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1 week ago | 
fireengineering.com | Paul Combs
Now that’s aggressive. Check out the April 2025 magazine illustration from Paul Combs.
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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Paul Combs
We might as well enjoy the descent into HellIt is not breaking news that there hasn’t been much to smile about lately. It’s been an equal opportunity beating of a year so far in that there has been something to anger/depress/terrify just about everyone. It’s reached a point that the 2020 pandemic lockdowns look like the good old days.
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2 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Paul Combs
Member-only storyA short storyPaul Combs·FollowPublished inFictions·4 min read·--Image: Wikimedia CommonsI’m sitting at the bar minding my own damn business when a 300-pound leprechaun stumbles over his elf shoes and nearly knocks me off my stool. Green beer sloshes out of my mug and onto the floor. St. Patrick’s Day in an Irish bar comes with hazards, and Lucky here is the least of them.
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3 weeks ago | 
fireengineering.com | Mike Gagliano |Paul Combs
It doesn’t take too much imagination to conjure up the sinister vibes of a name like “The Toxic Twins.” Those simple words bring up images of a deadly, one-two punch to the face that burns, poisons and kills. If that’s what is running through your mind, or something similar, then great. Because the Toxic Twins are not coming to your fire to bring a happy experience or outcome.
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3 weeks ago | 
fireengineering.com | Paul Combs
Firefighters use dark humor for a variety of reasons and the kitchen table can seem like a brutal place to outsiders–but it has a necessary function. It can be a way to cope with tough subjects like death and depression in a less serious and more lighthearted way. This type of humor can help people feel better about their situation or approach a taboo topic that needs to be talked about.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Paul Combs
Member-only storyApril is my month of Carlos Ruiz ZafonPaul Combs·FollowPublished inArtisanal Article Machine·4 min read·--Photo by authorI have been unable to read fiction for months. No novel or short story — including those published on this site, I’m sorry to say — has held my attention past the first few paragraphs since well before the start of the year.
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3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Paul Combs
A Rate-A-Record promptPaul Combs·FollowPublished inRock On·3 min read·--Photo by Marek Studzinski on UnsplashMy love for Rate-A-Record stories is well known by now (I’ve written 113 of them over four years), and my inability to resist a writing prompt/challenge is almost pathological. Thus, when Buddy Gott combined the two recently, I knew that resistance was futile. The prompt is a straightforward one: your favorite songs with “angel” in the title.
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1 month ago | 
medium.com | Paul Combs
Member-only storySaved by Throwback ThursdayPaul Combs·FollowPublished inBlow Your Stack·2 min read·--Photo by 傅甬 华 on UnsplashThe day after Ash Wednesday, I publicly declared on this site that I was giving up ranting for Lent. Like any other resolution, it seemed like both a wise and achievable idea at the time, and for about 12 hours it was.
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1 month ago | 
fireengineering.com | Paul Combs
I first met Captain Bill Gustin back in 2007 at a regional training conference. He was the main speaker, and I was in the front row, taking notes and sketching ideas for future cartoons. When we broke for lunch, he walked over and said, “I hope you drew my sexy side!” That day marked the beginning of 18 years of chance encounters where we’d chat for hours (well, he’d chat, I’d listen) about everything fire service. But it was that day in 2007 that really stuck with me.
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1 month ago | 
paulcombs.medium.com | Paul Combs
There are several on my shortlistPaul Combs·Follow5 min read·--St. Peter’s Basilica at night (Image: Wikimedia Commons)I was looking back over some of my older stories about the popes a few days ago when I came across one from 2022 listing ten solid reasons why I should be the next pope. I realize that the position is not currently open, and hopefully will not be for years to come (keep getting better, Papa Francisco), but it definitely will be again at some point.
