How The Nursing Shortage and Babies Messed Up The NCOWS National For Me

[doccarson]

Well I had the ammo loaded, the guns ready and the leave slip approved. But being a nurse at a NW Ohio hospital and being one of a three IV specialists has been known to backfire on you. Out of the three IV specialists I an the lone guy and the other two are both about to go into labor( I was not there, you can't blame me) ,well one was in the delivery room at 1700 today when I left ( at least I got to start her IV) and the other is having a C-section on Monday. That means that I can't come to Hooten to play. I hope all have a great time and think of poor little old me stuck up here. I think I am going to carry a timer with me that weekend and ask patient if the shooter is ready then time all of my starts.

Wish I could be there with you all,
Doc

[Will Ketchum]

Doc, too bad I was looking forward to meeing you.  You don't show your location, but since the shoot doesn't actually start until Wednesday and that is the Long Range. ( I believe the main stages will be shot on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.) Any chance you could come later?

Will Ketchum

[James Hunt]

I'll 2nd Will's thoughts, even if you can only make it for Saturday that would be great. Several of the "Originals" are only going to make it for Saturday, it would be great to meet you. I think you are from Ohio and if so we may have already met as I shot early 2005 with a new group in Ohio. Hope you can make it, nobody will fault you for calling in sick on a Saturday.

[Trap]

 Doc,
 Sorry to hear we won't be seeing you. Was looking forward to visiting with you, I am sure you would have made the experience even better.      jt

[Delmonico]

Don't call in sick pard, I know how important them IV specialists can be when ya need one.  

[doccarson]

I would love to slip away but I need to stay within 15 mins of the hospital when I am on call and that will be for a few weeks(its a 7hr drive from Defiance, OH and Hooten). Someone has to stay up here and keep an eye on things and since I did not have my own baby(not a pretty thought) I guess its me. I hope for good weather and GREAT times for all. If you are in the NW Ohio give me a yell. If you are up here and wind up in the hospital ask for me to start your IV.

[Irish Dave]

Doc:

Very sorry you're not going to make it. First things first, I suppose... like responsibilities and a paycheck.
We'll raise a glass to you and hope you can make it soon to one of the other NCOWS events.

Take care,
--Dave

[Will Ketchum]

Gee Doc do you partake of adult beverages?  If you do what's your poison?   When I take a drink for you I want to make sure it's something you like

Will Ketchum

[doccarson]

Will,
If you know many nurses, adult beverages are almost a required part of the job to help keep your sanity . Anything that will go down and not fight its way back up works for me.

[Will Ketchum]

Heck Doc I've know many nurses.  Even a couple of men like yourself who are nurses.  One was a medic and the other a Navy Corpsman before they returned to civilian life.  I have nothing but respect for the profession.

Now in my younger years the nurses were female and as I recall sure liked to party...or so I heard tell .

Anyway I hope you can come shoot with us some day.  Maybe next time.

Let's see should I drink the Jameson for Doc or is he more of a Gentleman Jack type.....   Perhaps a single malt... I have a bottle of Glennlevit around here some place....So many whiskies and so little time.

Will Ketchum

[doccarson]

Jim,
Yep that was us in Ohio. Hope to see you and Jack Brass soon.

Will,
If it will help, just have one of each. Then have another one of what ever you think I might like.

Later this season I hope to make it to some other clubs and meet some of you in person.

Doc

[James Hunt]

Doc - great that we have met, Jack Brass has just recently become a life NCOWS member and an original. We will come shoot in Ohio AS SOON AS HE GETS BACK FROM IRAQ(in the fall)!! I really encouraged him to be period correct over there and thought it would be pretty cool if someone was lobbing .44 caliber soft lead around the place, but he didn't respond to that email and probably thought I was nuts, heard he carries a - I can barely utter the words - 9mm instead. Oh well, best wishes on your new posse in OH and good luck at work. I'll raise a diet pepsi to your health at Hooten!

[US Scout]

Doc,

I feel for ya!  I have to brief Congress over the next two weeks and ain't allowed to leave town either.  I was given notice a couple of months ago that I wasnt' to plan anything for June, which cancelled any hopes I had of going to Hooten.

[Will Ketchum]

I am proud to say I didn't have one drink for myself at the entire National Shoot.  Most evenings I had one for Doc and another for St. George and occasionally a last one for my good friend U.S. Scout.

I had to be careful while drinking for him since he had to brief Congress and I wouldn't want him to do so with liquor on his breath.

Doc, I hope all is well with the prospective mothers. 

Will Ketchum   

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Doc, it was rotten at Hooten.  Rained all the time and the mosquitos were the size of Boeing B52s.  No one had any fun at all.

There.  See; you didn't miss anything.

I'd better go now before lightning strikes me for lying.    

[US Scout]

I am proud to say I didn't have one drink for myself at the entire National Shoot.  Most evenings I had one for Doc and another for St. George and occasionally a last one for my good friend U.S. Scout.

I had to be careful while drinking for him since he had to brief Congress and I wouldn't want him to do so with liquor on his breath.

Will Ketchum   

Will,

I appreciate the thought - I only had to give FIVE briefings (three were on one day alone) over between Wednesday and Monday. 

My stock of Scotch took a real hit since I had a good stiff one in the evenings AFTER the briefings.

[Will Ketchum]

Bill, I'll have to remember your a scotch drinker.  Next time I'm assigned the task of drinking for you I'll bring a bottle of Glenlivet.  It's one of my favorite single malts.  I hope the Jameson I drank for you at the nationals was okay.  I had it with water and a dash of bitters.  I finally figured out that it was the bitters I liked in Old Fashions.  So now and then I put some in a bourbon or other whiskey.

Just let me know so I get it right

Will Ketchum

[US Scout]

Will,

You done just fine!

For Scotch I prefer Glenlivet or Glenfiddich, but I probably drink more Jamesons than Scotch.  I tried it out a couple of years ago while reading a book in which the hero drank it and developed a fondness for it myself.

[doccarson]

Thank You for the drinks and the thoughts! Just when I began to think ( thinking is not my strongest thing, too much black powder) that I could have went because I went all day Friday without a start, just went around checking IV sites we had a large accident on US 24 up here in NW Ohio and I started 16 emergency trauma IVs in a row. So it is a good thing I stayed(everyone made it, I think it was the skillful IVs that did it). Mothers and babies are just fine, they even took the names I came up with, the boy is Wyatt and the girl is Josie, I gave the parents each a copy of Tombstone as a gift and the dads are going to come out and try their hand a W.A.S. ( moms can come also but they need to find someone to cover for then I did my duty). Thanks again and hope to meet you all around another fire.
Doc

[Will Ketchum]

Doc, you done good!   Sounds as if there were many people who were lucky you were there.......I'll drink to that!

Will Ketchum