Why?

It'll be a Monday night. Maybe a Wednesday. I will take the night off from my meaningless and menial job at Checkers or Wendy's or somewhere like that. I'll have butterflies in my stomach for sure, but I'll be looking forward to it. It'll be the culmination of something that has been stirring in me for over ten years.

I'll walk up to the big brick building, pull open the old wooden door and go in. I'll put one foot on the staircase and pause. Can I really do this? What's going to happen? What if it goes horribly wrong? I'll get myself together again and walk with confidence up those stairs.

Someone will meet me in the hallway upstairs. He'll shake my hand, welcome me, and take me to where I am to be grilled.

Things will proceed as you will, but then the investigative committee will ask me the most important question of the night: "Why do you want to join the fire department?"

The last eleven years of my life will flash, and my mind will race for a moment and then it'll all become clear as it was a year earlier as I wrote on my blog about this very day.

"There are afew reasons" I'll say. "First, througuout my life since a very very young age I have been fascinated by fire and EMS, and I want to help people and I feel my ability to stay calm under pressure and manage stressful situations well would mesh very well with my interest in emergency services, and it would be a great way to serve the community. Also, the rescue squad has helped several of my family members, and I've always wanted to be able to give back. And another big reason is that even though I've wanted to join for a long time, when my friend Kandace started bringing me around the firehouse, I really discovered how much I just love the whole culture of the fire department, the whole crowd. I just love it."

I can't say what they'll say after that. But I know I'm going to say something along those lines. Because I do love emergency situations, and I love to help people, and I do love the culture of the FD. I was there until almost 2 am today and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait to become a part of it. I just love it.