Bless the Emergency Responders
I had intended to open the 2026 newspaper article season with a recap of the 2025 year in county government; and I actually already wrote the article last week, but then something happened. As the Nurse and I made our way to the Milano Dollar General on Christmas Eve, we were stopped at the turn lane on highway 79 while the Milano Volunteer Fire Department left their station house headed west towards Rockdale.
Being that it was Christmas Eve and traffic is often bad, we figured it would be an automobile accident, we said a short prayer that it wasn’t serious and that everyone would be okay – it was most serious and there were two casualties. Two teenagers apparently headed to Santa’s Wonderland in College Station were struck by a Dodge pickup pulling a trailer that crossed the centerline. The impact sent them into the other lane of traffic where they struck another vehicle, the passenger of that vehicle being sent to the hospital. The two teenagers died at the scene.
Sadly, this sort of accident is repeated around the state and country and with the increase in vehicles on the road during the holidays, the situation is only worsened. And while the loss of life is painful, especially those so young, I felt the need to express our gratitude and our love for our first responders. As I said, the Nurse and I were on our way to the store on Christmas Eve when our first responders were summoned out, away from their loved ones, to tend to a scene that none of us ever wants to have to see much less work on.
From our volunteer firemen to our law enforcement officers, to the EMS personnel, all the way to our Justice of the Peace who had to pronounce the victims as dead; these folks spent many hours on the scene, with the highway shut down working an incident that none of us would have wanted to work. From those working the actual crash scene seeing those horrors, to those working traffic and suffering the indignities of delayed travelers, our men and women in uniform deserve our love and our respect for putting themselves out there on a constant basis.
As I think about my time in the Navy and the little bit of time I served as a volunteer fireman, I can see how there are similarities in the PTSD someone can suffer between either in the service or as a first responder. My Navy-related PTSD came from service in various combat zones while on deployments around the world, PTSD that was only helped by a separation from the source and many years of counselling that helped me cope with the demons of the past. And while I am thankful for the counselling and the support of my family, I am blessed that I am away from the locations that generated the pain. I am not sure how you adjust to that when you are a first responder and still working the same streets or in the same location.
As we move forward into 2026, I hope everyone understands the magnitude of their efforts and, when we have the opportunities, that we all take the time to thank those who are involved as our first responders. The Nurse and I pray for our first responders and wish them and their families a wonderful holiday season.
