Well, I have officially stumbled over the threshold of my seventies and have reached the ripe old age of 71! You see, it is a big deal for me as my Daddy, most of my uncles, my brother, and many friends left us early in their fifties. I remember when my Dad passed at the age of fifty-two and my Brother, Jimmy, and I both sweated our fifty-second birthday, not knowing what the future would bring. For whatever reasons, the Good Lord has blessed me with a chance to live a little longer.
I am grateful and humbled by all the Happy Birthday wishes on Saturday and I sincerely appreciate each one of you for taking the time to make my day special. My promise to each of you is that I will do all I can to continue to serve you.
Please allow me to share some things I have learned as I have grown older. These are not scientific, but musings of a fellow who has enjoyed life to the fullest:
Being fast will not necessarily get you there first.
There is always tomorrow, but then again, maybe not.
Never estimate the young ones, they can surprise you, and often.
Quit trying to jump over tall buildings in a single bound. It hurts like Hell when you miss.
And most important, do not try to drink hot grease out of a frying pan, it will burn the Hell out of your lips.
And, my most favorite firefighting rules learned from Chief Alan Brunacini; you can bring all the fire trucks in the world, bus in hundreds of firefighters, lay thousands of feet of hose but, until you overcome the heat production of the fire with gallons per minute, you are simply “peeing in the wind”! If you just want to put on a show, keep at it with insufficient flow and the fire will eventually burn down to a level you can handle.
Stay safe, my friends, until next time! Gerald