Skip to main content

Don't Get in the Car if Your Friend Has a Tattoo

A few weeks ago, I realized that I needed to brush up on what actually happens in trauma care, since one of my characters is a pediatric trauma doc.  I started browsing the library catalogue online, and this happened:

Waaay too many books
So now I'm trying to read all of them as fast as I possibly can.  I just finished Catherine Musemeche, MD's Hurt: The Inspiring, Untold Story of Trauma Care.  I learned some things that will be important to my story, but much more interesting are the things that have absolutely no bearing on what I'm working on.

The first part of the book spends some time on car accidents and the early prevention efforts.  Really, everything started with Susan Baker, an epidemiologist, and my new hero.  Susan Baker studied car accidents to figure out the causes.  She tended to focus on external causes, believing that people would still continue to be people.  Instead of trying to change them, she thought that we should change vehicles, policies, and roads to make safer environments and systems.  One of the funniest things she discovered was that people with tattoos were more likely to get in car accidents.  So if your friend has a tattoo, don't get in the car.  If you have a tattoo, don't get in the car.  Heck, let's just all take the bus.  Now if your bus driver has a tattoo . . . 

Also, there really were human crash test dummies, who rode a test sled, called Sonic Wind.  I'm sure that all the volunteers had tattoos.
  
Me and my boo(k)
One of my favorite parts of the book is about Freedom House Ambulance.  1960's Pittsburgh tackled  two problems at the same time: the lack of a paramedic service and the lack of jobs for African Americans.  To quote from the book:
"It was a real treat to be away from crime and other things that were going on in that area," recalled George McCary III, a 1968 graduate of the program.  "To be able to go to work and actually help people . . . that's a big uplift whenever you have people praise something you do."
To me that just gets to the heart of human needs.  People need safe environments, meaningful work, and positive regard.

One of the final chapters of the book focuses on PTSD and mentions a new therapy that seems promising.  Guess what, GUESS what, guess WHAT?  It involves Virtual Reality!  Not just visual and sound connections either.  They even provide smell machines.   So here we are, the second book in a row that mentions VR.

I guess I need to take my alternate ending idea a little more seriously.  I have it written, but I'm still debating over whether making everything in the Culling a VR game devalues the experiences of the characters.

Anyhow, teaser time:
On a roof peak hung the a clock with the words, “Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough.”  Mystified she turned to Jose, “Where are we?”  
Jose shrugged.
“Not sports fans, huh?” Grady pointed at the building, “It’s a famous soccer arena.  Well, infamous I guess.”
“So I’m guessing something violent happened here that showcases humankind’s indifference towards the suffering of others,” Charlotte surmised, “So far, that’s been the theme.” 

Popular posts from this blog

Short Story: Distraction

It was an office, not unlike any of the other offices around the city. There were windows, visible to the lucky few cubes on the ends of the rows. Then there was Vera's cube, situated next to the row of manager's offices. Today she was lucky, someone had left their door open and precious slant of sunlight escaped, warming her back and washing out half of her computer screen. "I never realized your hair was red," Tracy dumped a large stack of paper on her desk, "The florescent lights make everything look so soupy." "What is that?" she pointed at the stack of paper. Tracy only offered compliments when he wanted a favor. "I need this entered," he smiled, a dimple appearing in his cheek. "You have a secretary," Vera waved a freckled hand to her left, "Ask him." "He's sick," Tracy gave her puppy-dog eyes, batting his long dark eyelashes. Vera sighed and fought back a smile. Tracy was such a s...

Perfect Quote(s) for Valentine's Day

"Lovers in the first stages of attraction speak in harmonic dissonance-echoing and remarking on things that make no sense to anyone but their intended." -George Hagen, Tom Bedlam ********************************************************** Evira: "Yup, the lyrics really are 'Your sex is on fire.'" Agnes: "If my sex was on fire, I would hope that you would call 911." 

Poem: Calling

I keep sifting sand through my fingers, not feeling the grit of you in my palms. Did you skip out to sea like a stone, each kiss of the water a nix pulling you under, or are you always stretching out beside me, your shadow lapping against mine? The tide nestles up close to the shore, its corners tucked and turned under, in the shush and pulse of the waves, your voice is calling, me   to   you. __________________ We took our first trip of the Spring to Carkeek Park yesterday.  Even though it was cloudy, it was still overwhelmingly pretty. One of my favorite poets always starts each of his books with a poem written to the reader.  I guess that's my hope, too.  That you (yes, YOU) will feel that I've been reading your diary and wrote this poem to spill your secrets.  Or maybe you really are the "you" in my poem. Meanwhile, in prose land, I have just posted the next chapter of The Culling, and it involves . . . an octopus...