Saturday Night, 2100 hrs. Something strange is going on - no runs for four hours. The other trucks are busy, I'm getting lucky. I had some time to sit and talk with Bob, Lieutenant of Engine 14. Guys like him are invaluable to the fire department, his experience and knowledge will never be replaced.

We told some stories, his much more colorful than mine, him being from a different era, when fighting fire was the departments primary job. EMS has muscled in now, the old ways changing, and not for the better at least from a veteran fire fighter's point of view. For whatever reason, friendships were stronger then, the brotherhood a reality rather than a memory. We like to think we are different from the rest of society, and we are in a lot of ways. The nature of our work demands a certain trust in one another, our lives literally depend on us having each others backs. We manage, enjoy the job and make the best of it, but the present political climate and changing attitudes make it more difficult. A barrage of misleading comments from our leaders reported by a media hungry for a story pertaining to our pay, benefits and job performance is wearing us down; the morale on the job at an all time low.

Years ago, things were more simple. It was nice to forget about things for a while and talk about how things used to be.