I have been asked multiple times what happened to some of the people I talked about in “My Ambulance Education”. Holly, Bill, My brother, and others are real people and their stories are equally interesting and important. They shaped my life and in many ways, continue to do so. There is a metaphor of two ships passing in the night to characterize how people’s lives can intersect. To continue in that analogy, there are people whose passing left many ripples for me to ride on. So while some of the characters in “My Ambulance Education” have moved on to other ports, I can clearly say their passing through my life has changed my boat ride.

 For anyone who wants to know what it is like to write a memoir it is easy to give a brief philosophy that partially addresses that question. That is if you do not get yourself emotionally involved and in tears, you are not honest enough with what you are writing.

 What brings people to read about tragedy is because it is like watching or looking at a car accident and not being able to look away. It is emotional and we want to see it. We are drawn to our emotions by our emotions.

The link between writing a memoir and bringing back those emotions is a lot like that car accident we want to gawk at. If you have not brought back your personal car accident back to life in the writing it won’t be emotive enough for anyone else to want to gawk at.

Through My Ambulance Education I have been able to touch base with several of my friends and colleagues from those days in the early 1980s. Yes, that is nearly 30 years ago, and I can clearly say that they are as valuable to me now as they were then. Obviously the value of our relationships have changed, but there is value in having common backgrounds to draw upon and discuss.

I’m not sure if I’ve become the person they thought of me as back then, but I’m happy with where I am and that I’m not done yet.

I will be able to continue the saga concerning some of these people later in August. So please watch this space for more to come.