An Extraordinary Life

Most people remember the TV show in the early 70's called "Emergency!"  It's where paramedic firefighters were showcased for the first time.  What I didn't know is that the character of Johnny Gage was based on a real-life firefighter named James O. Page.  Not only is he recognized as one of the forefathers of EMS, he is generally considered a gifted writer, teacher, and historian.

Today at our NAEMSP conference, the Memorial lecture was dedicated to him, and the speaker talked about his life.  Wow.  It got me to thinking about how you learn about these amazing people and hear about the extraordinary things they do and wonder how they did it.  How does someone live the extraordinary life?

It made me start thinking about the movie "Dead Poet's Society" and how influential that movie was to me at the time... about to start college... thinking of challenging what I felt to be my parents' ideas of what my life should be like.... wondering how I was going to lead my own extraordinary life.  This scene is my favorite:





The lecture ended with a quote which was found in the wallet of James O. Page when he died suddenly. Given that it's a brand new year, I felt it appropriate to think of this as a mantra for the upcoming year... what will you do to make your life extraordinary?

‎"I want to appreciate the time when moments were made into memories. I want to embrace them, cherish them, and never forget that they come so few and far between. I know that wherever life takes me, these memories will always follow. They remind me of what's truly important. It's not just life, but living. It's the journey, the destination, and all the little points in between. And I must admit, I like what I see." - author unknown