|
|
Blog List |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Blog Search |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blog Archive |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blog |
|
|
Dec1Written by:Doug Zalesky
12/1/2009 9:09 AM  I am writing this on Thanksgiving eve, a time to reflect and be thankful for all that we have in our life. Often we overlook many things that we should be thankful for, but most often we know what things are important to us.
I think all of us at one time or another, have been asked why we are firefighters and more specifi-cally why we volunteer for such a job. Often like me, our answer is because we “want to help oth-ers”. I know that is my standard answer. Awhile back, as I was sitting in the airport in Omaha waiting for my plane to come home, I had an interesting visit with an elderly lady. She walked up to me and asked if she could sit next to me and I said sure. When she sat down, she said she had noticed my shirt (fire department) and felt com-fortable to sit there. She went on to say, “You never know these days about people, but I know firefighters are good people.” So, we started a conversation that would clarify something in my mind that had always bothered me. She went on to tell me that her husband, who had passed away a couple years before had been a volunteer firefighter in their community for over 30 years. She told me that he was a very dedicated and unselfish member of the department and loved every minute of being a member. The lady proceeded to ask me about where I was from and about our department. I proudly told her all about it and figured our conversation would wind down. She then asked me the usual “Why are you a volunteer firefighter” and I gave her the standard answer. She looked at me and her reply caught me off-guard. Her comment was cloaked in “a lot of people want to help others” but with firefighters there often is more to it than that, they just don’t know there is more. Lost for words, I asked her why her late husband was a volunteer firefighter. Her response brought a lot of clarification to me as to why I do what I do.
She told me about how she and her husband, along with 3 little kids, had moved into a rural community where they knew practically no one. The lady said that in a matter of a couple months her family felt like longtime mem-bers of the community and that they had found home! Her story went on to tell of the wonderful people of the community and how they had made her family feel welcome and to quickly become part of the community. The story continued with how so many people had become important people in the lives of her children and how they had actually helped raise their kids. I sat there intently listening to this lady, as her story sounded so familiar. She looked at me and said “You asked why my husband was a volunteer; well he would have told you that there were two reasons. One, the community allowed us to be members of the community and welcomed us with open arms and two, they helped raise our kids, and for that I want to give back to those wonderful people.”
In the brief time I spent with that lady, I came to realize that her story was my story. When Leesa, Sam, and I moved here ten years ago, we knew virtually no one. But, in a matter of weeks, the people of this community (fire district) made us feel welcome and at home, and so many people in this community have been there for us when we were having a rough day. Over the years so many people of this community have been instrumental in raising our son. You probably know the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. We believe in that and we have witnessed it during the ten years we have lived here. So many people in this community have had a hand in helping raise Sam and it is because of those people that we have a son that we are extremely proud of today. Many of those people are members of our department and some are not, but they are members of our community. We can never thank those people enough, but we can certainly try to repay the favor. So, now I know and you know as well, why I am a volunteer firefighter. I will forever be grateful to that lady at the airport.
Early on in our conversation, she had asked me if I was a paid firefighter. I told her no and that my pay was the opportunity to work with a group of dedicated, unselfish people who were on call 24-7, and that the ability to help a community member having a bad day was all the pay I needed. It just doesn’t get any better than that!
Thank you for all that you do and have a safe and happiest of Holiday Seasons!Tags: |
|
| |