Editor’s Opinion❘By BOBBY HALTON
I always enjoy being asked to keynote, particularly at awards banquets. The best part of those exceptional events is hearing the stories of outstandingfirefighters'勇敢和牺牲 - 男女肆虐的愤怒灭火;暴露自己以崩溃，疾病和伤害;经常毫不犹豫地冒着死亡，并且经常以巨大的个人成本在身体和情感上。这些故事提醒我们生活中的一切都有成本，一切都是这些男人和女人所知道的是值得的。
我总是害怕接收朋友或已经开发的熟人的电话或信癌症或者heart或者autoimmune disease. I am inspired by the bravery and strength of firefighters facing these times and the elegance of those, who, outside a few close and true friends, suffer in silent dignity. These friends remind us that this mission we have accepted has costs, sometimes unimaginable costs.
I always feel terribly sad and overwhelmed when I attend a killed-in-action (KIA) line-of-duty-death funeral or memorial service. These events tear at our heartstrings and rip raw our emotions in ways that defy explanation. Perhaps it is the suddenness, the finality, and the awareness that someone irreplaceable and uniquely special is gone forever that make us feel so crushed. When we attend these events, it reminds us that the life we have chosen has consequences, costs.
我们都有朋友和经常问的家人，“它值得吗？”作为一个消防员支出假期，生日和远离家庭的特殊时刻 - 是值得吗？冒着癌症的危险;被烧伤;维持破碎的骨头，破碎的心和破碎的婚姻;经常生活在情绪和精神上，你发现自己一直累了 - 你支付的价格还是付出了值得的？
I have routinely noticed that great firefighters, like the ones we recognize on medal day or KIA funerals, all fight or fought to get on busy companies. These strong, hard-charging companies don’t take on slackers or square rooters; they look for and recruit the best, the most dedicated, the go-getters. These strong, high-powered officers are clear: The price you pay will be high; you will work harder, you will train more, and you will be expected to be better with every day. Ask any member of these elite teams, and they will tell you the sacrifices to be on these companies are worth it.
消防服务有许多这些房屋;我们尊重这些强大的男人和女人。当这些消防员面临逆境时，他们不会躲避;障碍是这些强大的消防员的机会。哦，他们抱怨他们，不要让我错了。他们抱怨一切，但没有人留下。他们同意箴言27:17，“铁锐化铁，所以一个人的脸色削尖了他的朋友。”
When I was sent to the Personnel Department (what it was called before it tragically took over the world and began using the oxymoron “Human Resources”) for the annual wellness checkup, I routinely got the “If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?” question. It is always an interesting but a pointless question to ponder. It is pointless because of the character of the American firefighter.
它在我们的美国血液中。肯尼迪总统曾经说过，“我们选择做这些事情并不是因为他们很容易，而是因为他们很难。”做艰难的事情 - 危险，痛苦的事情 - 让我们成为我们的美国消防员。
思考在人事部门的朋友们，如果我们必须再次做到这一点，我们会做什么不同的吗？当然，我们会避免进入呼叫的呼叫或从那个屋顶或梯子上掉下来;我们避免被烧毁或刺伤。我们将在没有自身免疫性疾病和癌症的情况下更喜欢寿命。我们大多数人都避免嫁给我们的第三或第四配偶。
我们会喜欢看到我们的孩子们采取他们的第一步，在她经过之前与妈妈在一起，没有看到朋友们自己的生活。我们会让我们的朋友迟早留下这些建筑物，或者不会让他们进入。是的，能够在他们说的时候清理过去重新排列的甲板椅很好。但如果它意味着在12楼的女士需要我们或没有在那里插管宝宝或将驾驶员从淹没的汽车拉出或挽救绳索时，那就没有，我们就不会改变一件事。尽管遭受了后果，但我们愿意再次完成;我们会再次完成，毫无疑问。
I was sitting outside a coffee shop with a friend, enjoying the sunshine, and telling fire stories—well, “fire lies”—when a young woman walked by. She stopped, pointed to my friend’s Vietnam veterans ballcap, and asked him, “Were you a soldier”? My buddy leaned back, pointing to his cap, and said, “I sure was; it’s how I got this hat!” The young lady smiled, started to walk away, then turned and said, “Thank you. Thank you for your service.” My friend looked her in the eye and said, “You were worth it.”
我想从来没有成为，永远不会更好地解释为什么最好的男女加入消防服务。每次呼吁，每一事件都有一个人的面部脸，而那个人无论他的生活站如何，他的情况都迫使大侠在宴会和葬礼上尊重他们所做的事情。因此，对于我们所有的公民，到我们的同胞和妹妹人类，他们在需要时呼唤我们，你应该知道，在我们的眼中，我们的心，无论是什么，无论成本如何，“你值得。”
