I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman. The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the fireman has to do believe that his is a noble calling. Our proudest moment is to save lives. Under the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even of supreme sacrifice.” Chief Edward F. Croker, FDNY (1899-1911)
This past weekend we went to a retirement party for one of the men that we worked with. He retired after 22+ years in the fire service. The turnout for his party was incredible. One can only hope that half that amount of people would show up if they threw a party in your honor.
It may sound cliché, but I am truly thankful for the job I get to do every day. To me, and my family, this is our life. We don’t go home from work and completely forget about work. The people I work with I consider part of my family.
Young and old, everyone turned out for Doug's big night.
This is a retiree, a 20 year firefighter, and our newest firefighter who hasn’t even been with us for a month.
Mick's party is the next one.
Toni is our current "Firefighter of the Year"
Two retirees catching up
Doug, the one in the middle, was the guest of honor
Lots of people stood up to tell a story. This one brought most of us to tears, although you wouldn't know it by this picture. It was moving to hear the "young" guys tell the "old" guys how much there mentorship means to them.
These eight guys all have one thing in common. They all started back with the city had a fire department. Later they would merge into the Fire District. Four have already retired and the other four don't have much more time to go. They were so excited to take this picture.
It's night like these that make me thankful that I spend my life with people who would make the ultimate sacrifice for a stranger. Some days, some of the things these guys see and do puts the term "bad day at work" into perspective.
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