Are you working this Christmas day

[steve from staten island]

Two years retired from full time employment anyway. Now i make my own hours more or less and i won't be working late tomorrow or the next day. However in years gone by i worked my share of Christmas's. The 3 to 11 shift was the worse as the day was completely shot,the midnights were great as at least i was home. I slept a little,felt like crap but i was around.
So if your a cop,health care worker,power house worker like me,whatever essential trade or job you have and will be on duty this friday dec 25,my best to you and i appreciate what ever you are doing

 

[Budnicks]

Nope, not working, I'm semi retired anyway, I may take a few phone calls, but probably not...

Glad we do have the 1st responders, fire dept., EMT's, LEO etc. working
there's always allot of traffic & problems on the holidays/highways etc...

stay safe

Merry Christmas to all, especially the people that help to protect all of US

 

[Jimw]

I will be working a seven day stretch of nights starting Christmas Eve. 5pm to 5am

 

[patrick66]

When I was active duty, I had the good fortune of either getting home on Christmas Eve, or deploying on the 26th several times. Only spent seven of twenty Christmases away from home, so that is pretty good, in my book. My first Christmas away from home was my fault, picking a time to go to basic training that included Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

One Christmas was one where we were redeploying from Saudi, and bad weather further West diverted us to Bangor, Maine on December 23rd. Most of us hadn't done any shopping yet, so we hit the mall. We're walking around and I saw a familiar face, but not 100% sure that person was who I thought. So, I just walked up to him and the person he was with, and asked "Are you Stephen King?"...He said "I am!"...We are in front of the Waldenbooks store now. I asked him if he could wait a few seconds, and I dashed in and bought "Christine". I rushed back out and asked him to sign it, to which he graciously agreed! He, I and the three others I was with talked for a couple of minutes, we thanked him for his time and went about to finish up shopping. Kinda cool. Didn't expect that at all!

In 2003, my autographed copy of Christine was lost in the tornado that destroyed my house and shop. That bummed me out a bit.

 

[steve from staten island]

I will be working a seven day stretch of nights starting Christmas Eve. 5pm to 5am

Jim, just about 40 years ago i was working 4 to 12 new years eve,my relief called in sick and i got stuck working the midnight to eight for a total of 16 hours. Got off at 8AM and went home slept and went back in at 4 new years day. My wife was 8 months pregnant with my daughter our first and home waiting for me. She wasn't happy but at least i made 16 hours at the holiday rate

 

[Dennis H]

Working Christmas Eve, 18:30 - 05:00. Off Christmas Day! AND, Linda is back east with the kids (they're in their 40's now) filing the refrigerators and gas tanks. I'm a temporary bachelor and eyeing up the egg nog.

 

[Bb70charger500]

I'm not working in injured reserve/retired what ever sounds better I haven't worked in 4 years .I used to work 7 days a week 80+ hours a week all the way up to Christmas day we got a day off then back the 26th I miss working it gave me something to do no I got to sit at home with all sorts of out of town family I don't know
Yeah!!! (Thats sarcastic if anyone didn't figure it out)
Marry Christmas and thanks to all the first responders and the other trades that are working that make our lives better and safer

 

[gdrill]

I'm working along with about 24 others out here. It's the oilfield in northern Alberta. With our current economy I'm just happy to have a job. This is my 28 th year in the industry and I'm not positive but I would bet I've spent close to 20 Christmases at work. Someone has to do it. I'm very thankful for my family being strong and we always have a second little Christmas when I get home.
But I tell all the young guys today to try to be home for important dates. You can't get them back. Especially the early times in a young family. If I could do it over I would want it to be different but there's not much chance it would be.
Merry Christmas everyone, and if you're working keep your family in your thoughts as you are in theirs.

 

[hemi#1]

i'll be at the shop. I'm retired doing something is better than hanging in the apt. i'll be tearing apart the 64 sport fury conv. it's relaxing an d fun and puts money in the pocket!!

 

[Schober Motorsports]

I'm Active Duty Air Force, will be working... Just another day for us MP's! Merry Christmas!

 

[Xp29h]

Used to work every Christmas Eve. Into Christmas Day. 8 pm to 6 am. Then again Christmas night. Great money to buy car parts. But now I have to go into work for a couple hours this morning and then I'm off for 10 paid days!

Merry Christmas!

 

[Roger63]

Not working Christmas, I was out 22 days straight and decided to take 2 weeks off. This is the first year that my grand kids get to spend the holidays at our house, since they now live with us I am going to make the most of it. Merry Christmas everyone

 

[6t4polara]

Worked many a Holiday no more retired Fire Fighter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[Bruzilla]

I had the evening watch (1900-0700) on Christmas Eve one night when I was at NAS Bermuda. There was nothing going on, and my watchstander and I got bored, so we started drawing pictures on our computers using letters and characters (something computer users had to do in the days before graphics packages). We "drew" a reindeer and Santa in his sleigh, and I got the idea that since it sucked standing watch there, it sucks everywhere, so we would send our pictures as message traffic over the Anti-Submarine Warfare Commanders (SWX) network since we were allowed to send SWX messages (like email) without any authorizations. We wrote up a Night Before Christmas story tailored to Bermuda, and sent it out via SWX to every command center around the world. Within a few minutes we started getting thank yous from all over, and other centers started sending out their own poems and pictures and it made the night much easier to get through.

Then came the next morning and our Officer-in-Charge came in and had a total **** fit about all the Christmas messages coming in over the SWX. My watchstander and I were about to get written up when the OIC got a call from ADM Trost, who had just become Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) that year. Word of our little messages had made it all the way up to the frigging CNO, and he took the time on Christmas Day to call us up and thank us for doing what we did. He said he had heard from commanders all over the fleet who really liked what it did for the morale of the folks having to work Christmas, and he really appreciated our efforts. Our OinC was still pissed, but he couldn't bust us after getting a call like that, or after getting about a dozen messages that day from other Admirals thanking us.

Then the next Christmas, our OinC comes out and announces we're having a contest for writing this year's Christmas SWX message! The same guy who was about to bust Chuck and I a year before now is this big champion of doing what he was going to bust us for. He asked me if I had written a message for the contest, and I told him no and I wasn't going to. We did what we did a year ago for the guys doing the work, not to make him look good.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Working Christmas Eve, 18:30 - 05:00. Off Christmas Day! AND, Linda is back east with the kids (they're in their 40's now) filing the refrigerators and gas tanks. I'm a temporary bachelor and eyeing up the egg nog.

Whoo Hoo Dennis!
Congrads...
Enjoy your free time..
Heck, I should "run up" and we could go party...

"Candy" is itching to kick me out this week, she said I'm driving her CRAZY!

Bruzilla: THAT is old-school!
Cool, a Christmas Eve you will never forget!

 

[snakeoil24]

I am off for two weeks, time for the car!

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I've been off all week Haven't worked a christmas or a christmas eve in over 27 years now, if I was asked to I would just be like whaaaa?? quadruple time? lmao. Bless the men and women of law enforcement and civil servants and military personnel who work on these days for us to keep us safe!

 

[Cranky]

I had the evening watch (1900-0700) on Christmas Eve one night when I was at NAS Bermuda. There was nothing going on, and my watchstander and I got bored, so we started drawing pictures on our computers using letters and characters (something computer users had to do in the days before graphics packages). We "drew" a reindeer and Santa in his sleigh, and I got the idea that since it sucked standing watch there, it sucks everywhere, so we would send our pictures as message traffic over the Anti-Submarine Warfare Commanders (SWX) network since we were allowed to send SWX messages (like email) without any authorizations. We wrote up a Night Before Christmas story tailored to Bermuda, and sent it out via SWX to every command center around the world. Within a few minutes we started getting thank yous from all over, and other centers started sending out their own poems and pictures and it made the night much easier to get through.

Then came the next morning and our Officer-in-Charge came in and had a total **** fit about all the Christmas messages coming in over the SWX. My watchstander and I were about to get written up when the OIC got a call from ADM Trost, who had just become Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) that year. Word of our little messages had made it all the way up to the frigging CNO, and he took the time on Christmas Day to call us up and thank us for doing what we did. He said he had heard from commanders all over the fleet who really liked what it did for the morale of the folks having to work Christmas, and he really appreciated our efforts. Our OinC was still pissed, but he couldn't bust us after getting a call like that, or after getting about a dozen messages that day from other Admirals thanking us.

Then the next Christmas, our OinC comes out and announces we're having a contest for writing this year's Christmas SWX message! The same guy who was about to bust Chuck and I a year before now is this big champion of doing what he was going to bust us for. He asked me if I had written a message for the contest, and I told him no and I wasn't going to. We did what we did a year ago for the guys doing the work, not to make him look good.

Cool story! And I've had to deal with jerks like that too in the military and in civilian life. When I was working at the refinery, we had this one supervisor ask me to draw up plans to reorganize one section of the shop to work on pumps etc. At the time, he was just a training instructor. I laid out work stations with jib cranes that enabled employees to move heavy objects from one station to another if needed plus had easy access for forklifts too. When it was all said and done, he erased my name from all of the drawings and inserted his. Fast forward 10 years where he was now a supervisor and was screwing up left and right, one day I needed some special tools for a job and went to him with the request and he just happened to be walking out of his office in a hurry and yelled at me to get back to work and pushed me out of his way grabbing me by the shoulders. Yelling to remove his hands from me I broke his grab and then went and reported the incident. Never was out for revenge because he took credit for my drawings but no one is going to do that to me at work and it just happened to be his unlucky day. A few months later, he was demoted and was slinging wrenches again. Even though he never spoke about that incident, he actually seemed to be relieved to be back on tools again and knew that he wasn't long for being a supervisor....

Btw, I usually worked the off shift and didn't have very many holidays off during my 26 years at that refinery. At first, I didn't have a choice but once my seniority got to where I could pick my shift, days wasn't all that great out here so I elected to go back on the off shift. We didn't rotate and that was good.

And Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Moparsmitty]

Bruzilla's story reminded me of being on duty during Christmas when I was stationed at Hickam AFB Hawaii back in the late 60s. I usually volunteered for duty around Christmas so the married guys could be home with their families. The Air Freight section that I worked in was a 24/7 operation and about half the guys working there were Civil Service. Every Christmas Eve the civilians would bring in a Christmas dinner for everybody that you wouldn't believe. It was a great time and the food was outstanding. I'm pretty sure that was the only time I've ever had lobster for Christmas dinner. Everybody I worked with in that section were great guys (military and civvies) and I'll never forget them. Merry Christmas.

 

[cr8crshr]

Retired here for the last 8 plus years. Spent so many Holidays on duty that I cannot count them. But there were some memorable ones and here is one I'll share:

During the first Gulf War, I was a Loadmaster on the flying Lizard/C-141B and was awaiting release to head back from Germany to the States for rotation. We were at Ramstein AB Germany. Destination was McGuire AFB NJ. Due to the amount of air traffic flying over the then NATS Tracks we were unable to get a slot time so they routed us further South to cross the Atlantic. This was Christmas Eve. So off we go. We were an empty plane with just 7 crew members. But because of the different routing we were unable to fly any higher than FL 280 or 28000 ft for you non-aviators. Fuel was critical and after the Engineer figured out our remaining fuel would not get us to even Charleston AFB SC we began to look for an alternative landing spot. We look down and there just beneath us was the NAS Air Station on the Island of Grand Bahama. You know the place I'm sure...Tucker Town. Anyway we land...it's about Midnight Christmas Eve and we cannot get fuel till in the morning. Bummer you might say but the best is yet to come. We get the C-141 all buttoned up and get transportation to the Hyatt Hotel over in Tucker Town as it is the only place open to get a bed for the evening. So off we go with our tankered German Beer...Always dragged cases of Beer from Germany back to the States...and get into our rooms. We rally back at one of the Pilots room for a little Christmas Celebration and De-brief while conversing with TACC on what time to get the bird in the air Christmas day of which it was already only in the early am. Takeoff later was at 1700/5:00 pm so we at least got the minimum sleep. I got up around 10:00 in the morning Christmas day to a bright sunny beautiful day. My room over looked the 13th hole of the Golf Course and of course room service delivered some much needed coffee and juice. I was able to call to the States and wish my Dad and Brother a Merry Christmas and then get in touch with my Brother Jon/aka 69a100 who at the time was stationed at Castle AFB CA back home in CA. He was by himself at the house having come up to Travis AFB to share Christmas with me. After the calls I got dressed and headed down to the Hotel restaurant for a full buffet brunch and chowed down. We took our alert and hit the jet taking off and heading back to McGuire AFB NJ and arrived at O-Dark-30 the 26th. So all in all, it was a really special Christmas that year during the first Gulf War. I would go on to many more Holidays on the road, But that is what I signed up to do so there were never any guarantees of Holidays off and when they did come about they were always appreciated. As a Bachelor and single troop, I would often trade with those with Families so that they could be with them. It was tough to work those Holidays but I would do it all over again in a New York Minute...Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...cr8crshr/Tuck