I find myself lying awake at night...
I find myself lying awake at night... wondering about life and the meaning behind it. I looked into the depths of my own soul and questioned my position in this seemingly eternal dream. The future has already been laid out for me because I have chosen it. I chose it before I was even born. Some people chose the path of the businessman; creating a small business that will make them fortunes or becoming the CEO of their own company. Others have considered the way of the law; going after as much money as possible by beating the system designed to keep them in check. A few truly courageous patrons want to help keep their communities safe; the police fighting crime and the firemen running into whatever comes their war. The determined people go after the medical field; doctors out to save patients or keep others in health, trying to cure anything thrown at them.
After a long feud with my father, I stood back and looked into his life. I remembered him as the father who I couldnt see for a few days during the week when I was younger. Being a fireman, he would work for 24hrs straight and then get 48hrs off. It may seem truly easy, but it took a toll on him and our family. I never really showed how I felt around my mom and brother while he was away but I was scared. To this day, I dont regret how my childhood was or how things were back then. When I was very young, he made the newspaper because he oulled a child out of a burning house. Yeah...that was my dad. I cant describe how proud of him that I am. For years, I wondered why people that didnt even know him come up to shake his hand just because of his profession. After September 11, the world finally saw what I had seen. To be able to give up everything because the situation calls for it is a gift only the select few have. If the Jews were God's chosen people, the Firemen are their angels.
My father told me many stories from his career. One of my favorites goes like this. The call comes into the station of a house engulfed in flames. The engine company sends two trucks to the scene to settle the blaze. By the time they arrive, the house is a giant two-story fireball. The men are told to stay back and just spray down the house before they could enter it. The hear a child is inside but the men have no chance to survive if they should enter the house. One of the firemen was a former marine so he was built and very strong. The men said that he entered through what seemed to be a doorway to hell. Everyone thought he was surely dead. A minute later, he exits with the child wrapped in his arms. The fire had burned through parts of his bunker gear but he had somehow managed to find the child and make it out with nothing more than a minor burn. If you have never seen a real fire like this, just being 20ft from it can melt your skin. The men said their was an angel there with him because no one could have come out from that alive. These are the miracle workers.
When the two planes hit the twin towers in Manhattan, that same call came in to the local fire station. The one where you know that there is no turning back at that point. While everyone thought everything was ok, there were these guys that knew what they had to do. Panic began to spread in the World Trade Center Area. When a disaster like this happens - you expect everyone to run away from the area. Who would be crazy enough to go directly to where the chaos was? Who would climb 100 flights of stairs to an inferno that could claim them at any second? Who would do all this because it was their duty? Why didnt they just drive home or stay at the station? You have to understand that with these guys, there is no turning back. I admire them because they, like the marines, will never leave a man behind.
A few months back, I saw a preview for an upcoming movie. Ladder54 was the name of it I believe. It started out with a close group of firemen at the station and everything was great. They were very close and fought fires with ease. Until a massive building caught on fire and created a firestorm inside of it. Everything turns to hell and men are being killed one by one. I felt my eyes tearing up in the theater and had to look away from the screen.
So the next time you are lying awak at night... remember whos looking out for you when no one else would. These are the guys with more courage than you could imagine. What is the definition of a hero? Ask yourself this the next time you meet a fireman. Because if you could see through his eyes, you would see everything except for the spider webbing. A simple nod ot thank you will make their day. Believe me...
- c robbins
After a long feud with my father, I stood back and looked into his life. I remembered him as the father who I couldnt see for a few days during the week when I was younger. Being a fireman, he would work for 24hrs straight and then get 48hrs off. It may seem truly easy, but it took a toll on him and our family. I never really showed how I felt around my mom and brother while he was away but I was scared. To this day, I dont regret how my childhood was or how things were back then. When I was very young, he made the newspaper because he oulled a child out of a burning house. Yeah...that was my dad. I cant describe how proud of him that I am. For years, I wondered why people that didnt even know him come up to shake his hand just because of his profession. After September 11, the world finally saw what I had seen. To be able to give up everything because the situation calls for it is a gift only the select few have. If the Jews were God's chosen people, the Firemen are their angels.
My father told me many stories from his career. One of my favorites goes like this. The call comes into the station of a house engulfed in flames. The engine company sends two trucks to the scene to settle the blaze. By the time they arrive, the house is a giant two-story fireball. The men are told to stay back and just spray down the house before they could enter it. The hear a child is inside but the men have no chance to survive if they should enter the house. One of the firemen was a former marine so he was built and very strong. The men said that he entered through what seemed to be a doorway to hell. Everyone thought he was surely dead. A minute later, he exits with the child wrapped in his arms. The fire had burned through parts of his bunker gear but he had somehow managed to find the child and make it out with nothing more than a minor burn. If you have never seen a real fire like this, just being 20ft from it can melt your skin. The men said their was an angel there with him because no one could have come out from that alive. These are the miracle workers.
When the two planes hit the twin towers in Manhattan, that same call came in to the local fire station. The one where you know that there is no turning back at that point. While everyone thought everything was ok, there were these guys that knew what they had to do. Panic began to spread in the World Trade Center Area. When a disaster like this happens - you expect everyone to run away from the area. Who would be crazy enough to go directly to where the chaos was? Who would climb 100 flights of stairs to an inferno that could claim them at any second? Who would do all this because it was their duty? Why didnt they just drive home or stay at the station? You have to understand that with these guys, there is no turning back. I admire them because they, like the marines, will never leave a man behind.
A few months back, I saw a preview for an upcoming movie. Ladder54 was the name of it I believe. It started out with a close group of firemen at the station and everything was great. They were very close and fought fires with ease. Until a massive building caught on fire and created a firestorm inside of it. Everything turns to hell and men are being killed one by one. I felt my eyes tearing up in the theater and had to look away from the screen.
So the next time you are lying awak at night... remember whos looking out for you when no one else would. These are the guys with more courage than you could imagine. What is the definition of a hero? Ask yourself this the next time you meet a fireman. Because if you could see through his eyes, you would see everything except for the spider webbing. A simple nod ot thank you will make their day. Believe me...
- c robbins