Saturday, October 22, 2016

Laughter in the crew room ~ SNIPPET SUNDAY, Oct. 22-23, 2016

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

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I'm sharing snippets from HYPHEMA, my second EMS novel. The hero in HYPHEMA was first introduced in Final Sin as the heroine's ambulance partner and best friend.

Matt Garratti, a paramedic from New York, moves his wife and son to North Carolina to work at his dream job as a flight medic. Pakistani born Sudah, his wife, receives frosty stares and insensitive comments from their new neighbors… Matt wonders if he is pursuing his dream or bringing his family into a nightmare from which they may never wake.

Matt and his partner come into an ongoing conversation in the EMS crew room, there's lots of laughter over a call another crew just took. (note: EMS humor is often a way to relieve the tension of the job)


Creative editing (a.k.a. condensed to fit) alert!    

“Wee-oh, talk about somebody from the dead coming back and biting you in the ass,” the crew room was filled with laughter as Matt and Tony walked in, “when I called it into the hospital I said that there were two patients but the other one refused medical assistance.”
Tony offered Matt a can of soda from the counter, “what’s going on?”
Little John answered between chuckles, “Big John and I were dispatched to a one car M.V.A., the guy didn’t hit anything, the car was just sitting there in the middle of the road. Seems a dog ran out in front of him and he hit the brakes, well the dog got away, but the guy in the back comes forward and hits him in the back of his seat.”
“And this is the best part,” Big John guffawed, “the patient was driving a delivery truck for the funeral home, the guy in the back was a stiff in a body bag!”
“I really wanted to check the vitals on the guy in the bag, but with my luck I would’ve unzipped the bag and the stiff would have sat up.”
“I wonder if we could have collected on two patients.”
“I mean the driver definitely got hurt, he really got hit in the back hard, but I want to hear how he explains that injury to his friends.”


  
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12 comments:

Daelyn Morgana said...

Oh I can just imagine some of the stories those that work in medical fields have to share. I have my own fair share of them working in retail, but I think the medical profession tops my stories. Nice dialogue.

Teresa Cypher said...

Oh my, I agree with Daelyn. The stress must be nearly unbearable at times. Good job of painting a macabre scene with humor, Chelle!

Linda said...

That's a bit crazy. I bet he'll put a seatbelt on the body next time.

Aurora Springer said...

Is that gallows humor?
Joking to relieve tension is believable.

Chelle Cordero said...

Lol, just an aside, this was a real call from the 3 decades I spent in EMS. The "gallows humor" is a very real thing

Chelle Cordero said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
P.T.Wyant said...

As a nurse in a long term care facility, I can totally relate to the off beat humor. It's just a way of coping.

Veronica Scott said...

Quite the incident! A good snippet for showing the readers what the daily duties could be like....

Siobhan Muir said...

That's a whole new story to tell around Halloween for sure. Great snippet, Chelle. :)

Elaine Cantrell said...

Wow, what a story.

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Work stories can be hilarious. Loved their easy banter.

Unknown said...

Loved the characters conversations back and forth.