Dad,
I’ll never forget my first live fire burn, and I was lucky enough to have you take me in. That moment has stayed with me to this day. The room was packed with pallets, you went in first, and I followed right behind with the line. I was excited and nervous, but then you just looked at us and said, “Okay, we are just going to sit here for a few minutes.”
I remember being almost shocked—there was fire right in front of us, and I thought we should be putting it out. But you told us, “It’s going to get hot. If you start burning, move around a bit.” And sure enough, it did get hot. I started feeling those “bee stings” on my thighs, so I kept shifting, but you were teaching me something important. Even when it gets hot in the fire, it’s doable. You can stand in it and still survive. That lesson stuck with me—it was my first real look at the job.
You have always been a huge influence on my life, and you always will be. I love you, Dad.
(And if you remember, I did burned the hell out of my helmet and the whole left side of my gear that day.)
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