“There are things that upset us. That’s not quite what we’re talking about here, though. I’m thinking rather about those images or words or ideas that drop like trapdoors beneath us, throwing us out of our safe, sane world into a place much more dark and less welcoming. Our hearts skip a ratatat drumbeat in […]

One of my favorite writers, the late Oxford FF Larry Brown, talks about writing in this short clip, but I think his words apply beautifully to firefighting and EMS, not to mention life in general.     And, that’s Larry Brown. Brutal but honest.    

“What a profound thing it is to call for help. How astounding, the number of people fate allows to float through this life never once confronting their own mortality. One of the benefits of the fire and rescue business, if you will have it, is a near-constant sense of vulnerability. A recognition that at the […]