The Creation of the Fire Fighter
When the Lord was creating fire
fighters, he was into his sixth day of overtime when
an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot
of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the
specification on this person? Fire fighters have to
be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to
a person that the usual everyday person would never
touch, while putting in the back of their minds the
circumstances. They have to be able to move at a
second's notice and not think twice of what they are
about to do, no matter what danger. They have to be
in top physical condition at all times, running on
half-eaten meals, and they must have six pairs of
hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six
pairs of hands...no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me
problems," said the Lord, "it's the three
pairs of eyes a fire fighter has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the
angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair to see through the
fire and where they and their fellow fire fighters
should fight the fire next. Another pair here in the
side of the head to see their fellow fire fighters
and keep them safe. And another pair of eyes in the
front so that they can look for the victims caught in
the fire who need their help."
"Lord," said the angel, touching his
sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't," said the Lord, "I already
have a model that can carry a 250-pound man down a
flight of stairs to safety from a burning building,
and can feed a family of five on a civil service
paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the fire fighter very
slowly, "Can it think?"
"You bet," said the Lord. "They can
tell you the elements of a hundred fires and can
recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to
care for a person until they reach the hospital. And
all the while they have to keep their wits about
them. Fire fighters also have phenomenal personal
control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and
hurt, coaxing a child's mother into letting go of the
child so that they can care for the child in need.
And still they rarely get the recognition for a job
well done from anybody, other than from fellow fire
fighters."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger
across the cheek of the fire fighter. "There's a
leak," she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear.
What's the tear for?"
"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen
comrades. A tear for commitment to that funny piece
of cloth called the American flag. It's a tear for
all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And
it's a tear for their commitment to caring for and
saving lives of their fellow man!"
"What a wonderful feature. Lord, you're a
genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber and said, "I didn't put
it there."
Author Unknown
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