Summary
Stephen Fong
In these chapters Perry uses pathos to introduce his world, consisting of EMT and Firefighting. Throughout chapter 3 Perry, tells of one particular crash into the Laundromat. It is also important to note that Perry’s mother and siblings are also qualified first responders. Tricky Jackson, who has some kind of cognitive problem, denies being involved in the accident. While he is running around (cursing) and making a scene, Perry’s job becomes difficult, trying to establish some order and establish any physical ailments that may have resulted. He ends Tricky story, with resolution of treatment. The author then changes conversation and describes his town in lawn ordainments. Communicating there is a particular nostalgia and connotation about a town with many lawn figurines. In the following chapter entitled Silver Star he tells the reader more of his job as an EMT. First, he starts with a small anecdote of helping an overweight woman named Helen get to some much needed help. He describes in great detail the puking in which is so common in this field of work. Silver Star, he explains is the headquarters of the Ambulance Service. It is attached to a funeral home. For some time he relays the irony of having an ambulance and funeral home combination. After this depiction, he describes his EMT training in which he covered the ABC of EMT work. A is airways, B is breathing and C is circulation, all of which are the first elements that are looked for. Jacque, who he pulled most of his shifts with, is an intuitive man. Thinking on his feet Jacque teaches him all about fast reactions, when helping a motorcycle crash victim in this chapter. He ends this chapter by saying that while he had fun and learned a great deal, he wanted to apply his new found knowledge with people that he knew. In Chapter 5 entitled Structure Fire, Perry, being a volunteer fire fighter, writes of the importance of a fire department. On one of his calls, he is found in a basement of a house fighting a particular bad fire. He introduces that his siblings (brothers) are also fighting with him. Taking time out of his story he says that fires consists of three necessary components, oxygen, ignition, and fuel. Removing any one of these three elements can extinguish a fire. In this chapter he makes many references to how humans have dealt with fires in the past as well. Putting his experience in the context of evolution; he makes the claim that fire really hasn’t changed, and it never will. Fire fighters are one of the few jobs that has been around since the dawn of man and every fire fighter shares the common history.
Discussion Leader
Mitchell Cooley
1. Question: Why is there little to no sense of time in this book?
Answer: The way that this book is set up there is no mention of how much time passes in between events. This leads the reader to believe that everyday a horrible accident happens in this small town. It seems the author is trying to make his book more exciting but the inclusion of dates would greatly help.
2. Question: What is with the plywood statues?
Answer: The author makes a big point about the plywood “bent-over” Grandma on page 46 and going over into page 47. This kind of stop the story dead for left and me me wondering if this had been put in just for failure. It does give some insight into the expert gardener-writer C. Colston Burrell but it takes up about a page that could be used to describe Trans’s car accident, where my real attention is. It seems the author wanted to give us some breathing room that causes us to read more to find out what will happen.
3. Question: What was with the acronymns in chapter 4?
Answer: Some of the mnemonic made sense like CUPS standing for Critical/CPR, Unstable, Potentially unstable, Stable for the steps to think of when treating a patient but others included could have been left out (like the one given by the high school teacher). They seem silly because he has so many, the author could have trimmed them down to essential ones instead of going on for two pages. Just like the “plywood” subjects it gives a little background but it it drags on for to long to be appreciated.
4 Question: Why did it take so long for the author to talk about fire?
Answer: The author Michael Perry talks about the history of fire and man five chapters into the book. It doesn’t make much sense when the author talked about the history of firefighter within the first two chapters but it takes fire back-story to beginning at 71 pages. It seems to make more sense for him to talk about fires maybe the chapter before or after the history of firefighter and saved EMT business for after. It would give the book more structure instead of the jump nature of the chapter. The information may have been put there as to keep the readers interest when going through the book, as it keeps it fresh.
Graphic Organizer
Moria Caulfield
Perry describes the ABC’s of being an EMT or first responder. This information is emphasized throughout chapters three and four and it is essential for every first responder to master this material due to the fact that they are the basics and won’t alter much at all over time. Mastering these skills is one of the first steps towards an individual receiving their license to practice at the EMT-Basic level (Perry 56). Over 100 hours of practice are also required to ensure that the skills are fully known.
Vocabulary Builder
Kenzie Hoefs
Kenzie Hoefs
Amorphous: (adj.) Of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized: an amorphous style; an amorphous personality.
Divisive: (adj.) Forming or expressing division or distribution.
Proliferated: (verb) To increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively.
Thematic: (adj.) Of, pertaining to, or producing a theme or themes.
Iconography: (noun) Symbolic representation, especially the conventional meanings attached to an image or images.
Dissonance: (noun) Disagreement or incongruity.
Dyspeptic: (adj.) Gloomy, pessimistic, and irritable.
Vindication: (noun) Defense; excuse; justification: Poverty was a vindication for his thievery.
Denouement: (noun) The outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.
Opine: (verb) To hold or express an opinion.
Eponymy: (noun) The derivation of names from eponyms.
Aesthetic: (adj.) Having a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty.
Detritus: (noun) Rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.
Capacious: (adj.) Capable of holding much; spacious or roomy: a capacious storage bin.
