Patrick LeClerc's Blog, page 6
August 5, 2015
Disco Patch
While I was digging through one of my bureau drawers today I saw an old Paramedic shoulder patch. I took it out and looked at it. It was one of the first ones I got when I graduated from Medic school. The one that I never put on a uniform so it wasn’t faded from sun or washing. The one that looked just like the day I got it. The old style shiny disco patch.
The thing is gaudy. A gold circle around a disc of blue with a gold star of life on it, and the gold Paramedic rocker underneath. That doesn’t convey just how tacky it is. The gold isn’t just gold colored thread, it’s shiny, glittering. The blue isn’t a serious navy but a bright royal blue. The lettering is bright red, because why the hell not.
I like the fact that it’s loud and tacky and big. I figure after the hell of sleep deprivation and sweat, blood and tears that was medic school, I want astronauts on the ISS to look down and know he I’m a medic.
But more than that, I love the big gaudy patch because it tells the world that I am the man who practices his trade in dark alleys, heroin syringes and spent brass and broken glass crunching beneath my boots as I labor to save the people nobody else would, as they gasp and gurgle and cough up hepatitis blood and e-coli vomit and tuberculosis sputum. It was big and cocky because it fits the personality of those who wear it.
It means a lot to me. It’s not a medal or a commendation. Those you get for something you’ve done. Recognition. A pat on the back.
The patch isn’t a reward. The patch is a promise. It’s for what you promise you will do. I wore it because I promise I’ll be there, despite the germs and the dark and the danger, and I will be hope for those without any.
That means a lot, even to a cynical old bastard like me.
And it’s really shiny.
The thing is gaudy. A gold circle around a disc of blue with a gold star of life on it, and the gold Paramedic rocker underneath. That doesn’t convey just how tacky it is. The gold isn’t just gold colored thread, it’s shiny, glittering. The blue isn’t a serious navy but a bright royal blue. The lettering is bright red, because why the hell not.
I like the fact that it’s loud and tacky and big. I figure after the hell of sleep deprivation and sweat, blood and tears that was medic school, I want astronauts on the ISS to look down and know he I’m a medic.
But more than that, I love the big gaudy patch because it tells the world that I am the man who practices his trade in dark alleys, heroin syringes and spent brass and broken glass crunching beneath my boots as I labor to save the people nobody else would, as they gasp and gurgle and cough up hepatitis blood and e-coli vomit and tuberculosis sputum. It was big and cocky because it fits the personality of those who wear it.
It means a lot to me. It’s not a medal or a commendation. Those you get for something you’ve done. Recognition. A pat on the back.
The patch isn’t a reward. The patch is a promise. It’s for what you promise you will do. I wore it because I promise I’ll be there, despite the germs and the dark and the danger, and I will be hope for those without any.
That means a lot, even to a cynical old bastard like me.
And it’s really shiny.
Disco Patch
While I was digging through one of my bureau drawers today I saw an old Paramedic shoulder patch. I took it out and looked at it. It was one of the first ones I got when I graduated from Medic school. The one that I never put on a uniform so it wasn’t faded from […]
August 7, 2014
Is Your Heart with the Underdog? Good. You Should Root for Amazon
It’s a bit counter-intuitive, I know. Amazon is huge. Amazon is not a sympathetic figure. Amazon is a soulless corporate giant, crushing the small bookseller beneath its heel. But let’s look closely at the anti Amazon sentiment from publishers and bookstores, and then look at how we, as readers and authors, should react. I’m not […]
April 19, 2014
Blog Hop
This is my very first Blog Hop! I was tagged by a fellow writer Andrew Baker in his blog Thanks Drew! Blog Hop Rules: Answer the four questions below, link back to the person who invited you, and link to the people who will be posting the following Monday. 1. What am I working on? […]
September 25, 2013
Fuck This Guy-AIG CEO Robert Benmosche, or When is it OK to Guillotine the Rich?
So the CEO of AIG, which, in case you’ve forgotten, bent the economy over the banister and sodomized it back in 2008, and then got bailed out by you and me and every other American because they are to big to fail to contribute to politicians re-election campaigns, wrote a whiny op-ed in which he[.....]
September 18, 2013
Editors Are Vital
Damn it. I recently got my manuscript back from the editing team. Their take overall was positive, but they more or less unanimously objected to a framing device I’d used. As usual, it was because they just didn’t understand what I was doing, that this was integral to the plot, it’s an established device in[.....]
September 11, 2013
Why “Under God” has no place in The Pledge of Allegiance.
Yep. I went there. I love the Pledge. I love my country. Two days after high school graduation I was standing at attention with my head shaved and my sphincter clenched as a DI roared at me. That’s how much I love my country. But “Under God” should not be there. It just shouldn’t, and[.....]
August 1, 2013
Fuck This Guy: WI Governor Scott Walker
Hello and welcome to “Fuck This Guy” a new series that we at Ink & Bourbon are pleased to bring you. This will update weekly, unless we really feel the need to post more often, which seems likely. For our inaugural entry, I have selected Tea Party darling and possible GOP Presidential candidate, Wisconsin Governor[.....]
April 18, 2013
Having a Smug-gasm
Gold is falling. And I’m riding a delightful wave of Schadenfreude. I wondered just why I was so happy at their misfortune, so I though long and hard about it. And it ties into my psychology, philosophy and pretty much everything I hold dear. First, I’ll admit up front, I’m not a finances guy. I’ve[.....]
April 16, 2013
Just Be There for Each Other
Boston is my city. I’ve lived all my life within an easy half hour drive to the Hub. Except at rush hour, when it’s an easy two or three hour drive. I have close family living in the city proper. All my life, going “into town” meant Boston. I still say “hahbah” for “harbor.” I’ve[.....]
