"I Want To Be a Firefighter" Put to The Challenge

John at the wheel of a red vehicle of a different sort.

My son, John, told me he wants to be a firefighter.

I think every kid, especially boys, goes through that thought at a young age.  Yet, I struggle to think of any of my friends who actually fulfilled that desire.

I worried John's dream would get shattered early though.

Just a few days after telling me that, I saw John's eyes get real big when he saw some fire trucks at the end of our street.  That was last Wednesday.

On Saturday, we drove past a downtown building Strasburg, Ohio that had been burned.  It was a pile of rubble.  That must have been a horrific fire to do that.  John's eyes got real big again.

That same day, John and his siblings visited the McKinley Museum in Canton where, among other things, they had an old fashioned fire station layout that included a fireman's pole to slide down.  John burned his hands on the pole sliding down and hurt his knee when he hit the bottom too hard.  And his eyes got real big again.

After leaving the museum, we headed north on I-77 and saw a garbage truck spewing smoke from its container.  It was pulled over to the side and really affecting the breathability of the air as we drove past.  The fire trucks hadn't yet arrived.  John watched as the fire trucks sped past us on their way to the fire and his eyes got real big, again.

Monday, as we returned from our three-day trip, I decided to take the Garmin's advice and return home via Mt. Vernon.  I had read that a fire had been underway in the downtown but the 30 extra minutes to go around it didn't seem worth it so we went right through.  The fire was still blazing and smoke was visible for miles around.  John saw the smoke and was the first in our car to notice the flames.  Yep, his eyes got real big.

I finally had to ask, "John, are you sure you still want to be a firefighter?"

"Yes, I do," John replied.