My father was a fireman.
He drove a big red truck
and when he'd go to work each day he'd say,
"Mother wish me luck".
Then Dad would not come home again
'til sometime the next day.
But the thing that bothered me the most
was things folks would say,
"A fireman's life is easy,
he eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for days".
When I first heard these words
I was too young to understand,
but I knew when people had trouble
Dad was there to lend a hand.
Then my father went to work one day
and kissed us all goodbye,
but little did we realize that night
we would all cry.
My father lost his life that night
when the floor gave way below
and I'd wondered why he'd risk his life
for someone he didn't know.
But, now I truly realize
the greatest gift a man can give
is to lay his life upon the line
so that someone else might live.
So, as we go from day to day
and pray to God above,
say a prayer for your local fireman.
He may save the one's you love.

Author unknown