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THE LORD CREATED FIREMEN
When the
Lord was creating firefighters, he was into his sixth day of over
time when an angel appeared.
The angel
said,
“You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”
And the
Lord said,
“Have you read the specs on this order? A firefighter has to be able
to go for hours fighting fires or tending to a person that the usual
every day person would never touch.”
“He has to
be able to move in a split second and not think twice of what he is
about to do, no matter what the danger.
“He has to
be in top physical condition at all times, and operate on black
coffee and half-eaten meals.
He has to
have six pairs of hands.”
The angel
shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands...no way.”
It’s not the
hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord, “it’s the three
pairs of eyes a firefighter has to have.”
“That’s on
the standard model?” asked the angel.
The Lord
nodded.
One pair that sees through the fire and where he and his fellow
firefighters should fight the fire next. Another pair here in the
side of his head to see his fellow firefighters so he can keep them
safe. And a second pair of eyes in the front so that he can look for
victims caught in the fire that need his help to be saved.”
“Lord” said
the angel, touching his sleeve, “why don’t you rest and work on this
tomorrow.”
“I can’t.”
Said the Lord.
“I need a model that can carry a 250 pound man down a flight of
stairs and out of a burning building to safety.”
The angel
circled the model of the firefighter very slowly, “can it think?”
she asked. “You bet,” said the Lord.
“It can tell
you the elements of a hundred fires; and can recite procedures in
his sleep that are needed to care for a person and keep them alive
until they reach the hospital.
This
firefighter also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with a
scene full of pain and hurt, coaxing a child’s mother into letting
go of the child so that he can care for it. And still does he rarely
get recognition for a job well done from anybody, other than from
his fellow firefighters.”
Finally, the
angel bent over and ran her finger across the check of the
firefighter. “There’s a leak,” she said. “I told you that you were
trying to put to much into the model.”
“That’s not
a leak,” said the Lord, “it’s a tear.”
“What’s the
tear for?” asked the angel.
“It’s
bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, and the lives he’ll be too
late to save.”
“Your a
genius,” said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” he said.
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