Musings On A Blog Title

A little something different for you today, a guest post from a reader, in response to the JEMS Facebook fans who piddle themselves over a blog title, without ever actually reading the blog. Enjoy!

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“A Day in The Life of An Ambulance Driver.”

This is the TITLE of one of the most popular blogs in the EMS community right now, but it seems that there are a lot of people out in the arena of the world wide web who have taken offense, not to the blog, but to the TITLE. So, let’s take a moment and look at a book’s title which, I think applies here.  In researching this idea, I came across a web page entitled “How to Write a Great Book Title,” and thought, just what I was looking for. The first paragraph that I see says, “It’s all in a name. Your book’s title has more than one function. Besides identifying your story, the title of a book has to attract attention and create interest.” Once I read this, I realized that is exactly what the TITLE “A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver” does. One knows immediately that this blog is about a day in the life of a person who drives an ambulance and since I am a paramedic, I find it interesting. I showed the title to my sister, who is a beautician, and she could care less; I guess the interest isn’t for everyone.

I’m sure that a some of my interest comes from the fact that, as anyone who has been in EMS for longer than 26 minutes knows, the general public refers to everyone who works in EMS as either a ‘paramedic’ or an ‘ambulance driver.’ Through the years I have tried desperately to get the inbred booger-farmers of the world to realize that my job entails more than just driving an ambulance. But, what they see is you driving up to a house in an ambulance; ergo, you are an ambulance driver. I can tell, just from the title, that this might be a blog that may have some interest to me, even though I personally hate being called an ambulance driver. So I took a chance and read some of this person’s musings. It seems that the crusty, old, limey codger Bill Shakespeare was right, “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

It didn’t take long to discover that the person writing this blog was a guy, a guy who has a beautiful daughter whom he loves immensely, a guy that shares some of the same interests as I do, and a guy who writes in a tongue-in-check, matter of fact, and somewhat irreverent fashion; I like this guy. Politically correct? Sometimes, maybe; not really.

I read on… His days are like mine, same issues with work, similar ramblings with his partners, interactions with others akin to mine. And wait, there is more… there is also some food for thought, some educational insights, some things that make you go ‘wow’ and others that just make you go “hhmmm.”

That bastard sucked me in with one line; “A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver.” I guess the title did what it was supposed to; it attracted attention and created interest. This sneaky guy sucked me into his world and allowed me to laugh with him and at him, and worse, he made me cry along side of him.

All of this because his title drew me in, it sucked me into his blog and, through his writings, I could see parallels between his world and mine. That bastard! But, the reality is, he didn’t ask to enter my world, I asked to join his. He put it out for any and all who desired to join him in his daily goings on. From reading blogs, I have discovered that some try to teach, others to enlighten and some to just plain vent. There is something cathartic about putting pen to paper (at least figuratively) and discussing your trials and tribulations, only to discover that you do not stand alone. Damn this guy yet again, his siren must be sucking me into the vortex of his collective, I must resist the hive!

After discovering all of these things, I noticed people taking shots at this guy and what he choose to title his blog. As I read these comments, they started to remind me of what I had always imagined a blind retard would look like trying to shoot at clay pigeons; nice effort but waaaaay off the mark. I wondered if any of them had ever read what this guy writes. And then I started thinking, if they don’t like the TITLE, why don’t they change the channel? There are way more than thirteen channels of shit on this TV to choose from.

This guy’s TITLE did what it was supposed to. If you don’t like the TITLE, don’t read the blog. If you don’t like the blog, go read one that you do like. This world is full of options; more so now than ever before. If you don’t like what is on your plate, you can get something else or you can scrape off the onions and get to the steak that’s hiding beneath them.

In today’s technologically advanced society, there is a group of people out there who are trying to change EMS for the better. They are doing that through the use of blogs, podcast and other social media outlets. Their goal is to elevate EMS to a level higher than what it is or has been in the past. Unfortunately, many of us are still stuck in our old way; looking for a new forest but damn all these trees.

Let’s give these people a little bit of credit for trying and doing what most of us wish that we could. If you don’t like the book, no problem.  Thanks for browsing, pick another.  The library is full!  Respect is a strange thing; it is never freely given, it can only be earned. But, you have to respect, at least a little, the one who is trying to improve not only his own life but this crazy mixed up thing that we call a profession.

As for me, blog on Ambulance Driver: I’ve read the disclosure, I’ve signed the waiver, I’ve assembled my supplies, and my bags are packed; let’s catch the wind and see where this all will take us. I know it’s going to be a bumpy ride so I’ve got my seat belt fastened. The future begins… here.

For those that are interested, the short article on book titles can be found here:
http://bookpublishing.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_find_the_right_book_title

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