text:
Nicholas Tefft and Brannon McLarney
Hey guys! My name is Nick and I am currently attending the University of Kentucky as a freshman. I turn 19 on December 7th and I still have no clue what I would like to do with my life, in terms of the work force. In my current CIS class, our teacher has instructed us to study a community of people that live with a different culture than their own. I have worked since my freshman year of high school, but recently stopped working because school was too overwhelming. Once I was provided with the opportunity to study a community, I knew that I wanted to observe a community that requires dedication as a trait to become a part of.
No offense, but I was not a child who was very interested in becoming a fire fighter. As a child, and even up to just 6 months ago, I was fascinated with the idea of becoming a very wealthy investor. I had no moral regard for others at that time because I was young and more interested in making myself happy, than others.
After about a week of being in college I became extremely depressed and began dabbling in anxiety relief medicine, un-prescribed. This simply led to a more depressed version of myself. I immediately thought of the project that my teacher presented us with as a way to get out of the slump I was stuck in and maybe even find a passion for something new. Originally, I wanted to study a drug rehabilitation center and use that to help myself as well. Unfortunately the rehabilitation center was already taken by another group so I continued to brainstorm. One night while lying in bed I came to the conclusion that I could not live the life I was living anymore, and that my views on life in general were flawed. I expected everything from everyone around me, but only gave back when it was beneficial for me as well. The next day in class is when I decided that fire fighters would be the culture/community that I studied. Keep in mind, that up to this point in my life I had been a very self-centered person who was focused on making myself wealthy as opposed to helping others.
Hey guys, this is Brannon for a paragraph. Like Nick, I did not grow up wanting to be a firefighter. It's not that I didn't think it was cool or interesting, there were just other things I wanted to do more. I grew up sort of self-centered, I cared about helping others but not as much as I should have. Visiting with these firefighters and interviewing them really changed my understanding. Firefighters are brave, self-less people that want to help others. They're caring people that really connect and bond with their fellow firefighters. They inspired me to want to live more like that. They even inspired me to maybe look into being a firefighter. In my opinion, being a firefighter is one of the most rewarding jobs you can have because of how good it feels to help others. Thank you guys for your time.
Okay guys, it's back to Nick. I never understood the draw to becoming a fire fighter as a kid. Every natural reaction in your body screams to leave the area of an emergency, but fire fighters run towards them. This project opened my eyes, and showed me that the reward of helping another person is more satisfying than helping myself. This project unintentionally opened my eyes to a beautiful feeling that I had never experienced before.
Up to this point in the semester, I have completed a speech and a paper on fire fighters after I studied two different fire houses in person for a total of about 9 hours and part of a 30 minute interview with a fire fighter. In that 9.5 hours almost every single preconception I had about fire fighters was torn out of my brain and replaced with reality. This reality showed me exactly why every other kid I knew wanted to grow up to be a fire fighter; I had to learn this while I feel like most people are born with a natural motivation to help others.
My perceptions on fire fighters, and both life itself were drastically altered from this project. Like I stated before, I was a pretty selfish person. My focus was primarily on making money for myself to enjoy. I have never been in any emergencies that involved the fire department, and I know of nobody in the field. I obviously knew what fire fighters jobs were, and I was aware of the extent of emergencies you all cover. However, I was not aware of the interactions between fire fighters which in my opinion, is the spine of the fire department. While at fire station 9 in Lexington, I was shown how important one fire fighter means to another. Being an only child with no relatives alive, I immediately envied this relationship that was shared, and began to focus on that. The close relationships are shared throughout all fire fighters across the world, according a fire fighter that I met in Lexington. This intimate bond that is shared between the thousands of fire fighters across the world is the reason why majority of departments are able to respond so efficiently. The knowledge that every fire fighter would lay down their life for another employee, strengthens the performance of fire fighters in general.
This bond that I saw between fire fighters helped show me that I had lost all of my intimate bonds since the beginning of college, and that I need to get them back. Fire fighters have one another to rely on when they need help, and they know that they will always receive help. My selfishness, drug dependence and depression stripped away my loved ones, but this project put me on the correct path to reestablishing our relationships.
At this point I would like to say thank you to an organization, and a person. I appreciate each and every fire fighter for not only their dedication to the public, but for helping me realize what life should be about. More specifically, I would like to say thank you to Emily, my CIS teacher. I was on a path that I never wanted to find myself on. Not only did she assign the project, but she emailed me during the semester, once I was coming off of the path, informing me that she could tell a difference and that she enjoyed having me in class. For a college professor to take time out of their day to notice one specific student out of hundreds is a really meaningful acknowledgement. Thank you Emily. You were one of the reasons that I was able to stray from this path of mine, and start down this absolutely beautiful new path that I am on.
I hope you all enjoyed this read as much as I enjoyed typing it. Please leave any type of response. Have a wonderful day.


text:
Select Artist »
Pepper Adams
Toshiko Akiyoshi
Albert Ammons
Louis Armstrong
Chu Berry
Art Blakey
Bobby Bradford
Ruby Braff
Anthony Braxton
Clifford Brown
Kenny Burrell
John Carter
Paul Chambers
Sonny Clark
John Coltrane
Bing Crosby
Eric Dolphy
Kenny Dorham
Duke Ellington
Art Farmer
Ella Fitzgerald
Bud Freeman
Curtis Fuller
Stan Getz
Certificate Gift
Dizzy Gillespie
Benny Goodman
Johnny Griffin
Bobby Hackett
Lionel Hampton
Slide Hampton
Herbie Hancock
John Handy
Coleman Hawkins
Woody Herman
Andrew Hill
Earl Hines
Freddie Hubbard
Bobby Hutcherson
Milt Jackson
Ahmad Jamal
Crusaders Jazz
DVD Jazz Icons
J.J. Johnson
Pete Johnson
Elvin Jones
Quincy Jones
Clifford Jordan
Wynton Kelly
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Meade Lux Lewis
Jimmie Lunceford
Johnny Mercer
Charles Mingus
Blue Mitchell
Hank Mobley
The Modern Jazz Quartet
Thelonious Monk
Lee Morgan
Oliver Nelson
Charlie Parker
Horace Parlan
Joe Pass
Oscar Peterson
Sam Rivers
Max Roach
Pee Wee Russell
Shirley Scott
Artie Shaw
Woody Shaw
Horace Silver
Zoot Sims
Jack Teagarden
Henry Threadgill
Charles Tolliver
Stanley Turrentine
McCoy Tyner
George Wein
Tony Williams
Jimmy Yancey
Mosaic Box Sets
Recent Releases
Upcoming Releases
Last Chance
Jazz Gazette
True Blue Music
Limited Edition Box Sets
Selects (3 CD sets)
Mosaic Singles
Jazz Icon DVD
Gift Card
Your Wishlist
Your Account
Search by Genre:
Big Band
Trad & Swing
Jazz Guitar
Jazz Piano
Modern Jazz
Blue Note
The Mosaic Story:
Mosaic Promises
The Mosaic Beginnings
Elements of A Set
Out-Of Print Sets
Francis Wolff Photography
Shipping Info:
Shipping Costs
Order Online or by Phone
9-5 EST Mon-Fri
Sort by Artist Name
Sort by Product Number
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong & The All Stars: Newport 1956 &1958 (4 LPs - #3007)
The original 3 track tape of The Complete 1956 and 1958 Newport live sets were used as a source and the sound is impeccable. Restoration engineer Andreas Meyer has brought these important performances back with much clarity to make you feel like youre soaking up the music in a lawn chair while breathing in the air of Narragansett Bay.
- Limited Edition: 3500 Copies
4 LPs (180 gram)
Roland Kirk
Roland Kirk: The Limelight/Verve Albums (4 LPs)(#3006)
These four albums were recorded at some of the finest studios in the New York City area including Nola Studios and Capitol Studios. Rip. Rig And Panic and Now Please Dont You Cry, Beautiful Edith were two of the three times that Kirk recorded at the famed Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (the first was his one Prestige album with Jack McDuff). All four of these albums have been mastered from their original analog masters by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound in New York City. This is the first Mosaic set to be pressed at Chad Kassems Quality Record Pressings in Salinas, Kansas. About the pressings coming out of QRP, Michael Fremer wrote on TrackingAngle.com, all I can say is THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!
- Limited Edition: 2500 Copies
4 LPs (180 gram)
John Coltrane
John Coltrane: The Complete Sun Ship Session (3 LPs)(#3005)
The Complete Sun Ship Session is sourced from newly discovered original reels, the set includes the album's five original compositions, unedited, in sequence of recording, with all of the takes as they evolved, as well as the surrounding conversations. More than just a sampling of a few alternate takes, the Complete Session offers a rare opportunity to eavesdrop on an iconic master at work.
- Limited Edition: 3500 Copies
3 LPs (180 gram)
The Complete Dial Modern Jazz Sessions (#260)
As most jazz fans know, among the most important records to hear in your life are Charlie Parkers Dial Sessions, recorded between 1946 and 1947. But Dial was way more than Parker. It was a microcosm of the explosive changes happening at a moment in time. And we have everything. Every master, every important alternate, and many intriguing false starts, on nine CDs. The set was only previously collected in Japan 20 years ago. Now its available worldwide at last.
- Limited Edition: 7,500 Copies
9 CDs
Rosemary Clooney
The Rosemary Clooney CBS Radio Recordings 1955-61 (#258)
Rosemary was an unparalleled storyteller. Her precise intonation and spot-on sense of rhythm took full advantage of any song that gave her the leeway to swing the beat and pop the lyric.
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
5 CDs
Louis Armstrong
The Columbia and RCA Victor Live Recordings of Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (#257)
The live performances from 1947 to 1958 have been collected at last, let it be known that anyone who overlooks the music Louis Armstrong made on those concert stages does so at great expense to his or her personal joy.
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
9 CDs
Clifford Jordan
The Complete Clifford Jordan Strata-East Sessions (#256)
Strata-East began as a collaboration between pianist Stanley Cowell and trumpeter Charles Tolliver, who were forced into self-publishing when they couldnt find a label that would issue and market their Music Inc. album. Clifford Jordan liked what he heard and asked the team if they could press and release sessions he had made headlined by Pharoah Sanders, Charles Brackeen, Cecil Payne, Ed Blackwell, Wilbur Ware and himself on dates from 1968 and 69. The session led by Ware went unreleased until 2012, and the Blackwell session makes its first appearance here.
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
6 CDs
Woody Shaw
Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions (#255)
Included in this collection are the mid- to late-1970s recordings that established Woody Shaw's musical identity, and saw him break through as an inspiring and influential musician and bandleader. Also included are the Muse sets from his return to the label from 1983 through 1987, where as a mature musician he displayed his range on the instrument and his appreciation for music of many jazz disciplines
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
7 CDs
Earl Hines
Classic Earl Hines Sessions 1928-1945 (#254)
For the first time ever, you can own a set that brings together Earl Hines' important work as a leader and soloist spanning 1928 to 1945. This unprecedented collection draws from all the important labels that recorded him -- OKeh, Victor, Brunswick, Vocalion, Bluebird and Signature.
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
7 CDs
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus - The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (#253)
This set chronicles the essential live performances of this genius of modern music as his compositions achieved a depth and complexity we would come to know as Minguss most signature work. It includes (on the earlier recordings) the brilliant Eric Dolphy, along with Jaki Byard, Dannie Richmond, Johnny Coles, and Clifford Jordan -- certainly one of the best assemblages of musicians ever.
- Limited Edition: 7,500 Copies
7 CDs
Ella Fitzgerald
Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-41) (#252)
The Complete Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-1941) is the most complete collection ever of this incredibly important collaboration between the man who was the first voice on drums and the unassuming teenage girl who would blossom into the most revered vocalist in music.
- Limited Edition: 5,000 Copies
8 CDs
Page Top

subset: commoncrawl