bigbshe was talking about how the weather has been so unpredictable - warm one day, cold the next, snow, then sunshine, mild, then windy. She called it "whiplash weather".
I have had a whiplash weekend.
I'm still having trouble getting easy access to mindsay so thus the fewer posts. I am daily at facebook with my name, bruce brandon, feel free to add me. But they don't have a blog feature so like my myspace page ( www.myspace.com/brucesmilestogo ) I usually use it for the quick updates and occasional photos.
Went to Carlisle, PA in the truck and took the weekend off to go down to Maryland to the family house that is being prepped for sale. Stopped in to visit Mom at her new nursing home and was happy with the type of facility she is in - they have a dementia wing with about 30 patients in varying degrees of senility but seem very attentive and Mom actually seems to be adapting to the busy-ness of the place which was something that aggitated her at home (if she had more than 2 visitors in the room at one time). She seems to be healing well from her fall and her lack of memory means there is no traumatic issues with her recovery.
BarryK and her daughter flew in from the west and we all had a nice visit at the family home including discussions of who wants what as the house needs to be slowly cleansed. Lots of memories to divide from paintings done by Mom to heirlooms left from our grandparents. Had a really fun (but short) nite out for a few beers with my niece who is only 12 years younger than me so is more of a 'bud' than a little girl (and I learned years ago in Seattle not to challenge her at pool, LOL!). But today Bear and Kat headed home and I headed back to PA and the truck.
I passed my old home, the Laurel Vol Fire Dept and saw a crowd there but figured it was a fund raising brunch or something and didn't stop. Hours later, in PA, I caught a news update from a facebook friend. The crowd was for a wake - of a close friend of mine who has battled cancer for over 15 years. It was too late for me to turn around and make the 8pm service and his funeral is at 2pm Monday when I should be back on the road.
I want to write a superlative essay about my friend, Lee Leisher, but just can't do it justice tonite. I've spent half of the past 6 hours crying in the truck using facebook to reconnect with firehouse friends I haven't had contact with in the past dozen years. I have a couple of fun pictures of Lee but they are on my other computer.
I joined the firehouse as an older guy, 29. As an outsider. I was from the southside of town while the firehouse regulars were 'townies' - old town families, generations of firefighters. My inside connection was the chief, an elementary school chum who had been a volunteer since his high school days. He encouraged me to join and I did. I was barely voted in by the membership because no one knew me but Craig ( who, by the way, is now in his 3rd term as town mayor). But I joined. And a few months later we moved to a brand spanking new facility with a big bunkroom and I became a "live-in" member. The old guy.
Most were teens and a few in their early 20's. The older members were married and didn't live there - drivers would respond in the middle of the night while we live-ins were geared up and ready to roll. Lee was younger than me but older than the kids. He was a Sergeant. Boisterous, pushy, old timer at 25? But he showed me respect. Not because of my age. Not because of my being a rookie, but because we had a lot in common - personality - though he was outgoing and I wasn't; humor - though he was outrageous and I wasn't; and seen as outsiders though I was, and he wasn't, LOL! He was the loose cannon of the department - BINGO!
Here I reveal a secret I kept for years.
Lee and another regular member gave me my firehouse nickname.
No, it wasn't BigB.
It was Big Banana.
I was a rookie, just back from evening classes at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at College Park (MFRI, or 'miff-ree'). I was teamed with another rookie, Scott G. Tall and lanky to my tall and husky. The first few weeks they tried to hang "Skipper" on me to Scott's "Gilligan". Gilligan stayed Gilligan forever but I objected to getting labeled cause of my relationship to another rookie. Two weeks later we came in from class and they drilled us on gearing up. Standing in street clothes next to our fire fighting gear and timing us as we jumped in the boots, pulled up the running pants, pulled up the suspenders, donned the jacket, buttoned up, pulled on the nomex hood, flipped up the collar, put on the helmet, secured it, and put on the gloves. Click.
And there I stood 6' 3" of shiny clean reflective yellow, helmet, coat, pants, and shiny black boots.
Lee and the other firefighter looked at each other and burst into laughter pointing at me :
"he looks like a big banana!".
Oh. That wasn't good.
For the next few weeks the nickname spread through the firehouse and I refused to acknowlege it. Basically threatened to kill any punk ass 19 year old who dared call me by that name. They didn't.
Finally someone shortened it to BigB, and I turned and said "yeah?".
And "BigB" I became.
But Lee, and ONLY Lee, from that first night, could call me Big Banana and I would turn and answer without complaint.
He was a great mentor, a great friend. He befriended the outsider and made me feel like an insider. He was the perfect wingman at the dances at the old fire hall. Everyone loved Lee and it was always good to be by his side. I hit the road and never saw him again. I heard of his cancer years ago but he was treated and recovered. I saw his brother, another very good friend of mine 2 years ago.
See, when I left, I became an outsider again, and Gary made me forget that when I visited.
He encouraged me to stop in any Tuesday night when he was the officer in charge and come for a ride, even 12 years after I had left. And he passed on my good wishes to Lee, "Ling-Ling".
But I never got back to see Lee. My brother of the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department.
The only man to be able to call me Big Banana and not risk a beating.
I've missed you for years Lee. but never forgotten our friendship.
God Bless you, and may you rest well knowing you done good. bigbanana.
