The choices we make in life

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

I lost my job this week.  Not sure "job" is the right word.  I do, or rather did, volunteer work for the City I reside within, performing a particular social service as a subunit of a larger department (for privacy reasons, I'm going to leave out some details if you don't mind.  Or even if you do).  The City provides the volunteers with a vehicle.  It is an old hand-me-down from the police department, repainted, but which still has a siren and the light rack on the roof.

Shortly after the first of the year, I was returning to my vehicle after a call when I was approached by a Muslim dude.  Dressed in Muslim garb, he was chattering excitedly in a language I couldn't understand, and beckoning me to follow him, so I did.  Nearby was a Muslim chick, holding her belly and moaning.  Despite the cloaking provided by her headscarf and flowing dress, she was obviously pregnant.  The dude began chattering again, his arms spread wide.  He seemed too old to be her husband, but who am I to judge.  I knew enough not to touch her, not even to help her to the vehicle.  Instead, I dashed back and moved it closer, then held the door while she waddled over and the dude helped pour her into the backseat.   

I'd never used the lights and siren before; there was no need.  I flipped switches and turned knobs and eventually got both of them going.  Then I gunned the engine, and the car raced forward, shrieking like a banshee.  As I threaded my way through and past traffic, I held up my cell phone and asked the dude to call 911.  He began chattering again, and sounded upset.  I heard what sounded like "nye-wah-wah" a couple of times.  Fall back to plan B: I made the call myself while steering with one hand.  I told the operator the name of the hospital, that the chick was about to drop, and made sure she understood to notify the hospital that the patient was a Muslim woman.

About a block from the hospital, I killed the lights and siren.  I didn't want to call attention to myself any more than was necessary.  The City has a strict policy prohibiting volunteers from transporting civilians in City vehicles.  It's a liability issue.  If there was an accident, the City could be sued by all parties.  If the baby died, or had medical complications, the parents could sue.  If the hospital was not in the network for the parent's insurance carrier, the insurance company could file a claim.  If the parents had no insurance, the hospital could file a claim.  I could be sued personally.  That's what 911 is for, we were told.  Call 911 and let the professionals deal with it.  I should have called 911, I muttered to myself. 

By this point, the chick was doing a good job of replacing the siren for volume.  The dude was officially beside himself, and while I didn't understand a word, the sense I got was that this was going to be a photo finish.  I steered the car through the parking lot and screeched to a halt in front of the entrance.  As we went through the door, I saw to my immense relief that two women were approaching: one, a nurse pushing a wheelchair; the other, a doctor or perhaps a P.A.  Then, as the three of them were busy helping the chick into the wheelchair, I turned on my heel and fled.

I thought for a time that I was going to get away with it, but it was not to be.  A group of Muslim men went to the mayor's office and expressed their wish that I be given some kind of formal recognition.  They didn't know my name, but helpfully provided a description of me and the car.  It didn't take long to figure out who I was, and the 911 call log, which contained my cell number, made it official.  The head of the City department under which I worked was nice enough to call me personally with the news.  He concluded by saying it wasn't his decision and he was sorry.  Yeah, me too.

I went back to the office to pick up my stuff.  There wasn't much, and someone had already packed it into a box.  I turned in my uniform, keys, ID badge, and so forth, took my stuff, and split.

When I got home, I opened the box.  Sitting on the top was a typed letter on the letterhead of the local Muslim mosque and community center.  The words were a little stiff and formal, but seemed sincere.  It filled in some of the story for me: the old dude was the chick's father; the baby was seven weeks premature and they were unprepared; he had called 911 but they didn’t understand him; the baby was healthy; the mother was doing fine.  It closed with an invocation of a short blessing on my behalf, and signed by several people, all men, who seemed to be the chick's husband and male relatives, and some guys with titles who were probably community leaders.

I read the letter twice and then idly flipped it over.  On the back, someone had reprinted the blessing that closed the letter in neat block letters.  And below that, filling the page, were dozens and dozens of signatures from my fellow volunteers and employees in the department.

I regret nothing. 

[Yorkshire pud]

I regret nothing.

FWIW; I think you're a fucking star. Sadly, the onslaught of our litigious society has made what has turfed you out of your vocation. It's also simultaneously shown that good will prevail. That humility, humane gestures in the face of such backward and stifling lawyer driven crap will shine through and be recognised. I hope you'll find something soon. I hope too you keep in touch with the Muslim family who clearly hold you in high esteem; and rightly so. Thank you for sharing your story. (Thumbs up smiley) 

[FallenSeraph]

I'm usually not a big fan of yours, DPS, but in this case, bravo. We've been programmed to be controlled by the fear of losing our jobs, particularly these days. Good to know there are people out there who don't let petty fears get in the way of doing good. You should talk to a reporter â€" if you lived in my city, I'd cover that story. If anything, it'd spark an interesting discussion.

The consequences of your choice suck. Allow me to be one of the first to welcome you to the exciting, colorful and creative realm of the unemployed. We don't have a fancy benefits package, but the possibilities are endless here! 

Whatever that blessing said, I say dittos to that. Or Roswells.

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

You should talk to a reporter

Publicity is the other shoe that I hope will not drop.  Although I’m an atheist, I pray for that outcome to god, allah, and buddah every day (just to cover all the bases).

I have no doubt that the media would love a story like this; the unfairness-of-it-all theme of a bureaucracy heartlessly squashing the little guy would sell newspapers, you bet.  The other side of the story, more prosaic, wouldn’t get equal time â€" that I had no training or experience whatsoever at driving code 3 in traffic.  The story would have had a darker aspect if we had been t-boned by another driver resulting in several deaths, including the baby.  By contrast, if I had called 911, the worst outcome might have been that the baby was birthed in an ambulance under the care of trained medical professionals. 

Publicity would do little besides aggrandizing me, unjustly, at the expense of putting people I respect on the spot, also unjustly.  It was a high-risk play that fortunately came out all right in the end.  Make enough high risk plays, though, and eventually you’ll lose.  The City made the right call. 

[The General]

Nice work. 
No good deed goes unpunished.
Allah Akbar.

[eeieeyeoh]

Send a copy of the book to Falkie. He might consider having you as a guest on his show.

[Ell Bart]

Karma's a bitch piggy.

Perhaps if you were nicer to people like Falkie this wouldn't have happened to such a great poster like you.

Love how your posts always find it necessary to point out the ethnicity of the people you are taking about regardless of whether the story warrants it. This story kinda did but still it's nice you were fired.

I hope Falkie laughs at you because you and the Bart Ells like you who find it necessary to continually poke fun at people less fortunate deserve it.

Enjoy your pity party.

Ha ha.

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

Perhaps if you were nicer to people like Falkie this wouldn't have happen to such a great poster like you.

Yeah, I'm sure that would work.  I should be nicer to b_dubb, too, right?

[Ell Bart]

Yeah, I'm sure that would work.  I should be nicer to b_dubb, too, right?

Whatever floats your boat piggie. Just know that every time you poke fun at Falkie I and a group of other posters that have been keeping an eye on your axis of evil buddies Bart Ell and littechris (hello sweetie) will laugh at your current predicament. Couldn't have happened to a nicer poster.

Enjoy lining up for unemployment bitch.

Squeal piggy squeal.

[aldousburbank]

Wow.  This thread doesn't fit my head yet. I can't tell if you're all dudes playing dudes playing dicks like me or

I'm gonna drink wine, pet a dog, feed the cats.  You guys play nice.

[UnscreenedCaller]

Good on you Digital, you're a stand up guy. If I were that woman about to give birth, I'd bless you every day of my life that you cared enough to get me to the hospital. i hope good karma follows you for your kind deed.

[Yorkshire pud]

Whatever floats your boat piggie. Just know that every time you poke fun at Falkie I and a group of other posters that have been keeping an eye on your axis of evil buddies Bart Ell and littechris (hello sweetie) will laugh at your current predicament. Couldn't have happened to a nicer poster.

Enjoy lining up for unemployment bitch.

Squeal piggy squeal.

Do you really equate fun being made (or rather pointing out total lack of broadcasting ability) of Falkie is being paid back with unemployment? Jeeze, you really have a vivid imagination. I don't agree with everything that Digital says, but hats off to him making a humanitarian gesture; Guess what, I'd do the same for you in similar circumstances, and even Falkie. But as you can't recognise a good deed, maybe you wouldn't expect any recognition either?

[DigitalPigSnuggler]

Do you really equate fun being made (or rather pointing out total lack of broadcasting ability) of Falkie is being paid back with unemployment?

Hey guys, I appreciate the sentiments, but I thought I used the word "volunteer" enough times to make it clear that what I was doing was unpaid work on a VOLUNTEER basis.  I didn't lose my source of income, just that method of giving back to the community.  And I know there are other ways to do that.

Don't tell Ell Bart, though.  He seems so happy right now, poor lil fella.  Don't harsh his mellow.

[Yorkshire pud]

Hey guys, I appreciate the sentiments, but I thought I used the word "volunteer" enough times to make it clear that what I was doing was unpaid work on a VOLUNTEER basis.  I didn't lose my source of income, just that method of giving back to the community.  And I know there are other ways to do that.

Don't tell Ell Bart, though.  He seems so happy right now, poor lil fella.  Don't harsh his mellow.

Yeah, sorry. I was just irritated that the two issues should be compared that's all.

[PB the Deplorable]

No good deed goes unpunished

[Ell Bart]

Hey guys, I appreciate the sentiments, but I thought I used the word "volunteer" enough times to make it clear that what I was doing was unpaid work on a VOLUNTEER basis.  I didn't lose my source of income, just that method of giving back to the community.  And I know there are other ways to do that.

Don't tell Ell Bart, though.  He seems so happy right now, poor lil fella.  Don't harsh his mellow.

http://youtu.be/9gLN3QoN-q8

[area51drone]

What a story.