Firemen

I have recently discovered that my life has been overrun by firemen. We are doing a play this week called "The Guys". It is based on a true story and takes place 10 days after September 11, 2001. It follows a journalist/editor who is recruited to help a New York City fire captain write the eulogies for 8 of his men that were lost forever in the World Trade Centers. The story is really moving and is the most serious play we have done thus far. Since the play opens Tuesday, we have all been going crazy getting ready for it. And just so you know, by all I mean the two actors in the play, the director, assistant director, stage manager, and me, the lighting technician. Now we have also added a spotlight controller and the projector controller. thats seven students and one teacher going crazy for one play that's about an hour and a half normally and about 2 hours including all the video. Not to mention that I have somehow nominated myself to do the PR for the play, which includes going around town asking complete strangers to hang up posters and writing letters to mail out to all the local firehouses (18 of them). It's alot of work, but also something that I have found out that I enjoy doing. I love being backstage. It's a lot of fun to see all the ins and outs of the play from every side.
Anyways, with all the talk about firemen with the play and reading a book by Nicholas Sparks called The Rescue which is about a firefighter, I have really started thinking about all the things that a firefighter does. It's kinda crazy to think that when everyone else is running away from the burning building, there are people that are running into willing to do whatever it takes to save lives and prevent excessive damage. These people are the ones that keep us safe and the ones that we know that we can count on no matter what. I always knew that they were heros. It was something that I've always accepted. But, until recently I never really thought about just how heroic these ordinary men doing extrodinary things really are. I'm so in awe of everything that they do right now.