Happy Birthday to Smokey the Bear

Smokey's debut was on August 9, 1944. His name was inspired by "Smokey" Joe Martin, a New York City Fire Department hero who suffered burns and blindness during a bold 1922 rescue. His name was originally just Smokey Bear until a popular song by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins added the word 'the' for the song's rhythm.

I was going to make this post about the cartoon character, but my research found this article about the 'first living' Smokey.

The living symbol of Smokey
The living symbol of Smokey Bear was an American black bear cub who in the spring of 1950 was caught in the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned 17,000 acres in the Lincoln National Forest, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. According to some stories, he was rescued by a game warden after the fire, but according to the New Mexico State Forestry Division, it was actually a group of soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas, who had come to help fight the fire, that discovered the bear cub and brought him back to the camp.



At first he was called "Hotfoot Teddy," but he was later renamed Smokey, after the mascot. There are conflicting stories regarding the individual or individuals who first helped nurse the cub after the fire. According to the New York Times obituary for Homer C. Pickens, then Assistant Director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, he kept the cub at his home for awhile, trying to nurse him back to health. According to other records, including a story in Life Magazine, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took him to Santa Fe, where he, his wife Ruth, and their children, Don and Judy, cared for the cub. The story was picked up by the national news services and Smokey became a celebrity. Soon after, Smokey was flown in a Piper Cub airplane to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.. A special room was prepared for him at the St. Louis zoo for an overnight fuel stop during the trip, and when he arrived at the National Zoo, several hundred spectators, including members of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, photographers, and media were there to welcome him to his new home.

Smokey Bear lived at the National Zoo for 26 years. During that time he received millions of visitors as well as so many letters addressed to him (up to 13,000 a week)that the United States Postal Service finally gave him his own unique zip code. He developed a love for peanut butter sandwiches, in addition to his daily diet of bluefish and trout.

Upon his death on November 9, 1976, Smokey's remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park. The plaque at his grave reads, "This is the resting place of the first living Smokey Bear...the living symbol of wildfire prevention and wildlife conservation."


Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires

Dan Emplit WBFD

London is burning.....

First some pictures:









The last picture gave me hope that our fellow 'man' aren't all worthless pricks....
Till I found this:



And a Video link Warning Language is NSFW

And what started this?
The shooting of Mark Duggan which occurred during a police interception. Duggan was a taxi driver and alleged drug dealer. Reports are contraditory. Friends and relatives claim he was unarmed, His girlfriend of 13 years claimed she "was shocked to learn her boyfriend of 13 years was carrying a gun." The police claim he was armed. To back this up a 'non issue' handgun was found on the scene and a bullet was found imbedded in a police radio.
There are also rumors that the latest riots are mainly looters.

My heart goes out to the innocents in London. A London blog is giving updates.

Don't worry. It couldn't happen here..... Oh wait L.A.

Dan Emplit WBFD

He just won't stop.

Little busy today, so I'll just point out the Bull being slung in the papers over the last few days.

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Deal on old bakery OK’d

"The mayor of Wilkes-Barre does not sell real estate," Leighton said.
(Except the failed Old River Road Bakery, Carlisle St, and half the first block of South Main St. Off the top of my head.)

Board member Lynn Evans cited a nearby property that had been sold to LAG and became a parking lot and towing yard.
(Which is what Leo will do with the bakery)

Leighton said there are no guarantees about property development, but that he would try to assure the use was appropriate.
(The next quote says it all)

Leighton had promised Luzerne County Commissioners that a prior, unrelated deal involving tax breaks would lead to construction of townhouses, but ended up being a “towing yard.”
(Leighton had to claim it was going to be town homes, The commissioners would NEVER have given tax forgiveness for L.A.G.)

With board member Dr. Mark Schiowitz absent, the vote was 7 to 1. Lynn Evans voted no, saying afterward that she still felt the developer, not the city, should come to the board to justify a tax break.
(Finally, Someone seems to have been visited by the common sense fairy. Stand your ground Ms Evans.)
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Urban criticizes bakery property deal

Urban said he still remembers when the city secured a similar deal from county commissioners in 2006 under the pretenses the property would one day feature townhouses. (I forget, How much did Leighton CHEAT out of our financially strapped county?)

That never happened. Instead, the city entered into - then rescinded - an agreement to sell the former bakery to the city's towing contractor, a political supporter of Mayor Tom Leighton who wanted the property for storage purposes.
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Mayor sees W-B fiscally sound

“Let me first say that the days of out-of-budget spending are over,” Leighton said. “We stick to our budget within reason. However, if there are any unexpected events – flooding, snowstorms, and the failing economy – they could affect our costs significantly.”
(Except for 15 million over budget on the intermodel center, The camera surveillance system that DOES NOT work, selling property for 10 cents or less on the dollars to special people, purchasing vehicles from DeNaples that now have suddenly vanished, Buying a Zamboni for the Ice Rink, and MULTIPLE lawsuits the city could not win)

When the city faced a $10 million deficit in 2004 – Leighton’s first year as mayor – Leighton said the city asked the state for help and the Public Financial Management Company was appointed to help address the financial woes.
(Don't forget that part of that help came from the Fire Fighters who's contract concessions were greater than $3.5 MILLION over 7 years. What did the other unions do?)

Leighton said reductions in staffing such as police and fire would be considered when all other alternatives are exhausted.
(Of course he would consider it. He don't give a crap about public safety, as long as his friends and family get richer)
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Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

The Confessional

An Irishman goes into the confessional box after years of being away from the Church.

There's a fully equipped bar with Guinness on tap. On the other wall is a dazzling array of the finest cigars and chocolates.

Then the priest comes in. "Father, forgive me, for it's been a very long time since I've been to confession, but I must first admit that the confessional box is much more inviting than it used to be."

The priest replies: "Get out. You're on my side."

Bird Feeder

From the Email in box:

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I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, The chairs, the table .. Everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be .... Quiet, serene.... And no one demanding their 'Rights to a free meal'.

Now let's see.
Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care and free education, and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegal's came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; Your child's second grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one ' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government 'To take down the bird feeder.'
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Last night was one for the story books. I'll tell the story, but it will have to wait for a day or so.

Dan Emplit WBFD

What does it mean to have Situational awareness?

My friend rfizzle sent this.

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Let me start off by saying that I am not an expert; this is simply something taught to me (in my academy) that I see value in. Recently a few things have brought it to mind and I’ve thought about this write up for a while.

What does it mean to have Situational awareness? How about this Jason Bourne quote from the first movie “I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself…”
While we all can’t be super spy assassins, we can be aware of our surroundings. My best example of bad situational awareness was a recent transaction I had with a guy from a local gun forum. We were meeting to buy/sell a gun; as usual I gave a vehicle description and a relative idea of where I’d be in a parking lot. He also gave a description of his car, I arrived early and went to the area of the parking lot I said I would. It was a fairly empty lot; I parked in the furthest corner which was completely empty with the nearest car being 75 yards away. I watched as the gentleman arrived and drove around the parking lot, passing me three times in the process. Now remember I’m the only car in that corner (as described to him) and the only car of that description in the lot. I finally got out on his forth pass and waved him down; during the transaction it came out that he teaches concealed carry and many other personal protection classes.
While having a CCW enables you to protect yourself at all times, are you walking into a situation that will force you to do so? Situational awareness boils down to a mental state, one of the best ways I’ve seen this mental state described is by the Mental Color Codes. They are a five step mental condition gauge and taught through out the military and law enforcement, I think the average gun owner could benefit from them as well.

Mental Color Codes:
White: Complete mental unawareness
Best described to me as the Al Bundy; hand down your pants, beer in hand, not a care in the world.

Yellow: Relaxed Alertness
This is the state you should always be in, especially when armed. Being in Yellow means you are aware of your surroundings, it’s not paranoia but alertness.

Orange: Potential Threat Situation
A potential threat has presented it self, you observe the situation and the potential threat. This may be an opportunity to leave or gain a tactical advantage.

Red: Specific Real Threat
The perceived threat is real, you have taken action to avoid the threat and it has failed. You draw a line in the sand and have a plan to take defensive action.

Black: The fight is on
It’s go time, the threat has now crossed the line in the sand, and you must act.

Looking back to my story of the guy in the parking lot it’s easy to see he operates in condition white. When you operate in condition white it is impossible to jump to black, simply because you are unprepared to deal with a threat.

I love this board for many reasons, one of them being that every time I see someone posts a question about buying something gun related, usually the first response is something like: “Training”. I love that as much as some of us love to buy new toys, we all have a respect for training. I’ve been to a couple of classes that have talked about mental preparation, but it’s not as common as it should be.

A good book I would recommend reading is: Warrior Mindset by Dr. Michael Asken & Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

On a fun note we had training a couple weeks ago with our digital system, essentially it’s a projected video that you can shoot a laser gun at and it somewhat interacts back. The scenario they gave us all was a traffic stop; a young girl in a bikini top gets out of the car and while holder her license in her hand says “I don’t know what I did, but here is my license. Right after she says that the screen went blank and we were asked what we saw, there was a pistol in her car door pocket. About half of us missed it and could only give a description of her…
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Please note that NONE of the color codes even mention firearms. They simply point out that 'Fortune favors the prepared mind'.

Most people spend their lives in condition White. With the trend of things in Wilkes-Barre, I think it might be better to up that to condition Yellow.

Dan Emplit WBFD

A new Anonymous? Or a threat?

With blogger you can read the comments before posting them.
Today I got this one.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Where to begin?":


with the fire dept losing its no lay off clause, aren't you afraid of lossing your job?

a resonable person would. Just one slip up and you would be unemployed.
isn't that scarey.
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I don't know who sent it. I do get comments that are just idiots trolling, But something about this hints at a bit more.
A threat? Maybe.
Not the first. Keep 'em coming, I could use the laughs.



Dan Emplit WBFD