End of the month already?  Next thing you know, the leafs will start turning colors.  According to the leaf-peeper chart published in the newspaper last weekend, the fall foliage schedule here on the east coast will be normal.  The highest elevations in the northern sections of New England are starting now, with the rest of the region following along in the next week.  I always enjoyed the times that I made special trips up there to see Vermont and New Hampshire at their peak color time.  The guideline is to hit there on or just before Columbus Day to get the full color.

In my southern zone we get the colors in the latter part of October and they are truly beautiful.  But up north they have a larger percentage of the maples that add so much brightness and variation to the scene.  I can’t remember exactly where it was, but I recall driving along one roadway (U. S. 2 perhaps?) that went through a long stretch of forest land filled with nothing but birch trees.  It was remarkable, those bright yellow leaves and a solid expanse of white tree trunks.  It gave the appearance of being bathed in stage lighting.  It’s a shame that photographs don’t adequately capture the brilliance of the fall foliage.

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If any of you are planning on attending the Fairfax County Officers Seminar tomorrow and Friday, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit with Mike “FossilMedic” Ward and me while you’re there.  We’ll have a “meet-and-greet” table set up on vendors’ row where you can drop by and say hello.  Unfortunately, the Bunn-O-Matic won’t be there.  But the seminar hosts will have an urn somewhere close, I’m sure.

Speaking of coffee, I need to get some going now.  So let’s get the equipment checked out while I go tend to that.

This coming weekend will see the annual National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial service and commemoration.  For the third year, the weekend’s events will be live-stream broadcast over the internet by a collaboration with WUSA-TV Ch. 9 Washington and Firehouse.com.  Channel 9′s ace reporter Dave Statter, publisher of the popular website STATter911, and his wife Hillary Howard from WTOP News, will be hosting the broadcasts and conducting interviews between program events.

There will be two webcasts.  The first will be on Saturday evening beginning at 6:15 pm Eastern time and will cover the Candlelight Memorial Service in the chapel.  On Sunday beginning at 9:30 am and running until later in the afternoon, they will be presenting the dedication ceremonies where 103 firefighters who died in 2008, along with 19 others who died in previous years will be honored.

You can view the live webcasts at either STATter911.com or at Firehouse.com.  I’ll be tossing a couple of reminders your way later this week.

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I promised to share my recent email from my new friend at the World Bank in London.  It’s exciting news, you can bet.  Let me start by quoting the entire email verbatem:

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), hereby receives your payment with reference number #MVA/UNO/WOB/ML-06-798 amounting to US$10.625,000.00 (Ten Million Six Hundred And Twenty Five Thousand United States Dollars). your said payment is being arranged in a Security-proof box weighing 75kg padded with synthetic nylon.we also confirmed that you have met all statutory requirements in respect of your pending payment.

We are informing you that your payment is ready to be moved by Swift Bank Transfer (Five working days) to your account or via diplomatic means of cash delivery (Two days) to your door step.Please note that your delivery arrangement will be made to you within 48hours as soon as you respond to this confidential letter by sending the following details:

And then it goes on to list five basic bits of harmless information that they require from me.  Of course, I’m puzzled about why they don’t know my phone number and mailing address if they have my email address already.  But still, this is exciting, yes?  All those hundreds of kind donations that I’ve been offered before have come from lowly assistants-to-the-manager from failed African banks.  But this one is coming directly from the United Nations Security Council!  There just might be something to it this time.

I was also impressed that my cash is well-padded with synthetic nylon.  Up until now, I never realized that there was any other kind of nylon besides the synthetic type.  But I’m no chemist.  When it comes to safely packing your heavy boxes of money, you just can’t beat nylon when it comes to padding.  No, sireee.

I just want to reassure you that I’m not going to let all this money go to my head.  I will continue to maintain the Firegeezer website and keep you informed of what’s going on in the fire/rescue world.  So with that promise made, let’s get this equipment checked out.  I’ve got to get some more coffee started.

I don’t keep track of the major television networks because just about all of their programming is stuff that I am not at all interested in.  So when they started their hype for the new season that kicks off this month, I missed the announcement from NBC that they’re premiering an EMS-based series tonight titled “Trauma.”  The network tells us that it’s “… an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics.”  Wow!!

But it didn’t seem to wow A. J. Heightman.  He’s the editor-in-chief of JEMS & Firefighter Nation and was given an advance peep at the new series, probably in the hopes that he’d review it for his readers.  Well, he did and he did.  But he didn’t quite come up with the conclusion that the clueless network brains were expecting.  In fact, he literally ripped it a new one.  I’ll bet you’d agree that Heightman’s review is more entertaining than the show itself.  So before you plan your evening’s televiewing schedule, CLICK HERE and enjoy this advance review that comes complete with video snippets.

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Chief Billy Goldfeder dispatched an overnight Secret List item announcing the passing of a fire industry leader, C. Peter Jorgensen.  If I may, I’ll quote Billy’s message as he wrote it:

We are deeply saddened to report the passing of C. Peter “Pete” Jorgensen, Publisher and Editor of Fire Apparatus and Equipment Magazine.  http://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/   Pete died comfortably at his home in Vermont the night of Saturday, September 26.

Among his many contributions to the fire and emergency services industry, Pete also served on the FEMSA Board of Directors from 1998 through 2001.

Pete was never ever shy to “tell it like it is” when it came to his passion: fire apparatus and equipment and the related fire business industry. Few Firefighters that we know of didn’t enjoy it when that large style “FIRE APPARATUS MAGAZINE arrived! I know personally, I always go to Pete’s column first to see what the latest was-and what his opinion on “it” was. Without a doubt, Pete and his magazine made a huge difference to not only the business side, but to those he felt were his real customers, the FIREFIGHTERS who purchased and operated the equipment he passionately wrote about.

Additional details will be provided as they become available. Please keep Pete’s wife, Kay, his family, and his colleagues at the magazine in your thoughts and prayers.

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I  just received a very interesting email from the World Bank Fact-Finding and Special Duties office informing me of a $10 million deposit that was made in my name the other day. I’ve got to check that out after I get the coffee started. So let’s get this equipment checked out and I’ll fill you in tomorrow on my windfall.