As a kid of just 14 rs old, I joined the Local Volunteer Ambulance Corps,
and eventually trained to become
an
E.M.T.
( at 15 yrs old, I was the Youngest in the State of N.J where I grew Up.)
then
I became an Instructor with
The
American Red Cross
Teaching Basic First aide,
& then Advanced first Aid ,
and
C.P.R Instructor .
Hiv/A.I.D.E.'s Educator, a Paramedic,
and eventually a Bio-Medical Engineer,
Repairing Artificial Kidney Machines, Heart Lung Machines,
and various other Surgical Machines.
I've have also had the Privledge and Honor
of Hand delivering Human Organs ( hearts & Kidneys )
for Transplantation
Flying them by Private Lear Jets,
to several locations in the United States.
But, for most of My working life,
I've been a skilled tradesman
of one sort or another.
And whenever appropriate,
I've gladly risked My life many times over,
in order to save others , which was
Always My Priority, and Great Honor to do !
Most exciting of which was the time, I was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
I once kept a man alive on an overnight fishing charter,
while aboard "The Florida Fisherman 1" in St. Pete Fla.
I kept Him alive for Over 12 straight hours during a very bad storm,
60 mph Winds, 20 foot seas,
while awaiting the aid of the Coast Gaurd,
out in the outer banks of the Gulf of Mexico during November of 1981.
It was some rescue ,with no Oxygen onboard !
It was Lucky I was onboard at the right time, as I was the only person on the ship
with any rescue skills to try & help this poor man,
who forgot His "NITRO" pills in His glove box.
For 12 hours, straight C.P.R. til finally The Coast Gaurd Helicopter reached Us,
lowered the basket I lifted Huim in with some assistance,
and off He went, Up into the rain. Never to be seen By Me ever again.
It was an Awsome Trip,
and I was Happy to Help ,
each
and Every Time !
Some things You never forget, or get any credit for,
but as usual, most every Rescue I've ever made
Was anonymously performed.
Unsung, and Untold of , especially By me, until now,
But I always sort of disappeared into the shadows.
But, I'm 54 yrs old now, & pretty well beat to a pulp physically
and now,
I am unfortunately & Painfully, Physically Disabled.
due to severe Back & Neck Injuries,
from many My rescues and several mishaps
along the way,
all which now place me in costant pain
which unfortunately limits My activity to a great degree .
But hey, C'mon,
I can't just sit around crying in a towel all day. Right?
Every scrape and scratch I wear as a badge of honor !
I'ts how I rolled. I wouldn't trade these memories for anything !
So,
Thanks to a few caring and competent Physicians,Medical Science,
&
good insurance...
And quite a bit of Modern "Space age" Cybernetics,
I'm Lucky enough to get My life back with the Miraculous help
of an
Implanted Medical Device Placed within My abdomen,
called a "Micro Infusion Delivery System"
made By
"Medtronic".
This little pump delivers
anesthesia directly into My spinal cord,
As a result, I am in much less pain,
and can function more clearly once again .
Without it's assistance, I would probably not be here.
I'd have rotted away in bed a long ago,
from all the nasty oral meds I used to have to take.
But now, I am so grateful for this life saving machine,
because it allows Me to be clear headed
productive and useful once again !
I Highly recommend looking into this Pump, if You suffer any Chronic Pain Conditions.
You can have Your life back once again !
So now...This is how I try to make a living,
as I just cannot be
a reliable employee these days,
working a nine to five,
athough I would dearly love to get back to work once again,
But,I just can't.
It's pretty tough some days to even move,
especially in the cold of winter,
do to My physical limitations from Dreaded
"Pedicle Screws,
implanted by a "Quack" Neuro Surgeon, from Clarks Summit PA.
(Beware !)
The constant stabbing pain they inflict on me,
instead of the Miracle they were supposed
to have performed for Me.
But gratefully, because of this Pump,
and especially the love of this
Fabulous Woman,
I get by
with the love,
support & care from My lovely Wife of 30 yrs,
My Best Friend,
Kalli
Whom I owe so very Much to !
Without Her love & support, I would surely have perished long ago !
We also have Two wonderful Kids,
now adults, whom We are so very proud of !
So now,
realizing my limitations,
and knowing I have to try to supplement our income,
I returned to Wood Sculpting once again.
It seems to be what I do best, especially at this stage in My life,
and time I now have, permits Me the luxury.
However...Being in My position, has certainly taken a toll on Our budget
and I feel pretty helpless, not being able
to hold down full time employment anymore.
I love to work, work hard, Work well and provide My Employer
a quality person to do the quality job they hired Me for.
I dearly miss it.
Many people might envy Me, but believe Me, It's no Party ! I would only wish it on Al Queda
and
Usama bin Laden himself !
But honestly,
I'm not feeling sorry for Myself,
I don't want You to either !
I am just trying to do whatever I can,
to help ease Our financial burden in any way I can
and to help Us survive in this crazy world We live in.
So, once I felt able enough to give it a shot again,
I gathered My wits, Pulled Myself up slowly but surely,
and as I was able to do some work once again,
I went to work on a mission of
"Serious Artistic endeavors".
It sure beats watching "Judge Judy" !
So, I started Wood carving again,
trying to replicate these Wonderful Little creatures,
after having recovered from a very bad car wreck a few years back,
in which I actually Died, and was luckily revived.
luckily I was not only left with a second chance at life,
and it seemed I came back with a few gifts along the way,
one of which being the gift allowing Me to create these Beautiful Birds.
Not just A Birds, But realistic looking Birds, all lifesized,
life like in a Flying pose with wings outstretched ~
Very rare to say the least. I've done lots of research,
looking in "google" and other sources of wooden art.
Lifesized, Wings open... Hard to find for sure !
Go to
Google/Images
www.google.com/images/
and search for
" Wood Carved Birds in flight "
There's not a lot of Lifesized Bird carvings,
with
Wngs spread out in flight.
So, I took it as a personal challenge after having so many amazing Hummingbirds
visit me, inches close,
as if they knew me .
It was strange...but oh so true.
I even have Bald Eagles flying overhead,
seeking trout in the River that borders My front yard.
So, I sure had subject matter, no problem.
These Little Hummingbirds just amaze Me.
They'd often come just inches from My face each morning, as if to say...
"Hi Pat, Thanks for the nectar Buddy, see ya later !
and off they'd fly, like little fairies dancing on the wind !
That's what got Me started with Carving these amazing Birds,
after studying them as close as I could,
I said to Myself,
"Hey .., I can bet I make one of those ! "
The results got better & better, with pretty good reviews.
As I carved more and more of them, I'd add more and more details.
After all...
"Practice makes Perfect"
right ?
Being a "Sick"Perfectionist, (it drives Me crazy sometimes, believe Me)
I'm not satisfied until I get it right ~
So fascinated at how such tiny little creatures hover and dance in the sky.
I just love watching them as they gracefully Hover and weave their way through the air !
Being a pretty good photographer, I manage to catch these wonderful creatures
with My digital camera,
so I can study their details more closely.
Heres a few good shots I caught recently, in the summer of '08
I took on this not so easy a task of Carving them out of wood,
trying to catch them Doing what they do,
and
Hopefully preserving them forever through My Wood Sculpting.
Turns out that after a few near misses, I seemed to have luckily gotten it right.
But...then, came the Eagle family, living on the beautiful Lackawaxen RIver,
upon which Our home and Front yard run parralel with each other.
Our
"Front Yard" !
( I love it ! )
American Bald Eagles, once very few in numbers,
have thankfully been taken off the endangered species list,
and
are thriving in N.E. Pennsylvania like never before!
So beautiful and majestic,
they often fly right passed My shop,
looking for a tasty trout to land.
Heres a picture I took,
of one of the
Bald Eagles that often land across river
from My Property on the Mighty Lackawaxen River,
Perched Hi up in the trees, to survey the land and river below.
A true inspiration if ever there was one !
I'm so glad to see them.
It's a true honor to be in their company !
I was so inspired by these Great Masters of the sky,
I used this Eagle above, to create the Eagle below,
with it's lunch, all out of wood.
My love for wood has always been a big part of My life!
However, never quite as strong before My Car Wreck.
Now, I have such a strong desire to create these wonderful creatures out of wood,
and it seemed I had developed some talent in doing so.
I think it's a gift I brought back, from My now deceased Grandmother,
Marie, whom I was so very close to,
and Who met Me in the afterlife, only to send Me back.
As I lay in Her lap, She stroked My hair and She said
"I wasn't allowed to be there just yet, & I still had things to do."
Next thing I knew, I awoke in the local trauma center, and they got started rebuilding My face .
I've been artistic all My life, and had quite a few pieces sold in a Scranton Art gallery
back in the early 90's.
But Bird Carving..? this is an extremely difficult thing.
carving Lifelike, lifesized Birds, with open wings ?
Practically,Unheard of !
Most all wood carved birds I've seen throughout the internet,
are all perched on a branch,
and
they're usually miniatures at that, mostly wings folded.
Very Nice work indeed,
But so "static".
My Birds, come "alive" which is critical aspect for Me personally,
like I said, I suffer from "Perfectionism", which is a very annoying thing most times,
because after all, Who among us can truly achieve perfection ?
But I do try as Hard as I can,
and so far,
these are the results.
My one big hope, is that I can continue doing so,
with the support of My Patrons ,Family and Friends,
and I can continue creating Birds and Sculptures out of wood.
Hopefully,
I'll Please a few eyes before I pass from this realm permanently .
It's amazing what a Knock on the head can do to a guy,Huh ? !
( however, I don't recommend it ! )
But I'm truly glad after all, to feel good enough now,
and to have this new talent,
and the
opportunity to
share My work with everyone.
I hope You enjoy My work as much I enjoy creating it.
Thank You for Your visit and Your Valuable Time !
