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In the 1990's I was a residence hall director on a college campus. My building was 450 freshmen men, four floors, brick, no AC, in Missouri. Aside from the normal parties, fights, fire alarms, vandalism...probably the most nerve racking was a phone call in the middle of the night, my door monitor said there was a resident in the building with a gun(!). Of course we called campus police, state trooper and 911 and gathered my resident advisors. We figured out who it was...and escorted the police to his room. They knocked, but no response...since I had the master key, I got to open the door and get the heck out of the way. Thankfully he was passed out on his bed, drunk.

He had stumbled home, got a BB-gun (that looked very much like a hand gun), and went to the computer lab. Held the gun to another resident's head and asked if he wanted to die today? Not a good move on his part.

Now discovered drunk in his room, the trooper tried to wake him up...he took a swing at one of them, and it was then GAME ON! They had him on the floor and cuffed in no time flat. He got kicked out of the building forever, but strangely was allowed to stay in school. This was probably 1992.

Thankfully no deaths or suicides in my building...I did that job for 5 years.

On the fun side, I later ran campus activities department, and got to be the liaison, driver, "handler" for some really cool people. Dave Chappell (this was well before his TV show and fame...he was a great guy to my students), Jim Lovel, Alan Page, Whitey Herzog and a host of other small time bands. Wycleff Jean did a concert in our arena. He and his manager were jerks.

During the summer while I was in college I worked construction. We had a contract to replace a steam line on a military base. Before digging up the old line, the steam had to be turned off which involved going down a man hole into a VERY hot environment and turning a large valve several revolutions. I volunteered to do it. They strapped a rope around me so they could pull me out if I passed out. I could only stand to be down there about 30 seconds due to the heat so it took three trips to turn the valve completely off. When I was done an older guy said that was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done. I'm thinking why didn't you tell me that before I did it.

I work in shipping so I have my favorite shipping stories. About a decade ago I was asked to pack and ship an official NFL regulation ball inflator. A quarterback who had a place in the Yellowstone Club and in New England wanted it sent home. This quarterback (a real Patriot), was very sensitive about making sure his footballs were properly inflated.

More stories tomorrow but it's bed time.

We watched a tornado go by once. It looked a lot closer than it was.

Two employees got in a fight once. One guy provoked the other one and the guy he provoked knocked him down. An old lady customer saw the whole thing. When she walked up to us she said “ Ive never heard such language in my life “ then she said that boy hit the other boy haaaard. They both got fired , but the one who got hit won the worker’s comp case…

We also had a tech get his finger cut off when he jumped down out of the truck . He had his hand on top of the door frame, and when he jumped down his wedding ring got hung on the lip of the frame…it couldn’t be re attached.

One morning in March 2019 a cab driver knocked on my Firehouse door and let us know the building behind us was on fire. We got rolling, my LT called dispatch for the box assignment and away we went.

The building was under construction and there was a chain link fence surrounding it. There was heavy smoke pouring out of the second floor above us. One of the Ladder 2 guys cut the fence while another FF and I got ourselves ready to make entry with a line. In that amount of time the fire went from smoke to fire blowing far enough above us that the plastic bits on my Engine started to melt. Needless to say we didn’t make entry and the pump operator disconnected all the lines and moved the engine.

Had the fence not been there, Gordy and I would have been well up the stairs to the second floor. The fire went to five alarms.

It was one of two fires in my career that really could have gone bad.

That’s me kneeling and John O’Driscoll, the truckie that cut the fence.

I'll go out on a limb here and say First Responders, LEOs, firefighters, and many military members

can comment here with some rather robust comments.

Personally, my job description as a Boatswain's Mate had it moments of wildness.

crazy and even funny (drill instructor).

After a career of routine insanity, a single selection becomes challenging.

I think it might even be fair to say that much of what was a routine day at work

conjures up many of those thoughts above.

Which makes the real crazy stuff seriously emotional memories.

(the kind that wake me up at night)

Photos leave out the things I remember most.

The sounds.

The smells.

And the feelings of the emotions of the people I shared the experience with.

Never really figured out why the worst deals always happened

in the freezing cold and pitch blackness of night.

Fortunately, we all made it out alive.

A-Jay

@DogBone_384 and @A-Jay - thank you both for being on the 'front line'

Andy - Boats 1? Chief Boats? Dad was a Navy PO2 when he got out after 4 years.

My own experiences were a little more mundane - Underwater Search and Recovery for a few years....worst was finding a guy a few days after the crawfish found him.

Just now, MN Fisher said:

@DogBone_384 and @A-Jay - thank you both for being on the 'front line'

Andy - Boats 1? Chief Boats? Dad was a Navy PO2 when he got out after 4 years.

Once we advance to E7

Our name changes to "Chief".

(Lynn as well)

When we call USAA, they always answer "Good Afternoon Chief"

And proceed to use military time.

I know it's weird, but we like it.

A-Jay

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

And proceed to use military time.

I know it's weird, but we like it.

Dude - I got out of the Air Force in 1984 and my watch/phone are STILL set to military time.

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Dude - I got out of the Air Force in 1984 and my watch/phone are STILL set to military time.

Phones, all clocks, the GMC, and the Humminbirds in Lund.

A-Jay

When i was in the US NAVY SEABEES stationed in Pt Hueneme Calif, every time our battalion came back from overseas deployment I was assigned TAD to the US Marine corps weapons dept as a M60 and M16 instructor and rifle range coach. I was stationed out at Pt Mago artillery rifle range on the Pacific coast 25 minutes north of Malibu Beach.

Just so happens the range is bordered by a nude beach on the south flank and all the Malibu girls would come up there. We always had a soldier on that flank as a lookout and beach watch with high powered binoculars looking for boats who didnt get the maritime report and to stop anyone from wandering into the live range.

Our bullets were going through the targets over the beach and into the water. Whoever got the beach watch that day was very happy. After a day of shooting I and a few guys would always in uniform walk the beach and mingle with the nude girls, I was 21 yrs old at the time, I was very intimidated by these hot girls and didnt have the nerve to ask one out.

I've got a fun one that I remember.

In 2016, I went on a foreign trip to Peru. After work one evening, the diplomats in Peru I was working with took me to an outfit that had buggies to cruise the sand dunes. Something I'll never forget.

7 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Personally, my job description as a Boatswain's Mate had it moments of wildness.

crazy and even funny (drill instructor).

You should dust off your uniform and teach the youngins on the Eagle how it's done. Bring a couple rods too... I'll take you smallmouth fishing (though New Hampshire smallies might disappoint you when compared to Lake Menderchuck!).

8 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

The fire went to five alarms.

That means 5 companies responding?