Tag Archives: 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs

Just like last year, The Fire Critic and I will be having another "meet up". This year, we have teamed up with several other groups / organizations to make the event even bigger and better than last years! I know ... you don't know how that can be possible but TRUST ME .... you will NOT want to miss this event!! This year, we are calling it The 2014 Firefighter Turnout and you wont want to miss it!

My dad has been retired from the job for several years now. I’ve been fortunate enough to see several good firemen make to retirement age and beyond. I’ve also seen a few that retired and passed soon after, never getting to reap the rewards of their labor. In a Face Book post yesterday, I mentioned some big news coming today. ...

Added to the reports from the U.S Fire Administration, these 19 Line Of Duty Deaths bring the total for 2013 to 62.

SPECIAL THANKS to Seal Team 6 for a job well done. I only wish that his death could have been much slower and painful. The thousands that he murdered and the many more he left behind suffered. He should have too.

Every morning I see these faces, my thoughts go back to that day and the great acts that these men carried out.

"When we climb, it is emotional. The feelings I have felt, the thoughts I have had, the emotions have been engraved in my mind. They are my tattoos." (quote from Rhett Fleitz)

As a Company, we live, eat and play together. Because of that, we are united and that enables us to fight together (fire fighting). Now, we've added another level to our bond of Brotherhood and have attended Church together. We've prayed together and this past Sunday, even received Communion together.

The point I'm working towards is this. I think that together, Rhett and I have a pretty good grasp / understanding of Pride and Ownership ( and know all to well that it takes more than a few Memorial Stair Climbs or our face on a coin). Now, all we have to do is to figure out what to do with it. Actually, that's not 100% correct either ... we know what to do with it ... that's part of owning it.

I'm not sure what I've done to deserve the life I've been given this past year but I am truly THANKFUL. Together, Rhett and I have made the journey of a lifetime in just a few short years. I can only imagine what 2012 will bring us.

We don't do it for the honor or glory. We damn sure don't do it for the pay. We do it because we're fireman .. it's what we know ..what we do. BROTHERHOOD, HONOR, PRIDE, TRADITION and RESPECT .