By Jim Bloch
“Police officers and firefighters, they touch a lot of lives,” said Dave Barber, a member of the city council in Marysville and a retired city firefighter.
Barber was recalling the time when Tom Konik, who retired as the director of public safety in the city on Oct. 13, saved his life.
“Tom touched my life one morning,” said Barber, trying to keep his emotions at bay as he spoke at the regular meeting of the city council, held Oct. 23, a recording of which was posted on Vimeo.
“I had the privilege to work with Tom,” said Barber. “I believe I was his captain at one time. Then I had the privilege of being his assistant chief and retired at that. Tom and I would have father-son talks every once in a while. I’d go in and say, Tom, are you really sure you want to do this? And nine times out of 10, I didn’t change his mind. Once in a blue moon. At the end of the day, when I walked out, he was always the chief.”
Earlier in the council meeting, Mayor Kathy Hayman presented Konik with a certificate of appreciation for his 30 years of service to the city
“I was on duty and instead of my heart beating at 60 times a minute, enough to keep blood going to my brain and keep me conscious, mine decided to get lazy and beat at 20 times a minute,” said Barber.
It was Feb. 6, 2008.
“I passed out, hit my head on the floor, had three bleeds on my brain,” Barber said. “I don’t remember a lot about that day. I know that Don Paterson, Chris Nesbitt, Chief Konik — Tommy — were there and they put a pacemaker on the outside of my body along with drugs to stabilize my heart. Took me to what was Mercy Hospital at that time. I was transferred in Mercy’s ambulance to St. John’s and they were able to correct that problem.”
The event remains blurry to Barber, who spoke during the section of the agenda at the end of the meeting reserved for council member comments.
“I’d wake and have little snippets,” said Barber, voice cracking. “But, I do remember on our trip down to Detroit, I woke up long enough and looked over and Tom was sitting there and I remember saying, I love you, dude. And I still do today.”
Barber took a breath.
“You have a lot to be thankful for that Chief Konik served you all,” he said. “Thanks, Tom.”
Barber retired in 2010.
“Anyone else?” asked Mayor Hayman.
For a moment, nobody responded.
“I don’t want to follow that,” said council member Duke Dunn as the audience and other council members laughed with the sense of relief that sometimes follows an expected burst of emotion.
“I know,” said Hayman. “I know.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
