Heath Copeland

ICU Nurse, Loving Husband, Potato head collector...

[Debbie Weir @DebbWeir]

Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. I @MomsDemand @Everytown wear orange to honor every life stolen and forever changed by gun violence. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in America…UNFATHOMABLE. #honorwithaction #wearorange

[Terry Frei @TFrei]

In 1999, several Avalanche players, including Claude Lemieux, plus GM Pierre Lacroix, lived in the Columbine High area and/or attended the nearby Catholic church. Columbine students were in the team's informal babysitter pool. In the wake of the 13 murders and others wounded on April 20, church parishioner Claude Lemieux asked the family of one hospitalized student if there was anything he could do. The family members, Lemieux's fellow parishioners, mused that, well, they hadn't been home much. Lemieux hired a cleaning service and sent it over to the family's home.
I suspect that Lemieux made other gestures, too, in the aftermath of the shootings, but that's the one I know about.
RIP, Pepe.

[Robert Sterling @RobertMSterling]

I just had the craziest experience at the airport.

We are about to board a flight to Atlanta when the pilot from the incoming plane walks out of the jetway. Guy is probably late 50s, salt and pepper hair, military look. The kind of pilot you instantly feel good about seeing on your flight.

Pilot walks over to the counter, gets on the PA system, and starts addressing everyone. “Folks, I’ve been doing this a long time. Flying one of these jets is easy. The hard part is looking at 130 people and telling them their flight is going to be delayed.”

Audible groans throughout the boarding gate. Most people here are flying to Atlanta as a layover before another flight. 130 people just had their day become a complete mess.

The pilot goes on. “I get it, trust me. But here’s the deal: During our landing, we had a small mechanical issue. I’m not your pilot for the next leg, but I don’t feel confident the jet’s safe to fly until we have a mechanical team look it over, and I don’t feel comfortable asking the next pilots to fly you guys until we get confirmation.”

He points at the agents next to him behind the counter: “Now, none of this is the agents’ fault. Please be kind to them. I’m the one who made this decision, not them, so any inconvenience you experience is my fault. Just please know that I don’t do this lightly, and I’m only doing it because I believe it’s in the best interests of everyone’s safety.”

Now this is where the story gets crazy. The pilot puts the microphone down, grabs his suitcase, and all the people in the gate…

Start clapping.

I’m not joking, everyone starts clapping for the guy. 130 people who just had their travel plans ruined give an ovation to the guy who made the decision and delivered the message.

All because he addressed them with decency and transparency, took ownership of the decision, made it clear that it was necessary, and explained why it was in everyone’s best interest.

It’s honestly one of the best examples of strong communication—of strong leadership, for that matter—that I’ve seen in a long time.

@Delta, whoever your Atlanta to Wichita pilot was this morning, he’s one of the good ones. Please tell him the delayed passengers of flight 1637 appreciate what he did.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: A letter from Alex Pretti’s Final Nursing Student:

“I was Alex Pretti’s final nursing student. He was my friend and my nursing mentor. For the past four months, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him during my capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. There he trained me to care for the sickest of the sick as an ICU nurse. He taught me how to care for arterial and central lines, the intricacies of managing multiple IVs filled with lifesaving solutions, and how to watch over every heartbeat, every breath, and every flicker of life, ready to act the moment they wavered. Techniques intended to heal.

Alex carried patience, compassion and calm as a steady light within him. Even at the very end, that light was there. I recognized his familiar stillness and signature calm composure shining through during those unbearable final moments captured on camera.

It does not surprise me that his final words were, “Are you okay?” Caring for people was at the core of who he was. He was incapable of causing harm. He lived a life of healing, and he lived it well.

Alex believed strongly in the Second Amendment and in the rights rooted in our Constitution and its amendments. He spoke out for justice and peace whenever he could, not only out of obligation, but out of a belief that we are more connected than divided, and that communication would bring us together.

I want his family to know his legacy lives on. I am a better nurse because of the wisdom and skills he instilled in me. I carry his light with me into every room, letting it guide and steady my hands as I heal and care for those in need.

Please honor my friend by standing up for peace, preferably with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of candy in your pocket, just as he would. He would remind you that caring for others is hard work, and we must do whatever it takes to get through the long shifts. Step outside with your dog, breathe in the world, hike or bike as he loved to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments within nature. Stand up for justice and speak with those whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of adversity.

Take one step, no matter how small, to help heal our world. Through these acts, carry his light forward in his name. Let his legacy continue to heal.”

[Fred Guttenberg @fred_guttenberg]

NEVER FORGET THIS PHOTO.

THIS MAN WAS MURDERED BY A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE CURRENTLY OPERATING OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@JeffMarek

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@Steve_Dangle Is that the barometer? If so, what's the salary of a Zamboni driver again?

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@GrageDustin Some gave all.
All gave some.
One had heel spurs.
#SuckersAndLosers

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@BCakaTheMan @accuweather Damn fine comment right there.

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@TheScottCharles 🤣🤣🤣

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@Sophia_Nyx The correct answer is Gung Ho. He make me raff

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@rejectedcarrots What about rugs? Like, is it OK to munch them?

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@rejectedcarrots As someone who has given bad references for someone, I checked with some HR friends first. As long as it's factual and can be demonstrated (bad attendance record for example) it's fine. But, defamation laws would prevent a former employer from making up something wholesale.

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@shannonrwatts

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@thornewip "what foul plot..." was what caught my attention as being either very Poe/nor-ish or being pulp influenced. Also, in my head, the narrator from the Adam West Batman series reads that line out loud 😁
Thank you for your great work and taking the time to entertain a question.

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

Enjoying a peaceful moment at that beach with my well worn copy of @thornewip Ominous Whoosh while I wean myself off of watching #TwinPeaks yet again. I knew I should have sprung for the #Hardcover copy, but Thorne talked me out of it 🤣

[Heath Copeland @heathco63]

@JeffMarek Waiting for Jeff's "Why I joined The Athletic" piece 🤣