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Sunday, Oct. 09, 2005 - 9:03 P.M.
Today's Hero
I apologize in advance for the graphic laden entry, but this one is just very important to me. You see, today, our city gave a big "Thank you" to the brave men who, when our city needed them, stepped forward. Many people never knew, or have long forgotten, the volunteer firemen. We didn't call them fire-fighters. They were fire MEN. They were, to themselves anyway, just normal guys. This is a group of the men from 1961:
I recognize almost all of the names, if not the faces. Within that group of 30 are the fathers of 10 people with whom I attended school, 2 teachers, the owner of the dairy (no longer operating), the funeral parlor, the local Ace Hardware store, 2 brothers from one family and 3 from another, an insurance salesman, and a mailman. Yeah, not a letter carrier or postal employee. A mailman. Who just happens to be my dad.
I think these guys are the end of an era. Sadly. I remember being very young, and the "squawk box" would wail, and dad would be off in a flash with his cool blue light stuck to the top of the car. A few times, because my mom was working evenings, he had to pile us in the car and we rode along. That, as I remember, was scary. These men all had families, they had full time jobs. Many, like my dad, found second and third jobs to help pay the bills. But when asked to help protect the city at the risk of their personal safety, and to be on call 24/7, and for no monetary compensation, they all stepped up. They didn't dicker for a deal, demand compensation or ditch out on their responsibility. They didn't sue the city for injuries suffered on their watch.
They saw a need. They came forward to fill that need. I frankly don't know what kind of training they had, how many additional hours per week that took. I don't know if they ever had to pull a dead body out of a burning building. I don't know if any of them got hurt in the line. It doesn't matter, because they were prepared to if needed. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have that kind of civic pride, civic responsibility today? I fear that greed, sloth, and litigation have made these heroes the last of their kind. I'm glad I got to witness it. I'm proud to know them.
I'm even prouder that one of those heroes was....is.... my dad.
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