Why a WHISTLE is important.

And this is just one reason why a whistle can be so important to have on you at all times - an elderly woman spent four days (!!!!) in ditch near a shopping mall, after she fell in and rolled to the bottom. If she had been able to let searchers (who scanned the area several times) know where she was ...

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.j...amp;amp;sc=1110

But it's such an unglamorous piece of gear <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I realized yesterday how effective a whistle can be if needed. I'm an assistant football coach at my old high school and yesterday I forgot my ACME whistle that I use for coaching so I was using the Fox 40 that I keep on my keychain. About an hour into practice the Athletic Director came down and told me I had to stop using it because I was stopping the soccer scrimmage...3 blocks away!!

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Funny, isn't it? I felt exactly that way when, back in my Industrial Security days, I was issued a nice shiny silver whistle on the end of a nice shiny silver chain and told to wear it on my uniform. Bleah.

Until, naturally, I had to actually use it. <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

1. I was walking down a corridor in one of our larger buildings when I heard some odd sounds coming from around a corner. I sped up and turned the corner to behold two of our janitors trying to kill each other with their bare hands. A serious fight between two Koreans who I knew did not speak English. Not only could I not likely reason with them due to the language barrier, but they were seriously pissed off!
One hard loud blow of my whistle later, they were staring at me in shock and I was glaring at them in anger. With my free hand, I pointed in the direction of the cafeteria and they marched. I sat them down on opposite sides of a table and let them yell it out until they reached some sort of resolution. Then, as they left, I made them use different exits. End of conflict, and I never had to speak a word. (The whistle blast hurt my ears too, not just theirs, but I didn't let that show.)

2. I had called 911 for an employee who had ... oh, gosh, I don't remember now ... something happen to them, and then left them in the care of another company Medical Team member and ran outside and down the block to wave the ambulance in. Soon, I heard sirens approaching. I stood at a hard turn in the street just north of a T-intersection where the ambulance would come into our office park from the major city street. They came in and stopped at the stop sign at the T-intersection and I started waving my arms. You'd think a uniformed Security Officer would be more easy to spot ... apparently not. They turned south and started driving away from me!
One hard loud blow of my whistle later, their brake lights came on and I saw a head pop out a window and look my direction. I waved them back and led them to the incident, where they took over and handled everything nicely.

I didn't use it much, but when I did it sure was useful.

Stay safe,
J.T.

I'm currently working on a fundraiser with my mother's woman's club and the Connecticut Canine Search and Rescue team. Are plan is to sell whistles to parents for a nominal fee. attached to the lanyard or wrist coil will be a laminated trading card that has one of the dog's picture on one side and what to do if you get lost on the other. Its taking a lot of time to put together but hopefully it will get whistles to a lot of kids. Sadly, Fox 40's are out out of our reach budget wise so we are settling for good quality Chinese models.

Here is the link to CCSAR if anyone is interested: http://ccsar.org/ .

Chris

Jet,

You just reminded me of a relatively recent experience ... I’m on the emergency team at work, and have been working with a number of other folks for whom being prepared had meant that they had seen the evacuation plan. By and large these are great people, just haven't had much real world experience or training.

At one of our recent meetings, we were discussing the evacuation meeting point captains, their needed equipment etc. and I quietly observed that whistles were missing from the kits, some of the others at the meeting laughed and were vocal about their thoughts that whistles were totally un-needed.

One of the management members asked “…why whistles?” which gave me about two minutes of free speech in which I explained that the battery powered megaphones provided in the kits could be dropped, have dead batteries, get lost or be out of commission for some other reason, and that the average person can only shout for a little while and noted that the meeting point captain has to get a rapid head count and determine who is missing from the building evacuation etc. There were a few nods of approval, however the nay Sayers kept up their mantra of useless item, extra piece of equipment. I pointed out that redundancy is a great thing, even though we have Nextel cell phone radios and megaphones we should be prepared.

Feeling that I might better express myself by “walking my talk”, I pulled out my EDC neck lanyard from under my dress shirt. Many raised eyes at this. Even though I’ve worn it since before 911 and have kept an office USK, none at work had ever seen this in the years that I’ve worked there (and few others ever noticed my USK that I keep at my desk). I showed them my Fox 40 Glow in the Dark whistle, Brunton watchband compass and ARC AAA light. A few “McGyver” comments were made and management had us move on with the meeting.

After the meeting, my manager called me in and started picking my brain, I suggested EVACU-8 masks for the emergency crew. Interestingly enough, she gave the emergency team approval to purchase whistles and masks the next week. (SEE NOTE BELOW) I felt pretty good, since the issue was on the fence when the meeting wrapped up.

Later that afternoon, just before quitting time, a co-worker (who is also on the team) and I were in our shared office, when he made a comment about we’ll need to get a real whistle, “since that little thing would not be loud enough”. I smiled and tossed him the entire lanyard and said to check it out for himself.

As he raised it to his lips and started to blow it, I suggested that he should go outside, take a deep breath and really “honk down on it” since it was a “just a small whistle”. Whereupon he quickly took a deep breath and blew it so hard that his eyes bugged out, just as I got my fingers in my ears. (I figured he would blow the whistle, but I really did not expect him trying it out right then in the office!)

Hooooboy…the look on his face WAS PRICELESS! Especially as most of the first floor office staff on our side of the building came in to see what was going on. He said that he could not hear well for a few minutes afterwards and fully retracted his objections about the whistle. The rapidly collecting office staff (and management I might add) wanted to know what happened. He was totally red-faced at the amount of totally unrehearsed response and attention that he just got. He was completely honest about it and “fessed up” to management who was also quite interested in the disturbance to our normally very quiet and professional office work environment (lots of shirts and ties here.)

Having just gained a VERY attentive audience, I asked if he thought it that it would do the job, he said yes.

With a big grin, I told him that I was VERY happy he thought so, and reached under my desk and pulled out my office USK (contains about 10 pounds of "stuff") and said that if it had not been loud enough, I would let him try my full size STORM whistle.

Again, the looks were priceless as I unzipped the USK, reached in and showed him the much larger whistle. The onlookers thanked me for only letting him see the small whistle. As you may have already guessed, several others had to try out both of my whistles >outside< LOL.

Since it was Friday and almost quitting time, the whole thing died down with no hard feelings from management.

Some of the other team members and several onlookers had many questions about my office kit at the time, and over the next few weeks, several privately came to see me and get a better look at it. Slowly the light is beginning to spread.

In the following months, we’ve noticed that our immediate manager has been quietly been carrying a flat whistle on her key chain (she also has asked about my ARC AAA light, which I pulled out in a meeting during a <5 minute power outage two weeks ago.)

FOLLOW UP NOTE
In closing, just to make life complete, a meeting point captain’s megaphone was not working when we subsequently had a total building evacuation.

He was rather loud and adamant that he “should have had a whistle to fall back on”. Interestingly enough, he was not in the meeting mentioned above, his grousing further added to my credibility and I’ve noticed that my comments are being given more attention during our various meetings.

Hmmm…I’m still getting called “McGyver” but now it is with a smile or grin instead of sarcastic sneers. I’m fully aware that “preparedness is a journey and not a destination” and am pretty careful not to do anything to detract from the slowly increasing respect / attention that being prepared sometimes allows us.

btw
Our building evacuation was a full dress affair (the Fire Dept. had two units onsite with full crews). They were VERY complementary about our getting 500+ people out of our building in 3 minutes 42 seconds (as determined by our closed circuit TV system.)

Life is good and getting better.

Regards,
Comanche7

And AGAIN, this is why this forum is so invaluable - we get real-world examples of people who have tested or actually had to use all the "stuff" we preach to each other about carrying. Thanks for sharing, jet and Comanche7!

I was just re-reading the "READY.GOV" site while looking for some unrelated information. Two of the items they refer to in a building collapse scenario are a flashlight and whistle. Perhaps pointing management to that site could speed up the process of acceptance.

Chris

Comanche7,
LOL! That was hysterical! Good job spreading the word, and kudos on the way you encouraged your coworker to try it. An excellent lesson to all, given in a humorous manner. It's a great story; thanks for sharing it.
Stay safe,
J.T.

Maggot,

Your'e welcome. I'm impressed by the breadth of knowledge and sharing thereof that exists on E.T.S. and have learned quite a bit myself from reading many of the posts. We've got a great bunch of folks here.

Regards,
Comanche7

Hi Chris,
Your'e right. Actually we've had the flashlights included in the kits for a while now even though we're normally in the office during daylight hours. Had to listen to a bit of naysaying about that too...

We have the whistles in the kits now. The building evacuation occurred the day before they arrived. LOL

The evac team members have their EVACU-8's stored at their initial assigned reporting points which are scattered around the building.

Management has been more receptive lately and it's showing. Also noticed a bit more team spirit as well.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Kind of a funny thing, when I first saw the name of this thread, you and your outfit crossed my mind, I wondered how you were making out on the whistle project. Sorry that the F40's were out of reach. At least you were able to find something that worked for your purposes.

Keep us posted on how it works out.
Comanche7

Hi Jet,

Thanks for the feedback, glad it was appreciated.

You know how it goes with preparedness and safety stuff...very similar to the old adage about flying a plane.... hours of sheer boredom, punctuated by occasional moments of intense activity.

In our case, it has been many droning meetings (that have been getting more interesting), punctuated by the occasional bright light of knowledge, and sometimes by a few humorous moments and grins, which I tend to enjoy.

Speaking of which, while it was not a humorous event, it was deeply satisfying anyway…we enjoyed a special moment today...we were (finally) able to install our A.E.D.'s this morning. We've been working on getting these purchased, installed and obtaining training for over 18 months. This is one that local management was entirely behind, however we were forced to deal with red tape from our out of town head offices.

A couple of us are going to treat ourselves to lunch on Friday to celebrate.

Regards,
Comanche7

Solution :
I guess you can get a gold plated one ....... <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Alain

But then again, maybe it would have been. This poor guy was stuck in his bathtub for SIX DAYS.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.j...d=20020903NY410

In this case a different approach would have been far better preparation. Around here there are two systems for it.
A group of people make contact via phone daily. If a member doesn´t call or doesn´t answer the partners assume an emergency and react.
For the other system you have a signal device that alerts a medical service when you trigger it. You have to confirm twice a day that you´re still ok (just pushing a buttton). If you forget you´ll be reminded by an annoying sound. If you fail to confirm, the service assumes an emergency and sends a responder.
Both systems require that you tell someone when you leave for a couple of days.
Both system were designed to help disabled or eldery people.

BTW: I don´t know any person who showers with a whistle around the neck.

Just because we don't know someone who is prepared doesn't mean that we shouldn't become prepared. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

My in-laws are both over 80 and very infirm. They wear wrist-band devices that, with the push of a button, will summon 911 response to thier home. I don't know if they take them into the shower but I would think that is one place that they might be expected to need them most. I don't know if they are waterproof. (I don't know if the writbands are waterproof - I am pretty sure the in-laws are waterproof <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

I think I'll be making extra sure to keep those phone batteries charged. Now I just have to teach the dog to fetch the phone<img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I don´t dispute the need of being prepared. But I think that in this particular situation other means might be better. If someone is in the same flat a whistle could be a little overkill. If nobody is in hearing range the whistle is inadequate. A cell phone in a waterproof pouch could do more (I have that pouch for my phone because on rare occasions I might take a bath in a beautifull river or lake while still fully dressed <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />).
I know a couple of these signal devices. So far I didn´t encounter one that was submergible. So maybe taking it into the shower will destroy it.

I agree. The ones I have seen in the past are definitely not waterproof. Though probably not practical, the best solution would seem to be an emergency pull cord of the type found in public restrooms.

Chris

A word of warning about waterproof cases for cell phones and other electronics...

I once bouhgt a "fone-dom" (yes, a latex mobile phone cover resembling a scented condom!!!) with the idea of protecting the phone from dust/duirt and increasing it's water resistance. It seems that some moisture got between the phone and the fone-dom (note: it was minimal enough that I didn't notice it). Due to the high temperatures, this moisture 'evaporated', and went into the electronics of the phone, causing a mild corosion. this, obviuosly, is not good for the phone, so I disacrded the fone-dom.

I havn't used other waterproof bags/boxs, but just keep this in mind when using them. I havn't hearrd of this happenng to anyone else, so it may have just been my bad luck.

I use a Coghlan´s pouch. I only put the phone into the pouch, when I think it is neccessary (e. g. a fishing trip). When the phone stays in the pouch for a longer time, I throw in a small desiccant bag. Any waterproof bag or box is prone to have problems with condensing vapour when the temperature drops.

Had a similar experience with the trusty Acme Tornado on my keychain, although it was inside - a very loud pre- Parent-Teacher Association meeting hubbub, lots of chatter, and the microphone, as usual, wasn't working. The PTA president, a woman who was soft of voice, kept trying to get everyone to quite down and get seated so we could get started. After about 5 minutes of that, I asked if she wanted the room's attention, she said yes, I gave one brief but authorative toot from my Tornado, and we got on with the task at hand. And several people asked to see it after the meeting, so I got to slip in a little preparedness pitch as well!

Comanche7,

I am pleased to note that I myself carry most of the gear on your EDC neck lanyard, distributed throughout my pockets.

Your post also mentioned the USK you keep at your desk. May I ask what its contents are?

Craig

Comanche7,
first of all thanks for sharing the story (and JC you too) very humerous!
Secondly what does USK stand for? Uniformed Survival Kit?
As you see I cant seem to make an educated guess

Reinhardt

Hi Craig & reinhardt_woets,

Thanks for your interest, the USK (urban survival kit) is basically 10# of "home away from home" and the contents vary from time to time.

Due to work constraints, we're not allowed to carry things even resembling weapons, albeit, since my department was issued Leathermen Super Tools [EDITED the next day by Comanche7, Leatherman Super Tool = LST. sorry Craig], I've taken to carrying my personal LST in the USK. This is in addition to stuff in the vehicle.

As far as the individual contents, it is a pretty good sized list, I have it on an Excel spreadsheet and will see about pulling it out and providing a more direct answer to your question. I apoligize for not having it at hand right away.

Although I carry the kit daily, (mostly kept out of others sight and mind) I try not to keep going into it, as it it a bit of a pain to repack.

Off the top of my head, 1 EVAC-U8 smoke hood, leatherman ST, .5 L water Kirkland / Costco, emergency blanket, maps of state roads, ARC AAA & ARC AA, spare batts., Nite Ize headband for the ARC's, 2 oz. Sawyer 100% MaxiDEET, insect headnet, small can of vienna sausages, Fl. orange STORM whistle, small OD, military strobe light WP to 400', uses two AA bats & has IR hood), Coughlans Magnesium block, Butane lighter, small chemlight stick 3"?, fuel tabs, quality tweezers, small and large nail clipper, Pocket Ref handbook by Thomas Glover, box of Coleman w/p matches, four food bars, 3 @ plastic knives, forks, spoons, a handful of wooden toothpicks (round body, sealed in individual wrap), pack of Write in the Rain (spiral bound, 50 pages, 3' X 5"), Fl Green & Orange large reflective safety vest (from WW Graingers), 2 USA Hothands-2 handwarmers, folding "slimjim", small black film canister w/flip top attached containing large anticid TUMS tablets, plastic baggie of heavyduty rag type paper towels from autoparts store, several "handywipes" towellettes, small bottle of handcleaner (waterless), film canister of pocketchange, info and contact listing for family and close friends and verily the list goeth on.

Since I live / commute & work in a rather urban environment, most of my outdoors stuff is kept towards the bottom of the pack (several tightly packed Altoids tins, 3 rectangular & one round). I have one that has rather mundane stuff that lives in my pocket during the day, the others contain a full complement of hooks, spiderline, sinkers, Potable Aqua, razor blades, matches of various types, mostly modeled on what you will typically see other ETS longtime members packing.

Is this kit the endall USK?
Absolutely not, it is simply what has met my individual needs and consists of stuff that I've acquired in dribbles and drabs as I could over about 10 years of effort, and as all great work, is continually being revised. It is not flashed about and it generally only becomes known to others in a time of need >generally theirs<, and are many folks, whose day has been made a bit better for my being able to pull out a bit of thread and needle, bandaids, various flashlights etc.

Can it be improved?
Without a doubt, like the rest of the ETS members, this is a journey and not a destination.

Will it work for others as well as for me?
Maybe so, maybe not. These kits are typically highly individualized things, and so much of what one needs in your area, might not work in a different neck of the woods.

As a flight instructor, I encourage my students to think ahead, this of course LOL, pushes me even harder to stay ahead of them. ETS has provided some great insights in this regard, and I've really enjoyed lurking and finally posting on ETS and have learned quite a bit from just reading.

Hope this helps ease the curiosity a bit. There are more bits & pieces. LOL

Best Regards,
Comanche7

Thank you very much for responding. I'nm still poring over your reply.



Such rules and regs are highly amusing in their stupidity. A hammer can used as a weapon. So can a sharpened pencil. So can a heavy reference book. So can my cat.

Am I wrong here, or has this country lost its ability to think clearly?

Urban Survival Kit!

>>>Due to work constraints, we're not allowed to carry things even resembling weapons, albeit, since my department was issued Leathermen Super Tools...<<<

Unbeleiveable!

That puzzled me, too, for a while. Then it came to me, "Urban Survival Kit."

Comanche7,
thanx for the thorough post.
Well for not thinking of URBAN I should be scrapped of my "title" and kicked of the forum. I cannot believe I didnt think of that!

Please elaborate on what an "LST" is. Now I'm the one who is puzzled. Don't feel too bad, reinhardt_woets. You have company now -- me!

From context only a guess - LST == Leatherman Super Tool.

Leatherman Super Tool

<img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I had to reread the post a few times befor I caught on.

Thanks guys. You're both way ahead of me.

Ooops...sorry guys, my mistake...yes the "LST" was referring to Leatherman Super Tool. I should have used the full name first, then listed the abbreviated name in brackets afterwards to preclude reader confusion.

{note to self, re-read all posts AGAIN before posting to thread, especially after enduring distractions like dinner etc.} <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Comanche7

Craig & billvann:
When I was first hired, I was astounded at having to sign documentation that this was understood to be a condition of hire. It appears to be an example of a "one size fits all" zero tolerance policy. You might think that if you had a state issued Concealed Weapons Permit to carry protection, that you would be allowed to do so....you would think...nope, it is verboten. Only weapons allowed onsite are those carried by ON DUTY law enforcement officers. Go figure. <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

It gets worse, we can't even keep such items locked up in our vehicles in the company parking lot. It all falls under the "violence free workplace" policy & it really rubs a lot of folks the wrong way. There have been several alleged cases of folks losing their pension over things like this when being terminated due to breaches of policy.

As you stated, other things can be used for multiple purposes if needed. Many moons ago, I read a western novel set in the 1800's that contained something to the effect of how a father? uncle? brother? taught his much younger and smaller female relative to think smart in terms of self defense. The primary lesson being, that when entering a room to look around and make a mental inventory of where things (furniture, decorations, knicknacke etc.) were located so that in case of need for self defense, one could quickly find things to slow down the attacker. The name of the book hs been since forgotten as well as the author (probably a Zane Grey book) but the concept seemed to be worth remembering.

billvann & minime: Thanks for the assist.

reinhardt_woets:
You're welcome. Neither your title or forum membership should be in doubt <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I enjoy reading your comments and ideas. I should have been a bit more clear.

Regards,
Comanche7

So who would know what you keep locked in your car?
Sounds very tenuous to me, legally. Almost like a class-action suit in the making.

Geez! What's the company's name? George Orwell & Sons, Inc.? So lets see, if you take the policy to its face value extreem, no pens & pencils, scisors, box knives, letter openners, or paper weights. How do you conduct business if you can't open boxes or envelopes with orders. Let;s go out into the parking lot; tire iron, jumper cable, road flare (nasty weapon) and snow brusk/ice scraper. You're fired! BTW, please remove your shoe laces and belt before entering building. <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like someone in HR drafted a polict that was actually missing only one item, common sense.

How are those policies enforced? Are you being searched? Go thru metal detectors? How do they verify if your car is up to date with the rules? What sort of work you are involved with?

Matt

How do you wear this rig without having the gear rattle? I put together a similar rig this morning to give it a trial run. All I have on it are a Ultimate Survival JetScream whistle and an Arc AAA, but the two items clack together when I walk. To myself I sound as noisy as a one-man brass band.

Dog-tag silencers or ranger bands help but they catch the chest-hair and that can be very annoying. OTOH, try different lengths on the lanyard. If it hangs just below the solar plexus it will have some free room and hide better. Also you might try wearing a tee shirt under your dress shirt hanging the junk between the two may stop some of the bouncing. Or switch to belt or pocket carry.

Thank you for replying. I'm already wearing a T-shirt under my sweater. I was trying the neck lanyard to take a break from pocket carry. Just to see. At the moment, pocket carry still rules.

Hi Craig,

Hey, no problem with the questions, I ask a bunch myself.

Lanyard has a snap hook that is attached to a 1" split ring.

The Fox 40 came with a 3/8" snap ring that is now also attached to the 1" ring on the snap hook.

A larger 1 1/8" snap ring is also attached to the 1" ring on the snap hook. That ring has both the Brunton watchband compass and the ARC AAA attached to it.

The AAA is attached to the larger ring via the small 3/8" snap ring that it came with. The Brunton has a half inch wide, flat rubber loop that the watch band slides into. The large ring also fits quite nicely.

All this was not really planned out as a method of keeping things quiet, it was more a matter of genuine dumb luck as I had the rings sitting around and figured that having them with me for possible other uses made more sense than leaving them in a drawer.

What other uses?
Possible slide ring with cordage?
Might need to have a ring to hang something else on?
Makes it easier to hang onto the compass when it is off of the lanyard (it does). Who knows where it will get used.

As far as the rattle issue, it really is not noticable. In a very quiet hallway, I can detect it, however in a crowd it is not a problem.

Another possible reason for it not standing out is that I typically wear a tee shirt under the dress shirt. This tends to muffle it a bit I suppose.

Although I've looked at the Jetscream whistles, I've not had a chance to hold one alongside a Fox 40. From the various photos I've looked at, there is a much different form factor, the flatter shape of the Jetscream may provide more of a sounding board effect than the Fox 40.

Sorry, no digicam.

Perhaps some rubber bands around them both might help.

Comanche7

Listening to the water cooler conversation post 911 it became apparent that there were some that felt that "out of sight, out of mind" and to a certain extent "don't tell, don't ask" was the unofficial party line. Even some of the "PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER." showed sparks of common sense...if only for the moment.

While it is perfecly wonderful for making some people feel better, the violence free workplace policy is still (regrettably) on the books as originally written, and if the "weapon" were discovered even accidently, depending upon who viewed it, it could easily cost somebody their job and/or pension. My own personal opinion is that if you have a legitimatly obtained carry permit, then you should be able to carry in a responsible and appropriate manner anywhere...post office, government buildings, schools, homes, airports etc.

Obviously such conduct is a double edged sword, flashing display and other inappropriate behaviour with it should not be condoned. Sadly, our world is not what it used to be.

Everyone is free to make their own choices as to how much risk they are personally willing to take and act accordingly.

It would be a very closely followed class action lawsuit.

As far as other items being considered a weapon, thankfully there is a modicum of common sense displayed at the local level. Yes, we have some knives on sight for food use, we can and do carry / use handtools, pencils, tire-irons for their intended purpose without restriction. Like others have voiced, in the right hands virtually anything can be a weapon. Anyone ever get a really deep paper cut? Even a silly piece of corrugated cardboard could be lethal.

billvan & Polak187,

Your both ask very valid questions. Please excuse any vagueness in the answers below.

"How are those policies enforced?"
From what I've seen, mostly by threat of enforcement and the penalty incurred by getting caught.

"Are you being searched? Go thru metal detectors? How do they verify if your car is up to date with the rules?"
I've never seen anyone searched with this in mind, however the security folks have the authority to look into packages etc. A personal search or wand detection is not currently used, neither (to my current knowledge) have any cars been searched..

"What sort of work you are involved with?"
A state agency that is primarily technical and engineering oriented. It is a professional work environment that supports the efforts of the field offices and staff in a multicounty district

Aside from certain policies, I am proud to be a part of this team.

I gave myself a viciously deep papercut once from handling a manila folder. Didn't even realize it until huge drops of blood dripped on my desk. THEN it frigging hurt. Also took forever to stop bleeding. Unless folders have obviously frayed edges, I use caution around them now.

Yeoww, I can feel your pain, where I used to work, a lady managed to cut her tongue while sealing an envelope. Ouch!

Been there, done that, too.

The interesting thing is, I began carrying bandages in my wallet after I cut my finger. Have carried them ever since.

The office first aid kit looked as though it had not been updated since it was first installed. It looked like 1970s stuff and I worked there in the late 1980s and very early 1990s.

When I mentioned this to my supervisor, the retort was something like, fine, we'll update it using your paycheck. My retort was, you won't get very far, will you? Our low pay was part of the office humor, as long as the head honcho was not around.

After that, I made sure I had some basic first aid gear around.

I had my wife read your specific post in this huge thread, and it seems to have actually made a difference.

She asked me what kind of gear I carry every day, to work and in my car, and asked me to "set her up."

While all the crap I carry would really be too much for her, I'm sure I can figure something out. Grin.

I tip my hat in your direction. You message seems to have accomplished what I could not in almost 12 years of marriage.

Amazing what the right piece of information can do at the right time.

Gratefully,

Craig

Wow!

What a great thing to hear after a long day. That's great! It's amazing the way things work sometimes.

You're entirely welcome and I'm glad to have been of any assistance. Gotta give you a bunch of credit and a tip of the hat too, timing is everything, and you've obviously spent some time poking around on the net and other places looking and learning as well. Congrats on the great timing.

On more than one instance, I've heard the remark made along the lines that it is easier to be an expert if you are from somewhere else. It would seem that folks will listen to the inhouse folks all day and even though they may be the best in their field, it is the outside consultant that picks up the kudos. I'm not generally in it for the glory, but still sometimes it makes one want to <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> say ARRRGGGGHHHH! and do something else that is much easier for a living...like stacking BB's while performing headstands. LOL.

FWIW getting the other half to become interested is something that seems to commonly be best accomplished a bit at a time, kind of like eating the proverbial elephant. One bite at a time.

I showed her my kits in bits and pieces, she would see me stuffing an Altoid 7 times in one evening and say, "that's nice dear" and that would be it. I didn't push it.

One evening, my boy (about 13 at the time) saw me poking around with some stuff and I pulled out a few items and asked if he had a tin. Zoooom....to his room and back in seconds flat....we spend what I think is called "father son bonding" for a couple of happy hours.

Made a point of getting more stuff for him as I saw the chance, the other half never asked about it, but watched carefully.

Subsequently I made up a basic FAK in a tin and included the STOP paper, didn't say anything to her, just slipped it into her purse one morning on the way to work. Several days later, I overheard someone at her office make a comment about how "she was so prepared &: even had stuff in a little candy box".

Down the road, I ordered some more ball compasses (and still later an ARC AAA, then a Fox 40) and just stuck them on her keychain. She has watched me wear the lanyard with the same items for a long time and never seemed interested. Lately however, I've noticed that more often than not, she has the stuff close by her side. Every now and again, I slip in a new item to surprise her.

In the meantime, I continue to try to be prepared for all of us.

Comanche7 <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

"While all the crap I carry would really be too much for her, I'm sure I can figure something out. Grin."

There is probably a way that you can set things up to where she does not have to carry it all. Perhaps staging stuff in a locked filing cabinet? Does her job have lockers? If not, is getting some possible? It may be that this could be helped along by just needing a place to secure overcoats and purses etc. Who knows?

In a previous job, I noticed that certain filing cabinets were only opened by me, and then only in long intervals.

When I asked the boss if I could lock one drawer, he said sure, go ahead. I found a way of locking it that involved a long rod that went through the cabinet and hung a lock on it.

Being of a cautious nature, late one afternoon, I also removed the drawers and installed some loooong drywall screws through the back and one side of the cabinet and into the walls (it was in a corner, and for good measure I put in a pair of removable floor anchors). Once the dust was cleaned up I put the drawers back in.

From time to time, someone would ask about moving "that old filing cabinet" and I'd just say that it was pretty heavy.

When I left that job, and clued in my co-worker about the secure spot. "jeez, all this time I thought that it was just a broken old filing cabinet that was loaded with heavy files!" It was good for a laugh.

Yes, she does have a locker where she works. I'll have to ask her if the lockers may be, well, locked. Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought of that.

Most places of employment that I've seen with lockers generally do not have issue with the staff using them and securing the contents with locks.

Word to the wise, better to ask up front before making presumptions regarding potential surprise policies on locker use.

Some places only have enough lockers for one shift and the shifts share lockers, which means you bring your own lock for use during your shift and leave an empty, unlocked locker when leaving for the day. Others may have restrictions on what may be kept in them, and for how long it may be kept. Other places may require that you leave a key or combination >To your lock!< with them for use "in case of emergency". Hopefully cooler heads and policies will prevail. YMMV

Glad to hear that she at least has access to a locker, hope it is relatively close by her work area and that it remains accessible in a time of need.