As many of you know, I spent a number of years in emergency service. Along the way, I had an idea for a "better mousetrap" to assist rescue personnel in performing their jobs in a faster and safer fashion. Realizing that I had neither the time nor the equipment necessary to manufacture this item, I chose to share the idea with a long time friend that just happened to have the key components that I was lacking.
After countless hours of discussion, fabrication and experimentation, a prototype was developed, which I then took to the field to give some real world testing and experience. By virtue of my job, the "mousetrap" got some remarkable hands-on experience....and the feedback allowed a variety of subtle changes to be made to refine and define the device. It wasn't long before the product was ready to be marketed to the rescue community as a quick, quiet, simple and stable safety innovation.
Shortly after the launch of the device to the rescue community, I was involved in an accident which would forever alter my life. I really had no idea at that point in time that I would never be able to go back to the job. It wasn't long after the accident that the other party involved in the "mousetrap" project showed up at my house. He thanked me profusely for all the hard work I had done on the project, but said he didn't think it would ever take off, particularly without my time and effort to show the device off and instruct people in the proper operation.
At that point in my life, I had to distance myself from the job that I was not going to be going back to, simply to maintain my own sanity. I had to focus on my life as it was going to be and not how it was. Needless to say, I didn't think much more about the strange visit, the possible death of an idea or anything beyond trying to get my own life back on track.
Flash forward to last week.....I am finally comfortable with dealing with the old job. I started doing some reading on rescue operations and was surprised to read a glowing review of my "mousetrap" from a respected national publication. Further research lead me back to the manufacturer's home page. There is much ado on the page about the company's Christian values and integrity. Imagine my surprise to learn that the idea for the "mousetrap" came to my friend "in a dream". The dream showed him the need for the device, the exact components needed and why it was almost a miracle! Seems a wee bit odd to be extolling the virtues of high moral fiber, honesty and Christian belief while stabbing a "friend" in the back.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not as bitter as I sound, I just think it is wrong to refer to the person responsible for this as "a dream". What is really important is the fact that emergency responders now have a very capable, very affordable tool in their arsenal....which makes the job of saving lives much safer and faster. I wish them all the luck in the world and hope that many lives are saved as a result.
