Outsider

At the New Scandia Fire Department's open house, as the kids crowded close to our ambulance, Lorrie found it a thrilling rush. It made her remember and miss her flight medic days.

Amanda shuddered, awash in the memory of being strapped to a backboard, bleeding, hurting, and barely able to remember her name.

Amazing how the sound of an engine's uptake, the rumble of rotors through the ground, or the smell of jet fuel, can mean such different things to different people.

Everyone in the crowd was "wow-ing" in excitement and fascination as they were pelted with gravel in the downwash. Lorrie, partner and a best friend, was grinning ear to ear.

I felt like the outsider, privy to an understanding that few are unfortunate enough to know in their lives.

I wish I could have enjoyed the moment like the normal people.