When the Lord was creating Firefighters,
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?
Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting
fires or tending to a person that the usual every day
person would never touch, while putting in the back of
their mind 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 Firefighter has to have."
"That's on the
standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. " One
pair that sees through the fire and where they and their
fellow Firefighters should fight the fire next. Another
pair here in the side of the head to see their fellow
Firefighters and keep them safe. And another pair of
eyes in the front so that they can look for the victims
caught in the fire that 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 and 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 Firefighter very slowly, "Can it think?"
"You bet," said the
Lord. "It 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
themselves. This Firefighter also has 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
Firefighters."
Finally, the angel
bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the
Firefighter. "There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord,
it's a tear."
"What's the tear for?"
asked the angel.
"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
