My only ordination is mail-order (pre-Internet) in World Christianship Ministries which I have used only to do weddings for friends and one infant baptism. I am a Christian, basically Protestant, member of the local Assembly of God where I have occasionally taught Sunday School & helped in Youth Ministry. My only academic theological training is three undergrad Theo courses. I am merely an amateur theology/Bible student. The “Friar” thing came about as my first few years on the Net were mainly in a Wiccan Chat Room where I was one of the Pet Christians & someone compared me to Friar Tuck.
Academically, my BA is in PoliSci with a minor in Psych while my MS is in Agency Counseling. Professionally, my work is 22 years in Big-Box Retail where I am a Customer Service Manager.
Retired New York State E.M.T.-B here. Old-timers and those who read up every Sept. 11th know I was involved the day of the attacks in lower Manhattan and the next day. Rode as a driver for 3 years, then was an EMT for 3 years.
We’ve got a few Paramedics- as was pointed out, they also have EMT-B status but have taken their Certification well above that point.
To address the issue of well-known Dopers. I suspect that we have a smattering of well-known folks who keep themselves off the radar. I can respect that. Once you’ve outed yourself, it’s hard to go back in.
And perhaps I should have stated that when I mentioned being an EMT. I’m an EMT-B. In the state of Indiana, we have EMT-B (basic EMT), advanced EMT, and paramedic.
EMT-B is the lowest certification, paramedic the highest (in the “in the field/on scene” category).
In order to be an advanced EMT, you have to hold a basic certification. The same applies for paramedics. You don’t have to have an advanced cert to become a paramedic, but you have to have a basic one.
Does that make sense? It makes sense to me typing it, but that’s because I know what I’m trying to say.
And I’d like to thank you, Cartooniverse, for your service in NYC on and after 9/11. I was in New York in January 2002 for a Dopefest, and went to ground zero.
My dad didn’t live long enough to see 9/11, but he was a career firefighter in Louisville, KY (and so was HIS dad, so I guess I’m in the family business). I know that any day he went to work might have been the day he never came home.
Yours (and mine, I guess) is/was one of those jobs where, if you do it right, no one really notices. If something goes wrong, it’s all over the news. So, again, thanks for your service.
And thank you for yours, Superdude. Just had this conversation last weekend with family members: the (hyper)focus on the loss in NY, PA and DC is sometimes appropriate, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes way over the top.
On September 11, 2001 how many people died in accidents of all kinds in the United States? How many homicides were there on the day? How many Police/ Fire/ EMS deaths? The terrorist attacks have their own horrific brand of impact, but in one way the intense focus on those events has overshadowed many other deaths.
My sister-in-law ( whose brother keeps going back to Iraq and Afghanistan ) said with more than a bit of bitterness, " What about the families who are notified daily that their son or daughter has died in war in the middle east? "
I have played elephant polo but purely on an amateur basis. Alas! I was never good enough to turn pro, and then my shoulder problems caused me to hang up my mallet, but I almost made a goal once. Almost. Ah, glory days. Sniff.
Depends on your definition of athlete - but I placed second in the US Amateur Ballroom Championships (smooth division) in, um, I think 1992. I haven’t danced seriously in seven years, though.
How narrowly do you define that? I work in a national library with collecting, storing and preserving various types of materials from computer games and web archiving to books, pamphlets and hand-written manuscripts (I don’t do them all at once, though).
MissMossie is a nun or going to become a nun, right? Does that count? She hasn’t posted in about eight months. I hope that means things are going well for her.
Not now active, but aha was part of The Five Americans. I believe we also have one or two session musicians whose work would be recognizable and a couple of nationally known actors/.actresses, who understandably prefer anonymity here. There are also a couple of ‘name’ entertainers and writers who are known to lurk.
