About ten years ago—Wow, how time flies!—I picked up Suze Orman’s book, Nine Steps to Financial Freedom while killing time in an airport on my annual ski trip to western U.S.  Chapter 4 is entitled, Being Responsible to Those You Love, and a section of that chapter dealt with the topic of Long Term Care (LTC) medical insurance.  Suze’s argument for LTC was that it’s significant protection for your financial health to protect yourself against the expensive—and getting more expensive every day—cost of long-term medical care (And she’s not just talking about when you get old—how would your family afford the care that would be necessary should someone in your family require months or years of medical care and rehabilitation following an accident of some sort?)

Anyway, after reading the book my wife and I purchased LTC policies for the two of us.  Then I got to thinking about my Mom who by then was living alone in New Jersey, although in close proximity to two of my younger brothers.  I had been living in Virginia since 1979 and our baby brother had made his home in Dewey Beach, DE, while the aforementioned brothers had remained fairly close to where we’d all grown up.  Though me and my youngest brother, Chris, did not have children, our other two brothers, Tim (two boys) and Steve (two girls), were raising the next generation of Avsecs.  The more I thought about it, the more I was concerned about (1) who would take care of Mom when the time came that she couldn’t do it herself, and (2) who would pay for it.

The way I saw it, with Suze’s help, was that with four brothers there was a way to address both questions so that (1) Mom always had the right care at the right time, (2) Tim and Steve and their respective families didn’t have to bear an undue burden of caring for Mom just because they lived close by, (3) the cost of Mom’s care would be fairly shared amongst the four of us, and (4) the cost of that care would not potentially devastate any of our families.

So we bought Mom a LTC policy way back when.  Just last week, a representative of our company, John Hancock, sat down with Tim and our Mom, to gather all the information necessary to open a case file for Mom.  Despite our best “prepping”, Mom thought this was the first step in our placing her in a nursing home.  Fortunately, Tim and the rep were able to calm her fears and help her see that LTC pays for a full range of options, all based upon Mom’s needs.  He also said that we (the Avsec brothers) were doing the absolute right thing by getting a case file opened now; even if she did not need anything now, when she’s released from the rehab facility—probably several more weeks—and we know more about her needs, the process is already started.

So, do you have LTC policies on your loved ones?

Just before Christmas a bout with pneumonia and a bacterial infection earned her at trip across the Delaware River from her home in New Jersey to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia (It’s a long story…she needed the specialists and expertise of a “big-time” teaching hospital).  After she spent the holidays at UPMC, she was discharged to a post-hospital rehabilitation closer to home, Manor Care-West Deptford, to regain her strength, balance, and endurance.

I made my first trip from Alexandria, VA to see Mom the weekend following her move.  Over the course of my 29 years in the Fire and EMS I spent a lot of time in and out of every kind of medical facility, including nursing homes, and I was immediately impressed by the cleanliness and clean smell throughout the Manor Care facility.  (Mom’s room was all the way in the rear of the building so I got to experience a good portion of the building on my way in and out.)  The staff and facility made a very positive impression on me.

All of the nurses and staff that are taking care of her are nice and compassionate and provide good care.  But as I wandered through the facility, and took Mom on some trips in her wheelchair, it occurred to me that those folks might like to know a little something about Mrs. Avsec in Room 123.  So I put together this bio and shared it with her nurses.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 7, 1937

In her adult working life, she’s:

• Retired from the Kingsway Regional High School District after safely transporting thousands of school children over her 20+ years of service;
• Restaurant Waitress and Hostess for several fine eating establishments in Woodbury, Glassboro, Woodstown, and Bridgeton;
• School secretary

• And most of the time, she worked two or more jobs at one time to raise her four boys

She’s a “world-class” traveler who’s cruised to Hawaii, Alaska, Bermuda, and Nova Scotia amongst other places.  She knows the state of Florida like the back of her hand

She’s been a “Kingsway Dragon Mother” since 1972 when her sons first started participating in varsity sports for football, wrestling, and baseball.

We could go on and on and on, but we think you get the picture: she’s one special lady to all of us.

The Avsec Brothers

Since then the dangers of texting while driving have become more documented and have identified that texting is even more dangerous than talking; at least when talking the driver’s eyes are still on the road, even if their mind is elsewhere. Search the text (no pun intended!), teens texting and driving, and see the vast array of sources that appear:  AT&T, Liberty Mutual Insurance, USAToday, Washington Post, LA Times, etc., all with the same message. Texting while driving is more hazardous than driving while intoxicated. Don’t believe it? Check out this amazing Infographic, Texting While Driving Statistics Infographic, http://tinyurl.com/co4qx77.

Let’s “get ahead” of this driving safety risk before we’re allowing tens of thousands of people to die from crashes caused by distracted drivers who are texting. Look back at how many people died in crashes caused by drunk drivers before we in the United States started taking that driving risk seriously. Will it take someone you love dying in a motor vehicle crash caused by a texting driver before you “see the light”?  Take every opportunity this holiday season to show your support for such a ban.  Participate in as many polls as you can (politicians take the results of polls as Gospel now days, right?), e-mail you representatives in congress (Yeah, I know I just used a lower case “c” for congress, but that’s what they deserve for what we’re getting for our money these days).

10.  My good health

9.  My 54^th Thanksgiving having the Queen Mum, the original “unsinkable” Mrs. Avsec, on the planet.

8.  My brothers Tim, Steve, and Chris who take really good care of our Mom.

7.  A good 2^nd career working for a quality company, CALIBRE, that does great things for its internal and external customers every day

6.  The great people that I have the pleasure of working with every day at CALIBRE

5.  The pleasure of watching a star “rising”, i.e., our grandson, singer, and actor Seth Bunting.

4.  The world’s best daughter, Jeri Lynn Bunting

3.  The Queen’s good— and getting better every day—health

2.  Timeshare vacations—like this week in Williamsburg, VA—with Mrs. Avsec

1.  My 32^nd Thanksgiving with The Queen, the “unsinkable” Mrs. Avsec.

On Sunday, October 30, 1938, millions of radio listeners were shocked when radio news alerts announced the arrival of Martians. They panicked when they learned of the Martians’ ferocious and seemingly unstoppable attack on Earth. Many ran out of their homes screaming while others packed up their cars and fled.

Though what the radio listeners heard was a portion of Orson Welles’ adaptation of the well-known book, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, many of the listeners believed what they heard on the radio was real…

Another good friend and colleague, Pam Cimburke, who has been a long-time mainstay in the Chesterfield County Emergency Communications Center, sent this along this notification about the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) next Wednesday.  You’ll note that the release is dated October 19, 2011.  Pam and her colleagues received this message–which one would think was fairly important to a Public Safety 911 Communications Center serving approximately 320,000 citizens–fourth-hand via forwarded e-mails!

Oct. 19, 2011

National EAS test set for Nov. 9

The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will occur on Nov. 9 at approximately 2 p.m.  The test will include transmission by FEMA of a “live” Emergency Action Notification alert code to all EAS participants and notice to the general public that the EAS has been activated for a national emergency, along with an audible notice that “this is a test.”

The test will last approximately three minutes.  The Federal Communications Commission and FEMA have requested that broadcasters air public service announcements in advance of the test to assure the public that this is only a test.  Pre-produced PSAs and scripts are available at http://www.easalert.org.

Note: because this is a “live code” test, the automatically generated EAS text crawl on TV screens will display as an actual Emergency Action Notification.  Nothing in the text crawl will indicate that the alert is a test.  Broadcasters are encouraged to use a text slide in conjunction with the crawl, but they are not required to do so. [So we just know that all mass media outlets are going to comply...right?  Don't know about you, but I'm not feeling it!]

More information about the national EAS test is available at:

• FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/
• FEMA: http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm
• National Association of Broadcasters: http://www.nab.org/documents/advocacy/EAS/EAS.asp

Issued by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management 10501 Trade Court Richmond, VA 23236 (804) 897-6510

Can you imagine what’s going to happen when this goes viral in cyberspace?  I guess we haven’t learned very much since 1938…

Just so you are aware…on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, FEMA, DHS and FCC will conduct the first national test of the Nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test. This nationwide test will kick off at 2:00 p.m. (EST) and run concurrentlyacross all time zones.

This system test is the first of its kind designed to broadcast a nationwide message to the American public.  In the history of the country, nothing like it has been conducted on such a level.  As you may be aware, there have been tests in the past, but not of this magnitude encompassing all regions of the Nation simultaneously.  The three (3) minute test will run concurrently on all radio and TV band stations exceeding the previous messages broadcast which were anywhere from a 30 second to 1 minute message.

There is great concern in local police and emergency management circles about undue public anxiety over this test.  The test message on TV might not indicate that it is just a test.  Fear is that the lack of an explanation regarding the message might create panic.

Please share this information with your family and friends so they are aware of the test.  Below are two websites that will provide more information regarding this test:

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm

https://nationaldialogue-emergencyalertsystem.ideascale.com/

Would you please send this out to as many individuals as you can….hopefully the word will get out and minimize any confusion.

So there you have it, today’s Public Service Announcement.  Pass it on!

My good friend, and former colleague at Chesterfield Fire & EMS, Roger Warden, sent this photo to me a while ago.  I thought it would be appropriate to “put it back in circulation” this week because Endeavor’s Commander, Captain Mark Kelly (also the husband of the “awesome” Gabby Giffords) retired from the U.S. Navy last week after 27 years of service.  So here it is:

A firefighter arrives at a structure fire and reaches the doorway of a home they have never been in, knowing they are about to enter total darkness and extreme heat. Imagine what is going through their mind. Family? Friends? All of the loved ones who may never see them again!! Just think about it next time you see a firefighter. Tell a firefighter, “Thanks”!!

I think I can speak for the vast majority of firefighters when I say: none of those things go through your mind when you and your fellow firefighters are at the “point of attack”.  What has been going through their mind–from the time the alarm came in and during the travel time to the scene of the fire–are mental “checklists”, many of which have been gone over so many times that they’re done unconsciously.  Seatbelt fastened?  Check.  All personal protective clothing and equipment (coat, pants, gloves, flame-retardant hood, helmet, and breathing mask) properly in place and ready to protect me?  Check.  What kind of structure fire are we going to: a house, an apartment, a business…?  What tasks will I have to carry out, e.g., stretch a hose line, search for a trapped occupant, ventilate the building, etc.?

You and your team arrive at the scene and you start a new set of checklists because now you can see and hear your “enemy”, aka, the fire that “lurks” behind the door.  You “read” the building—because you’re learned that what the building looks like outside can tell you a lot about the layout of the building inside—so you know where to start looking for potentially trapped occupants or where is the best place to enter to fight the fire (sometimes the front door is the very wrong place to be).

You “read” the smoke that’s coming from the building because you’ve learned that different colors of smoke mean different types of fires, can help predict where the fire is and where it’s going next, and even how long the fire may have been burning.  All of these are things that any good firefighter or officer needs to know about the “enemy” before they step foot into the building, i.e., “enemy territory”.

All of the above–and much, much more–become second-nature because fire officers and their firefighters train, train, and then train some more.  Firefighting professionals now pursue post-high school education–both undergraduate and graduate degrees–in greater numbers every year.  They do this because the “enemy” is constantly evolving.  Fire itself may be no different than in caveman days, but the places where it “lives” are constantly changing.  New types of build designs, new types of building materials, new construction methods, and changing human behaviors are just a few of the multitude of ways that the “playing field” is constantly being changed “in favor” of the fire and not the firefighter.

So please keep all of this in mind when your local government wants to reduce your fire department’s budget.  Because the inconvenient truth is that when the fire department budget is cut, training for firefighters is the first thing to go.  And for many departments, it never comes back…

When we got outside it was obvious that the female victim was dead; she had thermal burns…suffice it to say she had been in the living room for a long time with the fire rolling in the kitchen (The law enforcement investigation subsequently revealed that she’d been shot and killed by her son who then set the fire to cover the crime; when the police located him he had taken his own life).

I was a young CO and so were my firefighters and being a combination department we had several even younger volunteer members from the Midlothian Volunteer Fire Department on the call that night. The stench alone was hard not to notice and as I looked around the scene following the knockdown I sensed that many of these young people had never seen, let alone smelled, a fire victim (Unfortunately, my private sector EMS career prior to my FD job had presented me with several, some much worse than this lady). Fortunately, our department was very progressive in this regard–I’m talking 1988–and had a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) team consisting of peer members from within the department and staff from our county’s Mental Health Services Department. I made the call from the scene to have the team send a response for a defusing session (Me and my fellow officers had all received training about the program the year before so I had some idea of what I needed).

Shortly after we got back to quarters two of the team members arrived–one peer member and one staffer–so we gathered everyone together and they did their “thing”. I led things off by telling the group why I’d called for the CISD response hoping that it would help them to know that this was not something that “came down from above”, but rather from their guy who was there and had seen and smelled what they did. Then the CISD team took it from there and over the next hour they talked about what kinds of response people might have, how these are considered normal responses from normal people, etc. What I found particularly gratifying was that several of the older volunteer firefighters–guys in their 40′s for gosh sake!–talked very openly about their thoughts and emotions. I think they displayed leadership, perhaps unconsciously, and it really helped everyone else, career and volunteer alike that night.

That’s certainly been the case with me since Mrs. Avsec and I left Virginia following my retirement from Chesterfield Fire & EMS in November 2007 and headed to Ashland, Kentucky to start our “2^nd career” as an operational consultant for a small, but up-and-coming, private sector ambulance service across the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio.  Five months later—after a rise in the price of diesel fuel to $4.25/gallon almost tripled the company’s monthly fuel bill—I was on the road again, headed south to Georgia.  A good friend (and LinkedIn connection), Dave Wall, who’s the Director of the Georgia Fire Academy at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, offered me a position—newly funded by the Georgia legislature—as an instructor/course developer.  Another good job and another victim of the recession; the legislature took back the funding to help with the significant budget shortfalls that Georgia was facing along with many other states.

So it was really a great pleasure to reunite yesterday with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Kirk Seither, and his wife, Diane.  Mrs. Avsec and I had not seen either of them since we left Chesterfield County almost four years ago now.  It was really a nice feeling having conversation with people who have known you for many years: through the ups and downs, good and bad, etc., and still you remain friends.  Kirk and I met when we worked together as Emergency Medical Technicians in Richmond, Virginia in 1980; later we would attend Firefighter Rookie School together and graduate with Chesterfield Fire Department’s Rookie School #12.

Through the years the four of us have taken vacations together—from Nags Head, NC to Glacier National Park in Montana to Cape Cod—and many more locations in between.  We were part of each other’s weddings and I paced the halls with Kirk while he awaited the birth of his eldest daughter, Ashley.  Talking about these past events—and many others—with our oldest friends yesterday was like finding a long lost cherished family heirloom.  The shame was that it was only over lunch while Mrs. Avsec and I were vacationing at Massanutten Resort outside of Harrisonburg, Virginia.

All four of us have promised to do a better job of staying in touch now that we’re living less than a hundred miles apart and get together more often.  I hope we keep our promises.