WHAT IS A FIREMAN?
He is the guy next door - a man's man with the memory of a little boy.
He has never gotten over the excitement of engines and sirens and danger.
He is a guy like you and me with wants and worries and unfulfilled dreams. Yet he stands taller than most of us. He is a fireman. He puts it all on the line when the bell rings. A fireman is at once the most fortunate and the least fortunate of men. He is a man who saves lives because he has seen too much death. He is a gentle man because he has seen the awesome power of violence out of control. He is responsive to a child's laughterbecause his arms have held too many small bodies that will never laugh again.
He is a man who appreciates the simple pleasures of life- hot coffee held in numb, unbending fingers
- a warm bed for bone and muscle compelled beyond feeling
- the camaraderie of brave men
- the divine peace and selfless service of a job well done in the name of all men.
He doesn't wear buttons or wave flags or shout obscenities. When he marches, it is to honor a fallen comrade.He doesn't preach the brotherhood of man.
He lives it. Author unknown