Iron Firemen Wooden Ladders & Iron Firemen
Actually, it’s not a sale…. what I want to talk about is basically FREE.
It also doesn’t have to be around the Christmas season to get it ….when you’re with the right folks, it’s available 365 days a year.
I’m talking about Brotherhood, family, friendship and doing something for someone else without expecting something in return. I guarantee that if you make it a point to visit Ironfiremen and Fire Critic.com on a regular basis, we’ll show you plenty examples of each and all that it will cost you is the time you spend reading. I’ll go a step farther and ask you to “buy into” what we are selling … it’s no gimic.. WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH and the return is invaluable!
THIS WAS THE BEST CHRISTMAS I’VE HAD IN YEARS (and Rhett was a big part of it)
This is a GREAT story ….
The Buckaroo is hard on furniture… HARD. Our coffee table was made of a thin medal frame with a glass top. I don’t know how it lasted as long as it did. Literally speaking, it was on it’s last leg.
I’m a fireman. I’m not a big spender, experienced shopper or even a good gift “picker outer”. My wife deserves 1,000 times more but she’s grown used to it …gifts have never been my strong point (good thing I’m so damn good looking). Anyway, I thought PERFECT… I’ll get her a new coffee table for Christmas .. she’s even mentioned it a time or two. I went out, found a store, picked one out and paid the man. I arranged to pick it up Saturday morning (Christmas Eve) when they opened at 9am.
For the first time in years, we worked off on Christmas Eve to a 4 day break. Then, at 7am; my phone rang.. it was Rhett. He invited me over to Station #3 for an egg sandwich before I headed home … this would be PERFECT.
I get over to station #3. The guys had the place looking GREAT. Stocking hung, a tree, THE WORKS.
Then Rhett took me to the bay ….. OMG!
Rhett had MADE me a coffee table!
It was beautifully hand crafted and left me speachless!
The table was better than anything I could have ever bought. A rustic and rough look yet quality built ( A lot like me huh??). Like with everything Rhett does, the attention was in the detail …. he even incorporated our “Brotherhood Chip” into one of the legs!
Everything about this table was PERFECT !
I liked the “style”. It would look GREAT in my living room and there is no way the Buckaroo will destroy this thing!
The best part about the table is the fact that Rhett made it… WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS! This table took time … HIS TIME. Time away from family and other things.
Because it’s so perfect, it’s also representative of our friendship…. it shows how close we are and how well Rhett “knows” me . It was a perfect gift from a GREAT friend …. once again I found myself humbled and honored to call him MY BROTHER!
Donna had asked Rhett about making the table back at our Union Awards Banquet … once again, she beat me to the punch. The bad news about all of this is that now, I was screwed as far as getting Donna something for Christmas. We loaded the table and I headed over to the furniture store. I explained the whole story to the owner and he was very understanding. He returned my money with complete understanding. Now, all I had to do was find her something on Christmas Eve!
You can’t go wrong with “ling-a-ree” and jewelry so thanks to Victoria “Secretions” and a few other stops, I was able to grab a few last minute gifts.
From this point, Christmas at my house would only get better!
Both of my girls ( Randi-Jo and Reba) along with the Buckaroo would spend Christmas Eve at the house and wake up to see what Santa had delivered. For the first time ever, my mother-in law would also spend the Christmas Holiday at our house.
Christmas morning, my dad and step mother ( Pop and Robyn ) also came over early to watch the Buckaroo as he woke up to Santa.
Surrounded by friends and family, it was the BEST CHRISTMAS I’ve had in years!
The Buckaroo had a BLAST …. it looked like a bomb had went off in the living room. Trucks, tractors, trains, chain saws etc were scattered EVERYWHERE! Here a a few more shots of Christmas around my house ……
I guess we’ll have to get our good friend and brother Thomas “Tommy” Warshaw to come down and take some pics of the “B & P ” (Buckaroo and Pop) Rail Road Company …LOL
After opening packages and playing for a while, we had a very nice breakfast together. While saying the Blessing, I realized what a “BLESSING” it was …. I hope all of you are just as fortunate.
My mom and step father made their way up from Charlotte, NC a little later in the morning.
You all have seen the pictures of the Buckaroo with his “Firefighter” boots on ( he has even worn them to bed).
What you may not know is that he goes through a pair of those things about every 6 weeks and we can’t find em around here anymore.
Well, you can all rest easy and assured that the Buckaroo will continue to have warm and dry feet. Mom found a pair of the boots in Charlotte …. he hasn’t taken them off yet … LOL
There is a lot more that made this Christmas so special for me. Dad held his annual “oyster breakfast” on Thursday and family Dinner today…. I’ll share some pics with ya in the next post.
Thanks to each of you for the warm wishes and Holiday greetings …. I hope yours was as special as mine. MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR !
Stay Safe and in House!
Captain Wines