So heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time

Well Georges funeral was Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday Kristan came over and spent the day. I was supposed to go over there but she didn't really want to hang out at her house which is understandable so she came here. We got to spend all day and part of the evening together. It was good to be with her all day and talk. We talked about everything. She is doing about as good as you can do in that situation. Tuesday was the viewing. We got to see a lot of people from MedStar that we haven't in years! Most we were really excited to see (Scooter if you are keeping up with this blog you should comment sometime and leave your email for us!) and some we could have went a few more years without seeing LOL. Mostly the owners :).

I was not looking forward to Wednesday. Firefighter funerals are always so sad anyway and on top of that for it to be an EMS funeral doubles that sadness and to see Kristan in that kind of pain makes it horrible. They played the bagpipes as they loaded the casket onto the firetruck that would carry him to the cemetery. Its amazing how many firetrucks / ambulances from all over come to show their respect when something like this happens. On the way to the cemetery the lineup was the firetruck that carried the casket, then his family, then tons of MedStar ambulances and vehicles, then all of us, and then at the end of the line were tons of ambulances from other companies and tons of firetrucks from all around. All emergency vehicles in front and back had their red and blue lights flashing all the way to the cemetery. It is one of the saddest things and one of the most beautiful things you can see. Ive went to two funerals like this and both times could just look at all the lights flashing following the casket and cry. Then once we were there they presented her with his fire helmet, rang the fire bell three times (I'll explain what that means at the end), and then they made his last call over the MedStar radio. That right there breaks your heart. They come over the radio and call the attention of all employees and then they go on to call his truck number for his last call and then read his date of death etc.. Every person there cried. It is one of the saddest things Ive ever seen/heard. I'm sure George was looking down and smiling at all the people who came out to pay their respects and give him such a spectacular goodbye.

*** The ringing of the bells at a firefighters funeral -- A 200-year-old tradition, the bell once chimed in firehouses to symbolize crews returning to station after a large blaze.
Now, it rings at funerals for firefighters who have responded to their final call home. *** This gets me every time. I told Dave that I had to pass away before him because I can't handle all of this.

The newspaper was there and got some pictures of the funeral procession. The pictures don't do it justice but here they are. As you can see the line of emergency vehicles went on and on and that was the ones at the end. They didn't show all the vehicles in the front. The second picture is of them loading the casket onto the firetruck, and the last is another one of some of the emergency vehicles.

See ya,
Christy `