A Fire Fighter is a lonely man holding a midmorning watch with book in hand and a telephone within a split seconds reach. A darkened apparatus floor, a complicated alarm system, now silient, but perhaps within the next blink of en eye or turn of a page will scream out with the clanging of bells, the turning of gears, and the ticking of tape. What is a Fire Fighter? He is years of constant training that must guide him in every move onve that Great Silver Bell again must exact "Awake ye from your beds! " Your heavy resting hearts within the sigh of an awakening must now beat with the strength of an athlete, a fighter, for a fighter you are. A fire fighter is a man responsible for thousands of dollars of equipment, and for the lives of his fellow men he knows he must protect. He is a man constanltly studying for promotions, not content that as a private he already represents leadership in the community. For a young girl or boy there is no doubt who he is. Yes he was the one who found time to smile down at them. From the top of his protective helmet to the bottoms of his steel reinforced boots he apperead to be a giant, "Get back!" he shouted, as he strained to move hundreds of pounds of water-filled hose only to disappear into a hell of smoke and heat. Are you worried about your smoking habits? The fire fighter must now inhale the truly kingsize of them all, three stories high and filled with foreign and domestic sofas, carpets, paints,and woods. The Tolls are great among these men, greater than almost every other occupation. The rewards; long hours, working weekends and holidays. He gives up time with his own family for the sake and safeguard of those who see only the superficial man and not the superman that perhaps he is. For this he is if only in the heart and mind of a child not blinded by the isms of life, but instead opened by a tear as his floppy-eared puppy responds to the carefully applied artificial respiration given to it by a combination doctor, fire fighter, truck driver and yes, maybe a superman. Perhaps that tear is the fire fighter's reward. Someday he too may shed a tear for a fallen comrade, silently praying that his own last alarm will herald the end to a glorious career through retirement, and not through death or injury. What is a fire fighter? Ask the people that he has helped in times of fire, flood, plane, car and boat disasters,accidents through carelessness or in times of war. When others walk away the fire fighter must now take on the responsibilities of saving lives and property. A giant, a superman, a constant vigil for the prevention of fire. Oh, to have the eyes and faith of a child, If only grown-ups were so blessed, the fire fighters's life would be the richest on earth. Copyrighted 1969, James Taylor