http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=4316350785635987648 Cave Dwellings: THANKS FD5, FOR THE GREAT, BUT TOO SHORT, VISIT!!
Cave Dwellings

Buckhorn Creek, Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson, TX

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

THANKS FD5, FOR THE GREAT, BUT TOO SHORT, VISIT!!

  Monday Den and I took our walk and encountered our tax dollars at work…..

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Our main East/West street going through downtown Sandwich was being resurfaced.  They had already put a coat of oil on it and were just about to put down the first layer of blacktop… Knowing what a history freak I am,  Dennis had alerted me to the fact that some of the old brick street had been TEMPORARILY uncovered. Oh crap! I  had almost forgotten, so I practically RAN down there to get a few photos.  There were still some of the brick patches left exposed…visible memories of days gone by……I was just barely ahead of the blacktop trucks!!! It’s scary being a radical blog photographer..DANGER IS MY BUSINESS….

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Notice the word CAT on the machine above left…That would be as in “Caterpillar Tractor,”  Den’s former place of employment…Glad to see they are busy at work and keeping those pension checks coming in!!

We got an email from fellow blogger John Hatch, ( 1/2 of the team of  John and Bridget. )  It seems the big new Freightliner they are buying is bringing him to Yorkville, IL… just 15 miles from our house!!  After a few emails back and forth, we set a date to hook up at The Kendall Pub, a neat bar in downtown Yorkville that serves up some great food (ask John)… John is a retired firefighter, and was hoping to meet our firefighter son, Kelly, at Station 2 in Oswego.  As it turned out,  Kelly was off duty that day and had already made other plans…Moving on to plan B,   Den and I drove over to Yorkville to  meet John for a quick pop and sandwich…(I really wanted to get a look at the new truck too!!)

Well, we finally got to meet FD5! ( I took another look at their blog so I knew who I was looking for…didn’t want to make a boo boo and be throwing my arms around some poor guy and scaring him to death…)

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I had a suspicion John would be wearing his Ridgeland Fire Dept. T-shirt…and sure enough, he was…We hugged, ( well I did, and I think I may have scared John, too),and  shook hands .There is something about the brotherhood of firefighters, and I could see Dennis and John beginning to compare notes. John was a 30 year veteran of the Ridgeland , MS FD….He looked like he must have started when he was age 10…but he told me he started at age 18.  We had a good visit, but waaay too short.  We knew John was anxious to get on the road for the long drive home, but you know me….gotta get a picture or two…

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….When it was time to leave, we followed John outside so we could see this big rig he just purchased….

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There wasn’t room on the street in front of the Kendall Pub to park this monster, so he parked it in a vacant lot just behind the place….Lookin’ good, FD5!!!

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Dennis was quite impressed with John’s new ride…Back doors even!! We finally said our good-byes and let poor John get “on the road again”..He has a 12 hour drive to get back to Bridget….Next time he needs to bring her along…

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BYE JOHN!!!! BE SAFE IN YOUR FABULOUS NEW RIDE!!!

 

It is always soooo nice to actually meet people we get to know on the blogosphere.  It was also very kind of John to take time from his whirlwind trip to stop and meet the Cave People…I feel like I know everyone that we follow and follow us….Who invented blogging anyway?? …What a great concept that was, eh??

THANKS FOR READING TO THE END….SEE YA AGAIN SOON!!!

13 comments:

  1. You guys REALLY need to come to the Gypsy Journal Rally in Elkhart...just a hop, skip and jump for you. Stu always loves more firefighter chatter....LOL! We'll arrive around the 26-27th of this month. Think about it!! It would be great to meet. http://gypsyjournal.net/Eastern_rally

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  2. Just imagine the physical labor it took to make the original brick road! :)

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  3. what a nice meet and greet!!!..good for you and Dennis..and John too!!..nice truck!!!..I am guessing that it will tow anything!!!

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  4. Love those old brick roads.I think Donna aka Froggi has a great idea to go to the rally and sent the rest of us the story and pictures..

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  5. The rally is just on a bad weekend...Our son turns 40, and a big party is planned at their house...food, drink and firemen...who could ask for more????

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  6. Great idea to get a few shots of that old brick road before it's all covered up with blacktop!

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  7. Hi Dennis and Donna. Thanks so much for sharing the pictures. I sure wish I could have been there to meet you guys. You never know...we just might show up there one day. I know what you mean about the brotherhood of firemen. They are all one big family. Hope to meet you soon in person. Love your blog.

    Bridget (Mrs. FD5)

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  8. Great you got to meet John, Wow Policeman and Fireman, all in one family, When I was Chief at the Lake I held the title of Public Safety Director so I spent a lot of time at the Volunteer Fire House, I even got a Ball cap given to me in honor of my caretaking of their first truck a 56 Mack B Model Pumper, It had a straight gear, transmission that had to be double clutched. I loved exrcising it once a week and spraying the kids with water at the campground in the summer. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  9. Thanks for the wonderful visit. I made it home around 2:30am. I forgot to give you the T-shirts. Look for them in the mail. Great meeting the both of you and Bridget will be there next time. Well, up at 7am and off to Knoxville, this feels like FD hours with calls all night and vacation driving the next day.

    Stay Safe

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  10. Maybe you could invite Donna and Stu to YOUR place before or after the rally! They're good folks! Too bad the bricks had to be covered in the first place. THose old brick streets would be fun for a kid to ride a bike on!

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  11. You are quite the adrenaline junkie going after those pictures :) Next thing we know, the history buff will be stapling herself to the brick road to preserve it...well, not sure that would work, but I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can come up with a way to save the road!

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  12. Glad you and Dennis got to meet John and John got to meet you guys. You are right, you feel like you already know someone when you know them on Blogonet. Then when you meet them in person you can put a face with the name.
    Take care and be safe.
    Mike & Gerri

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  13. The old brick road. . . priceless! Thank you for capturing some pictures before it was forever ruined. We too are history buffs and really appreciate what little we have left around us today. :)

    That is great that you had the chance to meet up with a fellow blogger! We have met many along the way and plan to meet more! Excellent group of people.

    See you down the road. . .

    The Freely Living Life Family

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