Your Voice. Your Community. Your News.
Volume 4 Issue 5
July 2014
Serving the Inland Empire Communities
Generation Huh?
The impact of hand-held devices on kids and teens By Jim Hague Being a teenager from the 1980’s, I had a good life. After school, I would put away my books, change my clothes, grab a Coke and a cupcake, and then hang around watching MTV (when they were playing videos). Then the doorbell rang. I answer and see a neighbor friend of mine holding a bat and a baseball mitt. I go into my garage, pick up my mitt and run out the door. As we played on our front yard it would not be long before other kids joined us. At 5 p.m. we saw our parents drive into the garage, and we knew it was dinnertime. Playtime is over until the next day. We spend our evenings doing homework and watching Yankee games.
Our heros from Station 77 in the City of Bloomington (l-r) Captain - Bret Raney, Dave Demauro, Chris Williams, Craig Lynde, Greg Sears, Frank Lerma
HONORING OUR HEROS
We would like to honor all firefighters, men and women, who have place their lives on the line of duty. Thank you for the dedication you have demonstrated in saving lives, houses, and land. How in the world do we thank someone for putting their lives on the line for complete strangers? There is no way we can thank you enough. We will be experiencing some of the hottest temperatures and the driest conditions in the following months. Lets all make it our responsibility starting with the Fourth of July and throughout the year to practice fire safety. Being diligent about fire-safety and using extreme caution with fireworks, because there are typically more fires reported on July 4th than any other day of the year. Practice safety when you go camping. Having family and friends over for those BBQ cook-out is the time to
Hello my name is Paul. I am 10-years-old. I thank the California fire fighters for saving my home. I also thank the out of state fire fighters for coming all the way to California. I had to leave a lot behind. The Old Fire came into my back yard, but it did not destroy my house. I am thank full for every thing I have now that I see many people with nothing. I am sorry for the fire fighters that watched their homes burn while saving others. I am always listening to helicopters fly into the reservoir in back of my house for hay or water to spread onto the mountains in back of my house. The mountains are very black. I hope that all the fire fighters healed from the fires.
practice extreme safety because thousands of BBQ-attendees are sent to the emergency room each year due to holiday-related injuries. Just be careful. Don’t skip the celebration or party! Just be aware of safety when it involves fire. Let do our part. We know that our Firemen and women brave extremely hazardous conditions and long, irregular shifts on a near-daily basis. They are on call at all hours and must respond immediately any time they are needed. A fireman is charged with duties ranging from saving lives to keeping firefighting equipment clean. At a moment’s notice, a fireman must be ready to perform job functions such as rescuing people or animals from burning or collapsed buildings, fighting fires and providing emergency medical assistance. Below we have comments from two individuals that represent our feelings of how we appreciate and value the support of our Heroes fighting fires to keep all of us safe and secure.
Sandra from Crestline writes . . . To our Dear Firefighters: You are our Heroes! Thank you all so much for putting your lives on the line to save our homes and communities. You are in my prayers, and thank you for saving my house. I just moved in three weeks ago and bought all new furniture. It was my dream to live in the mountains by a lake, thank you again for keeping my dream alive. Sincerely, Sandra from Crestline xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Paul from San Bernardino
Fast-forward 25 years .... I am walking my dog through an empty neighborhood. I see two little girls are sitting on the patio. They never notice my dog or me. Instead, their heads hung low as their fingers danced on a hand-held device. Maybe a PSP? Maybe an iPod? When the mother abruptly came out ordering them inside, their heads sprung up and they responded with a ‘huh’? In Napa Valley, Ca, I took a tour bus through the fresh smell and lush beauty of ‘Wine Country.” I can’t help but thank God for the refreshing mind-easing journey. I looked to my immediate left and saw a mother looking out the window. Her son, however, had lowered his head as his fingers danced on a hand-held device. The mother tapped his shoulder, shaking him back to reality. He responded by saying, “huh?” A few days later, I am at an Inland Empire frozen yogurt place. I took a small Styrofoam cup, poured a chocolate yogurt from the dispenser, and then added little chocolate chips and fudge. While doing this I noticed the teenage girl at the counter. She didn’t pay attention to what I was doing, nor did she care. I could have done jumping jacks in front of her, but she was too busy text messaging her friends. I asked, “How is business?” She looked at me as if I intruded her space. She responded with a ‘huh?’ See Handset • page 7
Sometimes it may be best to Stay where You Are
There are times in our lives when we are not ready for change. Sometimes we want change before we are ready for it. I’m referring to times when we have experienced a loss, and it seems to everyone around us, and even to ourselves, that we are holding on to the grief too long. We begin to feel as though we HAVE to change and we WANT to change yet we seem powerless to actually move on in our lives. The grief I’m referring to can be very deep and very strong. We feel stuck. Some people are stricken with grief over a divorce, loss of a job or even the loss of
their home. While the death of a loved one may seem much more devastating than the loss of a job or an unwanted divorce, the grief we feel over these other losses can be felt as deeply and strongly. If you are in the grip of emotion that keeps you from moving on in your life, you may need to give yourself permission to “stay where you are until YOU are DONE being there”. Your inability to move on is also telling you that you need to learn something before you will be ready to move on. Once you figure out what you need to learn, you can stop punishing yourself.
When you give yourself permission to remain sad, depressed and all the other emotions associated with grief, YOU BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TAKING CONTROL OVER YOUR EMOTIONS. I am not suggesting that you stay where you are forever…I’m suggesting that you stay where you are… sad, depressed, grief stricken etc…only until YOU are DONE. There is always a reason that you are unable to let go. Take time to figure out YOUR reason. Some people need to forgive themselves for their actions, which may have contributed to the loss they have
suffered. It’s often easier to forgive others than it is to forgive ourselves. When we give ourselves permission to punish ourselves, by remaining trapped in grief and unhappiness, we are taking the first step towards understanding that it is our choice to stay where we are. We have the right to choose unhappiness. Understanding that it is our choice, and giving ourselves permission to remain unhappy, is a huge step towards recognizing that our feelings come from our thoughts. We can begin to believe this. Something in our subconscious will come to recognize See Be Still • page 3
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