August 16, 2019

“The Little Firefighter”

Like any normal boy, he dreamed of becoming a firefighter. The cartoons presented them as these real-life heroes who saved people from tall buildings, climbing on wiggly extended ladders, and those uniforms! They made the firefighters look super-human, bigger than they actually were.

As he grew up, his dreams and idealization of firefighters grew with him. They saved people’s lives and that’s what he wanted to do. He explored the options, but as time passed, he realized he was not going to be 6 feet tall, ever. One day, a firefighter went to his school to talk about safety and what firefighters did. He could not shake the vision of such an imposing man, with gentle eyes and a friendly smile.

He was supple, he was physical. He climbed rocks and had strength, but he did not feel like the picture-perfect of six foot or above. Nonetheless, he considered his options. He decided to give it a try. He went through grueling training, surprising everybody with his agility and impressive strength to carry heavy loads despite his short height. His strength and willingness were noticed by his trainers and training peers.

Against all odds, he passed all the required tests and exercises. Once he hit the ground, he ran! He was exposed to real-life life-saving deeds and he found his niche among his company. He was the expert crawler, going into tight spaces carrying heavy loads. He furrowed through old buildings with hidden spaces as if going through the underground tunnels of fighting soldiers, with a mission.

In the end, he was a member of the company bringing his own qualities, his capacity to twist his body in tight spaces, to go as high as possible, to almost fly on roofs and still carry heavy loads. All this, regardless of his height. Having conquered this world, he felt super-human!

LM-LM