Wednesday, June 14, 2006
I'm reading this book by Zac Unger. It's called "Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman." I'm not usually one to read and enjoy non-fiction. And it's probably true that if Kevin wasn't a firefighter I wouldn't be reading and enjoying this one. But hearing Kevin's stories of the fire academy and the fire station antics and reading this book seem to be almost one and the same. It's smart, funny, witty, and compelling. Unger tells the story of himself as an unlikely firefighter and how much he loves his job.
During the course of the book, Unger marries the woman he has been dating since shortly before he started the fire academy. She is becoming a fireman's wife and asked him for the same promise that I asked of Kevin...that he wouldn't die in a fire and leave me. Unger writes:
...I knew that there was only one answer for her impossible question. And I knew also that every other fireman's wife had asked for the same promise at some point and that every fireman had answered as I would, not just to say it but because he truly believed he was right. And so I said to her, "I promise you...I'll never leave you," because what else can a fireman possibly say to his wife?
It's true. I don't dwell on it but of course I am scared every time Kevin goes to work. It's a scary job. But it's important and he loves it. And I love him. And that's it.
