alexisjane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
alexisjane) wrote2013-12-06 02:34 pm
alexisjane) wrote2013-12-06 02:34 pm
Entry tags:
So this happened...
So I pop out to walk the dogs and pick up a something for work and by the time I get back the street is cordoned off.
As I'm trudging round to the other end of it with two tired dogs, an awkward heavy bag and the week long headache threatening to return, my 'oh man, hope we can get back into the house' turns somewhat abruptly into a 'oh man, do we really want to go back to the house' when the army bomb disposal rolls by.
The nice policewoman who walks me from the outer cordon to my door says it's a suspicious package. I make a joke about the builders across the road being quite noisy but that this is a bit of an over reaction. she laughs but sounds stressed. She can't be more than 25.
The builders keep working.
I snap a pic of the remote robot when the get it out of the van but I feel really guilty about it. I send it to my friend 'cause I know he'll worry if he sees it on the news. I make a joke about it. He says I should befriend the robot so it can come and stay with me and make tea and walk the dog for me. He tells me not to blow up. I tell him I'm not worried. I can tell he is.
And I'm not worried.
Until I actually hear a guy yell "Fire in the Hole!' or something that sounds very similar and then there's a loud bang.
It makes me jump and the dog starts barking.
The builders are laughing and I first I think they're laughing at me as it wasn't a very loud bang. My heart pounds and I feel shaky so I ring my friend to tell him about the bang. He still thinks I should try and nab the robot.
Every time there's a shout, I brace myself for another bang.
That was about half an hour ago. The forensics team have just arrived so I guess that means that the suspicious package is in bits and now they just need to figure out what it was.
In all of this two things struck me.
I live inside the outer cordon but it was safe enough for me to be here. The inner cordon is quite close and it's filled with soldiers, police and fire personel keeping me, keeping us, safe.
Who keeps them safe?
Each other I guess. But still. What a thing to do. My job, my life really doesn't have much impact on the world around me and I'm fine with that. I just really hope that each one of those people out there, know how much the rest of us appreciate what they do, really appreciate that they risk death, everyday, so people like me can carry on contributing nothing to the world. It's a brave thing to do. Not the heroic, throwing yourself into a burning building stuff, anyone can do the crazy impulse stuff, it's the showing up everyday, doing a hard job, getting spat at and yelled at, and getting paid fuck all for the privilege. That I really admire.
Also, nothing really happened here today.
There was lots of police tape and blue flashing lights but nothing blew up except what my buddy the tea-maker did ever so carefully.
It's not like the 70's when taking a train ride or going shopping on a Saturday with your kids was like playing Russian Roulette with the IRA. Some people, right now live in places where a suspicious package blowing up is just an everyday occurrence.
I really appreciate the fact that I have the privilege of living in a place where I'm not going to get shot at if I pop out for a pint of milk, where I can walk around at night without worrying about getting attacked or if there is something that looks out of place, 50 people and a robot will turn up to blow the shit out of it before it can hurt anybody.
There are lots of difficult things in my life right now but having to tell someone else not to worry and that you're staying away from the windows just in case, doesn't half give you some perspective!
Anyway...*hugs you all*...enough of that x
As I'm trudging round to the other end of it with two tired dogs, an awkward heavy bag and the week long headache threatening to return, my 'oh man, hope we can get back into the house' turns somewhat abruptly into a 'oh man, do we really want to go back to the house' when the army bomb disposal rolls by.
The nice policewoman who walks me from the outer cordon to my door says it's a suspicious package. I make a joke about the builders across the road being quite noisy but that this is a bit of an over reaction. she laughs but sounds stressed. She can't be more than 25.
The builders keep working.
I snap a pic of the remote robot when the get it out of the van but I feel really guilty about it. I send it to my friend 'cause I know he'll worry if he sees it on the news. I make a joke about it. He says I should befriend the robot so it can come and stay with me and make tea and walk the dog for me. He tells me not to blow up. I tell him I'm not worried. I can tell he is.
And I'm not worried.
Until I actually hear a guy yell "Fire in the Hole!' or something that sounds very similar and then there's a loud bang.
It makes me jump and the dog starts barking.
The builders are laughing and I first I think they're laughing at me as it wasn't a very loud bang. My heart pounds and I feel shaky so I ring my friend to tell him about the bang. He still thinks I should try and nab the robot.
Every time there's a shout, I brace myself for another bang.
That was about half an hour ago. The forensics team have just arrived so I guess that means that the suspicious package is in bits and now they just need to figure out what it was.
In all of this two things struck me.
I live inside the outer cordon but it was safe enough for me to be here. The inner cordon is quite close and it's filled with soldiers, police and fire personel keeping me, keeping us, safe.
Who keeps them safe?
Each other I guess. But still. What a thing to do. My job, my life really doesn't have much impact on the world around me and I'm fine with that. I just really hope that each one of those people out there, know how much the rest of us appreciate what they do, really appreciate that they risk death, everyday, so people like me can carry on contributing nothing to the world. It's a brave thing to do. Not the heroic, throwing yourself into a burning building stuff, anyone can do the crazy impulse stuff, it's the showing up everyday, doing a hard job, getting spat at and yelled at, and getting paid fuck all for the privilege. That I really admire.
Also, nothing really happened here today.
There was lots of police tape and blue flashing lights but nothing blew up except what my buddy the tea-maker did ever so carefully.
It's not like the 70's when taking a train ride or going shopping on a Saturday with your kids was like playing Russian Roulette with the IRA. Some people, right now live in places where a suspicious package blowing up is just an everyday occurrence.
I really appreciate the fact that I have the privilege of living in a place where I'm not going to get shot at if I pop out for a pint of milk, where I can walk around at night without worrying about getting attacked or if there is something that looks out of place, 50 people and a robot will turn up to blow the shit out of it before it can hurt anybody.
There are lots of difficult things in my life right now but having to tell someone else not to worry and that you're staying away from the windows just in case, doesn't half give you some perspective!
Anyway...*hugs you all*...enough of that x
no subject
no subject
no subject