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Monday, January 19, 2009
Our real life heroes: Give thanks to firemen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was sunk deep in my favorite chair to watch playoff football convinced nothing was going to move me.
But it’s hard to care about cover-two defenses and play-action passes when your wife says: “Hey, there’s a fire truck parked out front.”
A house up the street caught fire. As this is written the cause has not been publicized and, as far as we know, no one was seriously hurt. But having our block filled with fire trucks and police cars, lights flashing, is thankfully something that doesn’t happen every day.
Indeed, I’ve been in the neighborhood since 1962 and I can’t recall any home catching fire. We’ve been blessed, especially in these old homes with old wiring. But the whole thing reminded me again of how lucky we are that there are people who run into burning buildings. I know they’re trained and many have been doing this for years but I also know that running toward a fire goes against every instinct a person has.
A few years ago I got to scuba dive, but before we were allowed to go deep we had to show we understood how the apparatus worked, especially the breathing system. That first time under water inhaling was hard. Most of the time I’ve ever spent under water the idea is not to breathe at all.
Now imagine seeing flames and heading in that direction, not knowing what you’re going to find. I have no idea if you ever get used to that.
We take it for granted that when we call 911 that someone is going to show up. The fireman, the EMT, the police officer. Yeah, I get it — it’s their job. But these people are someone’s father, someone’s wife, someone’s son — there are people under those uniforms who could be doing something else, making more money and having a much better chance of going home at the end of the day.
We pay taxes to fund their salaries, but is there something else we can do on a regular basis to express our appreciation? Is there something that can be done to make sure they know how thankful we are for those who run toward danger?
One of the worst things we do in relationships is to take our partner for granted. We’re not there — are we?
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