Disclaimer: I don't own the guys from Emergency so please don't sue me. I promise to put them back in one piece when I'm done with them.
Authors Note: I want to thank the owner of Johnny's Green Pen for issuing this challenge. I hope you enjoy my take on why Johnny's green pen was so important to him and why he kept it close to his heart. Sit back, relax, and enjoy. As always feedback of any kind good, bad ugly or indifferent is always welcome-Erin 11 December 2006
From the Desk of
John R. Gage, LA County Fire Department Chief, ret.
11 December 2006
I have often been asked a question that I figured I would finally answer today. What is it with my green pen? Why did I always keep it close to my heart? These are two good questions with one heck of a story to answer them. In fact, I am handwriting this with the very pen I am going to tell you about. I'll type it later so more people can understand it.
It all started about thirty-four years ago. I had already been a firefighter for two years, even had my rescue certification. I heard the department was coming up with a more advanced rescue program or as they called it a paramedic program. Now at first I didn't want to join. I didn't see the point in joining a program that wasn't even covered under law yet.
Then it happened. I was working over at 10 at the time with Tony Freeman. We were called out to an electrocution. Real ugly one too. I thought we had him back by the time we got him to the hospital. Sadly I was wrong. Now normally I am not a sore loser, but I always am especially sore when we lose a victim.
I finished my shift at 10 and went on a hunt, my mission to find out more about this paramedic program. Little did I know what one little question and answer session and an application would bring me.
Flashback time enjoy the time warp!
1972
A young Johnny Gage walked into the emergency entrance of Rampart General Hospital. Head nurse Dixie McCall looked up to see who had walked in and was surprised to see Johnny.
Johnny walked over to Dixie. "Hi Dixie."
"Hi, Johnny. what are doing here? Aren't you off today?"
"Yeah I am. I actually came in trying to find out information on the paramedic program."
"You're in luck. Today is the last day to apply for the next class. Last door on your right as you head for Kel Brackett's office. look for firefighter Roy Desoto."
"Thanks, Dixie. I'll see ya later."
"Bye, Johnny."
Johnny walked down the hall in the direction Dixie had pointed him. It only took a minute for him to find the office he was looking for. Seeing the door closed Johnny knocked on it.
Roy Desoto called out from behind the door. "Come in."
Johnny opened the door and walked in. "Roy Desoto?"
"Yes. How can I help you?"
"My name is John Gage. I work over at 10. I actually came by for information on the paramedic program."
Roy smiled. "You're in the right place. Please sit."
Johnny sat down and put the application his battalion chief had given him on the desk. Roy picked it up and looked it over. "It's not signed."
"I wanted to ask you a few questions before I sign it."
"Fair enough."
"Can we use the training now?"
"Right at this second, no. Not long after the second class ends though the state will be handling a bill that will turn us loose."
"Alright. How long is the training?"
"Three months. Since it is a volunteer program, you'll still be working your regular shift."
"Okay."
"Can I ask you a question, John?"
"Sure."
"Why do you want to become a paramedic?"
Roy's question caught Johnny slightly off guard. Johnny looked Roy square in the eye. "Can I level with you then answer your question?"
"Of course."
"My chief has been after me about this for a while. At first I shot it down. I mean it doesn't make sense to me to have training and then not be able to use it."
"Honestly, John I felt the same way. Why take the time to learn this stuff when I can't even use it?"
"Exactly."
"What changed your mind?"
Johnny shuddered. "A bad call on my last shift."
Roy spoke honestly. "Wanna talk about it?"
Johnny was a bit surprised, but saw only sincerity in Roy's eyes. "I work as a rescue man outta 10. We were called out to an electrocution on our last shift. Turns out it was a high powered charge. Did the best we could for him and got him in here quick. Regretfully not fast enough. Brackett lost him."
"Ouch that hurts."
"Oh yeah and I'm a sore loser when it comes to losing a patient."
"Me too."
"I overheard Brackett say if only someone with proper training had been there to treat him on scene he'd still be alive."
"Youch."
"Yeah. That's when I decided to come see you today."
"Good reason."
Johnny relaxed and smiled, feeling better after telling Roy about the call. "Say, uh can I borrow your pen?"
Roy smiled, "Sure."
Roy handed Johnny his green pen and Johnny signed his application. He went to give it back to Roy who waved him off.
Back to the present…
Hello again, I hope you enjoyed your time warp. You'll be going on one more later on. Let me pause briefly here for a minute to pay tribute to a dear friend. Rest in peace my dear friend Dixie. Rampart's nurses will always be your nurses to me.
With that said it's time to get back to the story. I walked out of Roy's office that very first day not having a clue what to expect. What I did know was I was going to hold onto that pen. At first it was to remind me of the gutsy decision to join the paramedic program. After graduation Roy and I became partners at the brand new station 51. The more I worked with Roy the more the pen came to be a symbol of our friendship.
It's kinda silly, but that pen always seemed to give me a little bit of extra strength, especially on ugly calls. Boy did Roy and I see our share of ugly calls when we were partners. Scary ones too! The scariest calls for me were actually when I wasn't working with Roy, especially if it was a major call.
Now don't get me wrong. I could work with others when I had to. When I was a paramedic though, it was more comforting to work with Roy. Heck, he trained me. Plus we were best friends. We could go to call, say about three words to each other, and bingo! Rescue complete. The shortness on words wasn't because were mad at each other. It was simply we knew each other well enough to know the other's actions. It was comforting to know my best friend always had my back. Roy and I worked so well together that people quit trying to explain it and just said, "ah it's just Johnny and Roy," or "it's just Gage and Desoto."
When Roy was out I was always edgier. A lot of extra time was spent explaining things, not good in emergency medicine. The drug box, well that's a different tirade for another time!
Having spent ten years as paramedics, Roy and I can tell you many stories. However, I digress from my current writing instrument, my green pen.
As a paramedic I did any and all paperwork with it. I even took my Captain's exam with it. Roy and I both passed the exam the first time around with flying colors.
Becoming Captain had its good points and its sad ones. The good news was the pay raise and having my own shift to run. Thankfully I had an excellent teacher in Captain "Cap" Hank Stanley. He kept our shift as tight as a family, which wasn't always easy to do. The bad news was the family was all leaving our nest, our house as we called it, station 51.
Cap became Chief Stanley (although we all still call him Cap even today). Mike Stoker, our engineer, became Captain Stoker of station 36's B shift. I took Marco Lopez, who had passed his engineer's test, with me to 127's A shift. Roy took Chet "the Phantom" Kelly with him to station 8's A shift.
The worst part of the family breaking up was Roy and I were no longer partners. That one stung for quite a while for both of us. Since we both worked A shift though, we still saw each other quite a bit at work when we got called out together. Away from work, I was still pretty much a fixture at Roy's as much as I could be.
One thing both Roy and I did was keep our paramedic certifications up. We never knew when an extra pair of trained hands would come in handy.
Like one night… Uh oh I feel another time warp coming on. Enjoy!
1984
Roy and Johnny had been Captains for five years.
Both were on duty. Johnny picked up the phone in his office. He dialed a number out of memory, the office of station 8.
After two rings Johnny's best friend, Captain Roy Desoto, answered. "Station 8. This is Captain Desoto."
Johnny smiled. "Hi, Pally."
Roy smiled at his best friend's use of his nickname. "Hi Junior. Ya eat?"
"Yep. Just giving the green pen a break so I figured I'd call you."
Roy chuckled. "I can't believe you still use that thing."
"Pally, how can I not? You gave it to me at the beginning."
"I know Junior."
Roy smiled, thinking of the watch he was wearing. Johnny had given it to him on their first anniversary as paramedics.
Before either could say another word, the claxton rang out loudly. Both quickly recognized the tones to each other's stations.
Johnny spoke quickly. "See ya in a few, Pally."
Both quickly hung up. Within minutes both were on scene. What greeted them were another engine and a fully engulfed, angry warehouse.
Chet and Marco brought their respective engines to a halt. Roy and Johnny barked out preliminary orders to their crews and ran over to check in with the responding Chief. Both were relieved to see the Chief was Hank Stanley and the third Captain was Mike Stoker.
Johnny spoke first. "Jeez, we got a family reunion going tonight."
Mike spoke tiredly. "Yeah, I had to cover."
Hank smiled tightly. "Good to know I have hands I can trust. Mike, you got the front. Roy, to the left. John, to the right."
Roy, Mike, and Johnny all spoke at the same time. "You got it, Cap."
A shift's nickname for him let Hank smile for a quick second. "Roy, John, certs up to date?"
Roy and Johnny both said, "You know it, Cap."
"Go kill the beast, ya twits."
The three Captains shared a brief smile at Hank's nickname for them, then split. For the next three hours the stations fought the beast. All three squads ended up away from the scene at once with patients. Just as the fire came under control, a blood curdling scream ripped through the night air.
Hank yelled over the radio, "Roy, John."
Both Roy and Johnny picked their HTs up and spoke at the same time. "Got it, Cap."
Roy turned and yelled, "Chet, get me an air tank."
Johnny spun and yelled, "Air tank."
The guys geared up as Mike cued the radio, slightly shaken. "Guys, it's my lineman, Jack Smith."
Roy calmly spoke on the radio. "We got him, Mike. Give Cap his info and pull gear."
Roy and Johnny met up halfway to the smoldering building. Roy spoke first. "Careful, Junior."
"Always, Pally. Let's go get him."
The guys shared one last look, donned their air masks and sprinted off. Mike and Marco pulled the equipment out while Chet babysat both engines. Hank jogged over to where Mike, Marco and Chet were.
Hank turned to his former engineer and spoke calmly. "Easy, Michael. you know he has the two best going in after him."
"Thanks, Cap. That's what's keeping me from going completely nuts right now, knowing Roy and Johnny are going for him."
As Mike was talking to Hank, Roy and Johnny were inside looking for Jack.
Roy yelled through his mask. "Jack!"
Out of the corner of his eye ,Johnny spotted Jack. A quick tap on Roy's shoulder and the duo took off. They could see Jack still had his gear on and was pinned down under a beam.
Jack smiled when he saw who his rescuers were and spoke through his mask. "Man, I get a reunion of the guys, as Cap Mike calls you. Jeez, how did I get this lucky?"
Roy and Johnny smiled, slightly embarrassed knowing Mike had been talking about them again. Johnny spoke through his mask. "Thought you might want out from under this beam."
"You know it."
With one tap on the beam, Roy and Johnny were in place. Silently, in one motion, Johnny lifted the beam as Roy pulled Jack out. Johnny dropped the beam, lifted his air mask off, and picked up his HT. "Engine 127 to engine 36."
Mike cued his radio. "Go, Johnny."
"We got him, Mike."
Mike let out a sigh of relief. Johnny continued. "Have the splint box ready."
"You got it."
Johnny jammed the HT back in his turnout.
Roy and Johnny carefully picked Jack up and carried him out. Not breaking stride, they headed for 127 where the gear was laid out.
Johnny spoke quickly. "Cap."
Hank turned to Mike. "Come on, Mike let the boys work."
Mike backed up a bit. Roy helped Jack sit up and get his gear off. Johnny looked over and saw Marco had the biophone set up and smiled. "A well oiled machine."
Hank grinned. "We always were."
Roy took Jack's vitals as Johnny picked up the biophone. "Hang tight, Jack. we'll get your leg splinted in a minute."
Jack's voice was low and full of pain. "Yes, sir."
Johnny spoke into the biophone. "Rampart, this is rescue 5…station 127. How do you read?"
Doctor Joe Early had the radio that night. "Go, 127. John, Roy's there isn't he?"
"Yeah he is, doc. We have a twenty-six year old male firefighter. He had a beam land on his leg. Be advised victim is lineman Jack Smith from 36."
"10-4, 127."
Johnny used his green pen to write the information down as Roy signed it to him. Then Johnny passed it on to Joe.
Joe responded, "127, start IV 5 milligrams MS push. Piggy back it with one of D5W. Immobilize the leg and transport immediately."
Johnny wrote Joe's orders down and handed them to Roy. "10-4, Rampart. 127 out."
By the time Johnny hung up, Roy had Jack's IV going. Johnny splinted the leg as the ambulance pulled up.
Jack turned to Mike and said, "Cap, you were right. These guys are the best."
Roy and Johnny blushed at Jack's comment. Mike and Hank smiled as Mike spoke. "That they are, Jack."
Hank added, "And always have been."
Back to the present…
Welcome back again. I hope you enjoyed your trip to the eighties. I must pause for one last tribute here. Sadly we lost the good doctor Joe Early just a few years before we lost Dixie McCall. I tip my hat to the good doc for the many times he put me back together. Rampart's ER, but more specifically the neurosurgery department, will always be his.
My green pen filled out its fair share of paperwork while I was a medic and a captain. That didn't begin to prepare me for the amount of paperwork it would fill out and sign as a chief. Yikes!!
I just looked at the time and realized the reunion picnic starts soon. So, I will leave that part of the story there.
On to part two of the question. Why did I always keep the pen close to my heart? I saved this part for last because it's the shortest.
When I first had the pen, keeping it close to my heart was a given because of where they put the pocket on my work shirt. The more Roy and I became friends, it was more like a safety blanket to have it there. It was like if I could reach over and touch it, then everything would be okay, no matter the situation.
When I became captain, having the pen close to my heart meant I always had a piece of home with me. Oh, sure. I knew the guys were only a phone call or a "hey Marco come here" away. Having my pen with me, especially on calls though, just felt right.
The day I became chief, Bic's refillable ink stock must have skyrocketed. Everybody I knew gave me cartridges for my pen. While I was chief, my poor pen got the stuffing beat out of it. Paperwork has to be the worst thing ever invented by man! I must have financed some nice vacations and probably a car or house or something for somebody with how many refills I bought.
Oh, man. Gotta run. The party is at Cap's this time and everybody plus their families are going to be there. So that's it and that's all about my green pen, folks. In honor of my 51 A shift family, I'll sign off our way.
John R. Gage
Squad 51 KMG 365