Bob Roller
@emergency-bob
Emergency Manager / Iowa Farmboy / Firefighter / Wilderness Paramedic / Writer / Dad Opinions are my own.
The kids agreed to watch the Alf cartoon series tonight, and my millennial heart is full.
Brought my east coast kids back to the farm, and they got invited to ride in the local parade with all their cousins. This is a completely normal experience for farm kids.
Older brother shared some wildfire pictures from times before I joined him on the fire line. Good people doing great work. #Wildland #Firefighter
Midwestern cuisine is the best. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong #Iowa
I worked the state fair yesterday on the mall as a paramedic. Was memorable. Event medicine is (type 2) fun.
July 4th can be fun early in the day if there are parades and cookouts we get invited to. Getting a standby assignment for fireworks is a pretty good gig too. New Years is great for polypharma calls.
Had a few hours to myself today, so I decided to crawl inside a nuclear reactor. 10/10 would recommend.
My trusty kinetic diver had a squeaky timing bezel, so I popped it off and greased the o-ring. Was good to put the watchmaking tools to use, and was also an excellent opportunity to practice cursing at a low enough volume that it did not wake the kids.
Of course! And now that he’s seen how char cloth works, he wants to make some himself
Camping last weekend gave my 8yo son the chance to practice lighting a campfire with a ferro rod. The charcloth we made last winter was key. #camping #bushcraft
Caledonian State Park offered a “Command Decisions of the Civil War” lecture at sunset Saturday night, and the kids tolerated both me and the rain to attend. Ranger to my daughter: “How do you know about General Grant and Harriet Tubman?” 6yo: “My dad drags us to these things. All. The. Time!”
Celebrating Father’s Day early with a new pair of New Balance runners. No grass stains yet, but I should have them perfected by the weekend.
Celebrated National Trails Day with a visit to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy HQ in Harper’s Ferry, WV. My youngest was less interested until she saw the old hornet’s nest on the table. She promised to hike the trail with me when big enough — which in her estimation means 9 years old
Put the kids to bed in the cabin and finished the night reading by headlamp, swinging in the porch-swing, and listening to the rain. Was a good night
Went camping with the kids in West Virginia using the same cheapo enamelware cook-set I bought in the Rock Springs, WY Walmart twenty years ago for my USFS seasonal position and the Mini-Mag my brother gave me as a birthday present two weeks later. Still works great. #Camping
Same reason that I kept my old Jeep when I finally upgraded to a truck. Having a vehicle that sometimes catches fire but otherwise can be fixed with basic tools and YouTube videos is important.
For anyone following the Screwtape Worm news and curious to know how the United States organizes and responds to incidents like these, I recommend you take a look at the national Food/Ag Incident Annex developed by my team in FEMA’s National Planning Branch. www.fema.gov/sites/defaul...
Camping trip was rained out, so I took the kids to Gettysburg. Youngest had her first cyclorama experience. Made some good memories learning important lessons.
My undergraduate university has a college of agriculture, and the largest student organization is the "Block and Bridle" club that sells meat the students butcher in class. I earned a BA in Political Science and History, and this is how I dressed for graduation. Nothing unique whatsoever.
FB memory from May 2020: Spent that day with my wife and newborn daughter in the maternity ward while watching my friends wheel patients into the COVID tent tent directly below me. Wild times. #MedSky #Paramedic
Spent the afternoon at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. I am beyond lucky to have such an amazing event in my backyard. #BookSky
Caught the sunrise from the South Frederick Overlook today and spent a moment afterwards giving thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps for building it almost a century ago.
My daughter is in kindergarten and drew a portrait of George Washington that belongs in a museum
The parents of the baby I helped deliver back in February sent us a thank you card. I learned tonight her name is Miriam. #MedSky #Paramedic