The Heart Of It All
The voices are boisterous, laughter palpable. The sound of chairs scooting, glass plates shifting, silverware clanging like wind chimes. The smell of a good meal abounds, and as the brothers fill the plates, the air is rich and thick. Then, as it so often happens, the bell sounds: ‘Everybody Goes, First Due Fire,’ yells the house watchman.
Scurry, then silence as the companies turn out, and so does the warmth of the newly plated meal.
Another job in the books. The weary companies return, cold, wet and near exhaustion. They were prepared, practiced, and anticipated fire. They performed with flawless execution. They upheld the greatest traditions, saving life and property from the ravages of fire.
Tools cleaned, rigs squared away, a good shower, they return to the kitchen and so does the laughter. Nothing brings us closer together than a good job. We use the table to talk about the job, who did what, what went right, what we can do better next time. The table is not only good for the belly, but it is good for the soul.
For that table lies in the heart of every firehouse: the kitchen. World problems are solved here, fire strategies discussed, personal issues handle. While the faces around the table may change, the table is where they all come to sit, to break bread and break chops. We have to look out for one another, in good times and in tough times. From the fire stories shared, the chops prepared and those chops broken, in great firehouses all players have a seat at the table.
No one truly knows what we really do, but us. While each one of us enters a kitchen as an individual, once we are at the table, we are all family.
It is the kitchen table where so much of our rich history is shared. Spend time at the table, for the bounty you receive is far richer that just a meal.
