The Job

I am hanging at least six stories above an ashpalt floor. A man in the window is pulling on the harness telling me to trust the equipment. I dare not look up or down as I lean back and spread out my arms hoping that the harness will do its job. “ The last guy who used this weighed 250 pounds.., so I think it will hold your skinny ass” barked the lieutenant as he shook the belt around my waist hooked to a one rung ladder that was only held in place by my weight pulling down on worn out wooden window sill.

The tower is coming down but the memories remain.

The year was 1980. I was young and strong. By this time in my life I had already had many, many jobs but nothing that I thought had a great future. Like a shadow the legacy of my father and grandfather was always with me. Both had worked for the city of Providence, my grandfather as policeman and my dad as a fireman. Throughout my youth I had resisted following in their footsteps for many reasons most of which seem silly now. When I applied for the 37th training academy that summer I remember the smile on my dad’s face, something that I will never forget.

As the training began that fall I noticed that those of us with last names similar to those who had served in the department were given extra attention. We were probably singled so as to show that there wasn’t any favoritism in the training academy. I remember being called out during our daily run. I had prepared for this by running 5 miles every day so the jog around the field was an easy exercise for me and some others. Those in charge would notice this and would call out my name as I hid in the pack trying not to make others look bad by running to fast. They would yell at me to set a faster pace hoping that it would push some who had trouble keeping up. I wish that I could have helped those who struggled on the tower but the training was there to push everyone to their limits.

I never did graduate from the academy and become a firefighter like my dad…( that’s another story for another day…it was a car accident that derailed my chances to become a firefighter ) …but I did learn many lessons about life in my short time on the Job.