I worked late on Friday (until 8 pm) because we had a new dispatcher that was still trying to learn the ropes of dispatching and we did not want to leave her by herself on a Friday evening. It was pretty steady all evening, with very little time to relax.
I was up early on Saturday morning. I had to be at the State Capitol by 8:45 am to get ready for Septemberfest, which is an event that is held annually at the Governor’s mansion. This event is for all ages, young and old and is a time for celebrating our statehood and enjoying lots of games, music, etc. Last year, our REACT team provided assistance in traffic and crowd control. This year, we were doing the same thing. OHP was in charge of this event, so they instructed us as to where they wanted us to work and what we needed to do. I was assigned to assist event goers in crossing Lincoln Blvd from the parking lots. There was lots of traffic, so myself and another REACT member would step out in the middle of the street and stop traffic while people crossed the street. They were so appreciative that someone was there to stop traffic and allow them to walk safely across the street. We were there from 8:45 until the event was over with at 4 pm. Even though I did use sunblock on my head, I sweated so much that most of it washed out….which meant I came away from there with a rather red head. The rest of the evening was spent at home with Karla, trying to keep cool. My head was so hot from being sunburned, that my body was taking forever to cool down.
Our REACT uniforms are classy and professional looking, but they are black, which means when it is hot outside on a summer day, we get hot. We also have shorts that we can wear as part of our uniform, but, in order to make a good impression at the event, we were required to wear long pants. I guess I can’t complain too much because I was allowed to wear shorts both days that I attended the OCCC Arts Festival. I made a suggestion after Septemberfest, that we have a different uniform for the summer…..something very light and light-colored. Since we were dressed in our black uniform, we had to wear our reflective vests because we were out in the streets directing traffic and helping people cross busy streets. The vests were rather hot too.
Yesterday was a good day, but a very busy day. It was the first Sunday without a pastor, but things went very smoothly. A young man named Josh Brock (the son of one of our former pastors, George Brock) brought the message to us in both the morning and evening service. He did an outstanding job in both services. After church, my family drove up to Edmond to my parent’s house and had lunch with them and my sister’s family. Dad’s birthday was Saturday, but Sunday was the only day that all of us were available to get together. Afterwards, I drove over to the Oklahoma Heart Hospital to attend a REACT Board meeting and a team meeting. One thing for certain is September has been a very busy month for our REACT team. We have had an event every weekend so far. This coming weekend, we have an event in Midwest City and then an event in Wakita, Okla.
It’s Monday. I didn’t sleep very well last night, so I am somewhat tired today. I found out this morning when I got to work that I am not having to work until 8 pm this evening….I get off at my normal scheduled time….4 pm. I have a lawn to mow after work today and lots of house cleaning to do.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment