I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. The hospital beds are too rigid and too heavy to be carried down the stairs. They cannot be turned around the corners 22 floors times 2 for each flight of stairs. To facilitate carrying patients down the stairs teams of six would climb the stair. In each hospital room there are usually two patients. An acrylic sheet would be slid under the patient. The patient would be wrapped up and cloth belts would secure the patient inside. Five people would carry the patient down the stair. As one person got tired, the free person would take their place. Why would we do that? Why not use the elevators? In the basement elevator have weight wells. As the elevator ascends to the top floor weights descend and are kept in a hole or well. As the water surged into the basement it would flood the well rendering the elevator useless. When water filled the well the weights could not be lifted out.

Furthermore, much of the extremely heavy equipment such as MRIs X-ray machines, CT scanners are in the basement. Repairing these is impossible because a part or piece cannot be switched out and replaced.

At each stairway entrance we had rest stations and water bottles to be given out.

By the way, there was no power so no pumps were working. The toilets didn’t work. The problem was solved by pouring the water from the bottles of the cooler into the toilet.

As an employee of Bellevue Hospital , I have been there for 21 years. I have friends who have been there 40 years. Don’t get me wrong. I have seen and witnessed much.

Please accept my apology for not clarifying a few things. I don’t want to out-do anyone else here on UHH. We all have our talents.

To PENDENIS: Thank you for your service.

Being an Eagle Scout means a lot to people who can appreciate the rank…..
I had MREs. I had them secured and when Hurricane Sandy came in for a visit, my job was to assist the US Coast Guard amongst other branches evacuating patients from Bellevue Hospital. We worked in teams of sixes climbing up the stairs and carrying patients down (wrapped in hard plastic sheets) to the ground floor waiting ambulances. The weight wells in the basement would flood with water. During a break I offered my MREs up. All of the coasties refused. When I told them they were kosher they all grabbed them up. The boxes I brought them in were empty and back we went. In a couple of months I received the patch to sew onto my bag.

Boy! Is that good advice! You must look ahead. Absolutely nothing is happening where you are at the moment. Everything will happen up ahead. I see people with their brake lights on so much that I wonder how they can get anywhere. I take my foot off the gas as often as I can, and I avoid using the brakes. I learned a lot from taking motorcycle-riding courses. Looking at the exit of a long, curvy turn will automatically make you use the correct amount of steering input.

Even as a kid, I liked reading about how to drive. I've always been interested in cars.

Another reason to not have a bottle of water on your seat is that it can roll off and if it lands on the driver's floor it is instantly a hazard. If it rolls under the brake pedal a person could end up crashing their car since they could not stop in a timely manner. And speaking of bottled water -- what did we do 40 years ago? When traveling, did we just stay thirsty until we got to our destination? And who would have imagined the proliferation of bottled water? When it first came out there were basically two kinds -- spring and distilled. Now there are hundreds of brands, flavors, and sizes. Some people have no problem paying several dollars for a single bottle of water like Fiji or VOSS. We used to drink from a garden hose and we live still! Due to the dangers presented by bottled water and the cost, do we really need it?

Would you let a 5 year old drive a 18 wheeler? Of course not! I am a cranky old coot who would rather sit on the couch, smoke a cigar and polish off a bottle of whiskey while watching the fireworks on tv. I don’t need to light them off and I’m not allowed in Brooklyn and where I live in Pennsylvania. My dog will rest next to me with his head on my lap. No whiskey for him. He likes ear scratches.
By the way, I have photographed fireworks. They are slow and steady. Having a long shutter speed, wide open aperture and dialing your ISO dialed the way up is a good ticket.
As for working as a pharmacist, we usually get plenty of prescriptions for prescription burn cream.