaj, anagramical, anulonon, april_hawk, b182punkrockgirl24, babylove7575657, babyzilla_mom, barms84, bigdaddydell, billydakid, blaisixi, bluelilacia, braghaoran, bratchild01, bronko, carmelita_98674, cheezy_bloody, clairchen6, clwnbtrfly, countrygirl101266, crazykittylady, cyrnes, dairykateri, daisy_cheetah, dcat303, debcarrollrulz, delrayhorse, dragonrider88, dumpling27, dutchese159, ella_bela, fallingintoyou06, fifth_circle, flintslady, floydpink49, fluffernutterly, fox914, froggymom31, fuggyfuggy, furball892, fuzzlandiamom, fyora_glader, gaylebear, geneames1, gliding, grace2uall, gremlin163, hamlet1530, happy70793, him_wraith, hollieangel3, hopebufly, illusions_quest, innsmouthcatlady, jackiechan33, jamichele1w, janeyisabel, jchum, jetcity78, joythedragonlady, jubjub_fan030, julie_kofoed1980, karenpatricia, kerr333, kitty2kat76, kitty_von_litter, leepin_lizard, leiyene, lightout, lilelmo23, lovebloomshere, lukadancygerstevens, man_beater_19140, maroonlite, meskasiaureje, million2_1, mirloona83, miss_cellaneous, missbiancadisney, missdevilette, morquarwen, mrsgroovyhair, mudkip5042, nevaehs_angel, nihanni, noisynik, oceanblue5333, olimpia48103, palulu, paopu_fruit134, panterina75, playwithmemum, plushies_lovergg, princessazlyn1970, purplejet39, quinsioux, radius_11, ramonesbaby, rayerayerocks, roocee, royalpain33, sailortaurus04, sammkt, scoobertcorneliusdoo, siaasgn, simlizzy, sjow, snoogie1978, sparegallery101, sparkles_0o0, spikeaddicted, splush08, stephanie_briana, supermom223, tara_terribilis, tfigueroa25, tiger_princess, the_lici, thebroomhilda, tripletmommy, tweakley, tweenthemusic, ulneverneedmore, urredneckgirl1128, vaporfx, vessy76, vierfach_blessed, vixenk99, wild_4_punkz, wuwwy_w, whimsythewisp, xfzunx, yourstar_142 Pets adopted out or pounded... Akrilayok the Yellow Chomby Tiggerbear108 the Shadow Meerca Wowzer666 the pink Buzz Tinkerbear180 the Darigan Moehog Arenthath the Darigan Ixi Camuffamento the Camouflage Poogle Kishinaii the Coconut JubJub Queen_Tootsie the Royal Kougra King_Bandito the Royal Kougra Prince_Hooloovoo the Blue Pteri |
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 Ona (TCG) |
 plu_pj_zafaragirl |
 Red Harris Plushie |
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 ARGH!!!! DONNA STAMP |
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 Advanced Kreludan Physics |
 Alien Aisha Invasion |
 bbo_achyfi_recipes |
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 bbo_picnicing_onkreludor |
 bbo_programming |
 bbo_roboticcareand |
 bbo_robot_fashion |
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 Beam Me Aboard |
 bigintermediate_evilplots |
 easydecor_lowgravitysit |
 Guide to the Neocola Machine |
 How Purples Got Their Spots |
 How To Escape |
 Interplanetary Communications |
 It Came From Kreludor |
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 Kreludor Mining Corridor Maps |
 Kreludor Versus Neopia |
 kreludorrainyday_activity |
 Laser Energy |
 Scenic Kreludan Views |
 The Green Grundo Invasion |
 The Moon Pop-Up Book |
 Zarex Diary |
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Read further for a couple of poems that offer some insight into my job as an ambulance dispatcher and the police, paramedics and firefighters I work with. *WARNING*: Some may consider this graphic or inappropriate... If you do, I apologize, but this is real. Who Am I? I am the voice that calms the mother breathing life into her infant son. I am the invisible hand that holds and comforts the elderly man who woke up and found his wife of 50 years had passed away during the night. I am the friend who talks the disgruntled teenager out of ending her own life. I sent help when you had your first automobile accident. I am the one who tries to obtain the information from callers to ensure that the scene is safe for those I dispatch to emergencies - all the while anticipating the worst and hoping for the best. I am the psychologist who readily adapts by language and tone of voice to serve the needs of my callers with compassion and understanding. I am the ears that listen to the needs of all those I serve. I have heard the screams of faceless people I will never meet nor forget. I have cried at the atrocities of mankind and rejoiced at the miracle of life. I was there, though unseen, by my comrades in the field during the most trying emergencies. I have tried to visualize the scene to coincide with the voices I have heard. I am usually not privy to the outcome of the call, and so I wonder... I am the one who works weekends, strange shifts and holidays. Children do not say they want my job when they grow up. Yet, I am at this vocation by choice. Those I help do not call back to say thank you. Still, there is comfort in the challenge, integrity and the purpose of my employment. I am thankful to provide such a meaningful service. I am a mother, a father, sister, brother, son or a daughter. I am here when you need me and still here when you don't. My office is never empty, and the work here is never done. I am always on call. The training is strenuous, demanding and endless. No two days at work are ever the same. Who Am I? I am an emergency dispatcher and I am proud. I wish... I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns. I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try to save his life. I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with. I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped? Or to call, "What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun? I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past 25 minutes, who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I Love You Mommy" again. I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, squad or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here! I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parents reaction going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand? I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call. I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters and EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart drops because no one answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife needing assistance. I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me. I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen. I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos. I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR done on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar with. Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us...I wish you could though. |
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