6September 2020Oklahoma Firefighter
2nd vice PresidenT n
Jim Ed Nimmo
Tulsa FD
jimnimmo7@gmail.com • 918-557-8379 I’m going to tell a version of a preacher story. You all remember them, don’t you? I remember hearing them in church growing up. I don’t remember how old I was when I realized either the whole thing was largely made up, or some minister’s association was sending them out for preachers to use each Sunday. Either way, at some point I realized that although the story may have happened to a preacher, it didn’t happen to the preacher in front of me. I say “a version” of a preacher story because although it is going to follow the lines of one of those stories, and although I’m going to throw in a little bit of speculation at the end, it really did happen, and it happened to me last week. I had to grab a couple of things from the store while I was in the city for our board meeting this month, and I was fairly impressed with the level of compliance with the mask mandate put in place. As I walked into a “big box” retailer, folks were putting their masks on as they entered and those exiting were removing them. It was busy. I grabbed some deodorant and shaving cream and, to my surprise, didn’t see a single person not wearing a face covering. As I approached the checkout line, a young man was directing those who had less than five items to the customer service line which he indicated began behind a black rope. I headed that way just in time to have an elderly lady back out of the line she was in with her basket just in front of me. I would say she didn’t hear the part about the “less than five” items, but she made a beeline for the black rope. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time I’ve had an aging “Karen” cut in front of me in line with more than the specified number of items, and Mr. and Mrs. Nimmo didn’t raise me to make a fuss when it could be construed as disrespecting an elder. Most folks have heard of Karen (the lady with the wedge haircut who perpetually wants to speak to a manager). I’ve also heard of the funny name for a group of Karen’s. It’s called a “Komplaint”[sic] of Karens, if you didn’t know. I had never heard of the male version until I tried to coin it myself as “Jason” or some other name and was corrected by a friend of mine who is a 20ish-year veteran of the service industry. He told me the correct nomenclature for the male Karen is “Chad.” Chad is a little different than Karen. Chad just likes to make people feel uncomfortable from the relative safety of there being no possibility of anyone actually confronting him with anything other than talk. Don’t get me wrong, he loves confrontation, as long as there isn’t a possibility him losing. If you’re a Tombstone fan, he’s Johnny Tyler, or Ike Klanton, dressed in cargo shorts and an Under Armour shirt. So I’m waiting in line behind Karen and I hear the same manager address someone be-
hind me in a cheerful and friendly voice. “Sir, I have a mask for you!” I turned around and there was Chad. Chad was somewhere between 40 and 50. I knew our young manager was in trouble. Armed with only a cheerful voice and a disposable mask -- and absolutely no corporate or municipal backup -- this young retail manager had found himself in exactly the kind of situation Chad has been fantasizing about since May. I grinned under my mask. The whole thing was so predictable. Chad gripped the handles of his cart and braced against it as he prepared his response. “Nah, man, I don’t wear those.” In his best defensive yet flippantly defiant tone. Not to be that easily deterred, the young manager replied, again cheerfully, “Sir, it is a city ordinance that everyone wear a mask in retail businesses.” Chad had thought about this and quickly stated, “My Doctor told me not to.” The manager wilted, but again cheerfully replied, “OK, sir,” and quickly retreated. I fully expected the whole thing to go down like this, but I was a little disappointed the manager didn’t use a little personal discretion and ask if the doctor’s name was Dr. Pepper before he made his inevitable retreat. Every masked face in that area of the store was on Chad. He held his head up with pride, like Washington crossing the Delaware. I made it a point to make contact eye contact with Chad. I planned on tipping my hat and giving him the good guy nod. After all, he had just starred down the corporate beast on the leash of the deep state and came out on the other side unscathed with his liberty intact, but when we finally made eye contact, he looked away so fast I wasn’t able to. Here’s the deal. I don’t know for certain if mask mandates will work. I know they won’t if there is no compliance or enforcement at the ground level, and I haven’t seen any of the latter beyond requests by businesses desperate to stay open and in turn keep our economy rolling. If you don’t like wearing masks, I get it. I don’t either. But don’t hide behind civil liberty or some lack of fear as your reasoning behind it. The truth is, Chad gave up more liberty when he signed up for the Spacebook account he undoubtedly bragged about the encounter on. The same Spacebook account with the profile pic from the fishing trip where he and Dr. Pepper are both wearing HUK buffs over their mouth and nose to protect them from the UV rays. Wear a mask when you can. It’s not a big deal if you forget occasionally, just don’t be a Chad. I have it on Spacebook authority that the whole thing will be over with in November anyway, and if that is the case, what have you really lost other than people being spared seeing your beautiful faces. And all the people said, “Amen.”
3rd vice president n
Tony Lopez Midwest City FD tlopez@midwestcityok.org
405-739-1343
I hope everyone is doing well. This pandemic thing is really getting old. I know from our department, things are a lot different. Guys wearing masks in the station and rigs when they can’t social distance, training with 10 people or less, not able to eat out on occasions, only take-out, Zoom meetings with my officers. Our response has changed also in all the extra precautions with our PPEs. It seems like this could wear on a person. I know at times I have to sit back and take a deep breath and know that this will slow down some day. We need to be checking on each other and make sure everyone’s doing OK. Things have changed in my household. We sent our youngest daughter to college. I wouldn’t say we’re empty nesters, but it’s different when they’re not at home all the time. My wife and I haven’t been alone in 25 years, and she’s been working from home for the last five months, so you may need to say a little prayer for us. I’m not one who can put my thoughts down on paper, so bear with me on my articles. I hope they get better with each month. Lastly I would like to thank Chaplin Charles McDade for over 25 years of volunteer service to the Midwest City Fire Department. He has been there for us through all of the good times and bad times. He will be greatly missed. Stay safe and God Bless.
past president n
Mike Kelley Oklahoma City FD mkelley@local157.org
As summer draws to a close, our communities, state and nation still have as many questions as answers due to the ongoing pandemic. Fortunately, firefighters do their best work in uncertain situations by addressing what they can control and mitigating the rest. Your OSFA is doing the same by making adjustments to committee meetings and events. At the beginning of this pandemic, committee meetings were curtailed and several events were canceled out of an abundance of caution. Following our recent convention, committees have been named and meetings will be held virtually and in person where needed. Our focus remains providing service to our membership. As such we have reaffirmed our partnership with OSU to provide classes throughout the state. Sheri continues to work diligently administering grants and getting training out to our members across the state. The Board made the difficult decision to make our annual Memorial Service a virtual event this year. Our rationale behind the decision was simply the safety of all participants. We have also decided to keep the Museum and Office closed to visitors until the next board meeting. While closed, the staff has been working hard on projects that will enhance the experience of future visitors. The OSFA is your organization and we will continue to work to assure that it is one you can be proud to belong to! Stay safe and God Bless!
