It may take you two minutes to read this, but if you do not take the time to read this you are one of the people this post is talking about.

You stay up for 16 hours

Hes been for 28 straight
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You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

The rain in the middle of the interstate keeps him awake.
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You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He's chilled to the bone, hasn't eaten all day, has the flu, and then runs into a burning building
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You drink your coffee on your way to the mall.

He pumps on a five year olds chest on the way to the hospital.
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You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.

He makes sure the pass device on his pack is working.
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You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He watches his buddy fall through the floor into a burning basement.
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You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks down the highway looking for the motorcyclist missing limb.
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You complain about how hot it is.

He wears fifty pounds of gear in the middle of July and drags a body out of 1000 degree flames.
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You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He hasn't seen a meal since last shift ate breakfast.
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Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

Hes worn the same stinking, wet, grungy clothes for the past 24 hours....no time for a shower.
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You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He holds the hair of some college girl while shes puking in the back of the ambulance.
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You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

His shift ended 2 hours ago and he's on for another 24 hours at a station thirty miles away.
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You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.

He calls his girlfriend to tell her he made it back alive....then leaves abruptly for another alarm.
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You yell and scream at the engine that just passed you because they slowed you down.

He's in the back of the engine, going to cut somebody out of their car only to find out that their dead and their loved one is barely alive.
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You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He cries as he hears his new born cry in the hospital....but he was transporting a drunk teenager to the hospital when his boy was born.
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You criticize your fire dept and say they're never there quick enough anyway.

He blows the air horn while the person in front of him refuses to yield the right-of-way while talking on their cell phone and doing their makeup.
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You hear the jokes about fallen firefighters and say they should have known better.

He feels the floor give way while hes carrying an old lady from her bedroom and tosses her to safety and falls into the unknown.
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You see the red lights when you go by.

He sees the broken bodies lying around the car.
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You go to the store to buy designer clothes with money from your parents.

He looks into buying a bullet proof vest because he been shot at trying to save the shooting victims life.
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You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes his spare time to wash the fire engine, restock the ambulance and maybe call his mother to tell her not to worry, he'll be home soon.
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You crawl into your soft bed, with satin sheets, down pillows, soft blankets and get comfortable.

He tries to sleep on his spring board bed but keeps getting interrupted by the 9-1-1 dispatcher and thinks "ahh, one hour of sleep, it will have to do 'til tomorrow night."
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You sit there and judge him, saying the that its a waste of money to have them waiting around.

Garbage collectors make more than he does, but its not for the money, its for the love of the job & caring for people who don't appreciate what he does.
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