I sat down to open my email this morning and saw Incoming in my Family folder. Ah! Something from Rob the Firefighter! Then I saw the subject line, and my heart plummeted. “It’s not me.” Bless him a thousand times for sending that. Because I had it before I heard the news, before I learned that six Detroit firefighters were badly injured this morning when an eastside building collapsed on them.
Not my son. My heart beats out the talisman. He’s fine, he’s fine. But at Detroit Receiving and at St. Johns Hospital, six other families wait to hear, and we are all one family. Send our family a good thought today, will you? And send another to the men and women who fight fires in your community, wherever it may be.
This is one of my very favorite t-shirts. It is sold as a fund raiser for the Detroit Firefighters Fund, which has helped to support firefighter widows and orphans since 1866. Rob the Firefighter bought it for me. Most of the people who buy the shirts are on the job. Taking care of family.
Torch Lake Views 
Wendi
August 13, 2010
Glad to hear that Rob is fine. Being a mom is really hard. You have a good son!
Gerry
August 13, 2010
Ohboy, me too.
Heck yes it is.
Oh I do, I do.
Thanks, Wendi!
flandrumhill
August 13, 2010
I’ve felt that and hated it as I’m sure you do Gerry. My son in Afghanistan would often let us know ahead of time when he knew we’d be concerned about his safety when news was about to break of a tragic event in his area.
When you feel so much part of ‘the family of man’ there’s only a glimmer of relief when you already know that ‘yours’ are safe. That glimmer is quickly dimmed when you realize that others are feeling the pain that just happened to miss you and yours today.
Gerry
August 13, 2010
You understand perfectly. Thank you Amy Lynn.
Anna
August 13, 2010
Hoping all is well for the firefighters… All the best for them and their families. Glad your son is okay. Bless all the firefighters.
Gerry
August 13, 2010
Thank you Anna.
katherine
August 13, 2010
It’s good to hear your son’s okay… Hope all of them are!
Gerry
August 13, 2010
Thank you Katherine.
Fee
August 14, 2010
Fingers crossed for all of them.
Glad your boy’s okay – it can’t be easy knowing your lad is one of the guys running INTO the burning building that everyone else is running OUT of.
Gerry
August 14, 2010
Thank you, Fee. It is not so hard now, because I’ve seen how happy Rob is in his work. It is a calling I think.
P.j. grath
August 14, 2010
So glad Rob is okay, Gerry, and hope the injured firefighters will be, too. Where would the rest of us be without brave people willing to do the dangerous jobs? Bless them all!
Gerry
August 14, 2010
Thank you PJ. Maybe everyone, sooner or later, has to be brave about something. But yes, bless them all.
Kathy
August 14, 2010
Thank goodness Rob is OK, Gerry. It can be so scary to have our kids out in the world doing their thing. Thinking now of the moms and dads of the injured fire fighters and their fears… Saying a prayer now for everyone.
Gerry
August 14, 2010
Thank you Kathy.
Cindy Lou
August 14, 2010
Prayers and blessings are floating on the winds to all of them…….
Gerry
August 14, 2010
Thank you Cindy Lou.
Preston
August 15, 2010
My thoughts are for the firefighters and their families. You must be really proud of your boy…
giiid
August 16, 2010
I admire people like your son who has both courage and heart. Accidents happen and yet they continue their hard work. Of course I am – like everyone else here – very glad to know that nothing happened to your son.
I am thinking of you and the fear you have to live with, and understand that you are a brave person yourself.
Let´s hope that the injured will be all right, and united with their families without serious problems.
Scott Thomas Photography
August 16, 2010
Bless him and his fellow firefighters at Detroit and throughout the world. Hope the firefighters who were injured make a full recovery.
Beth Toner
August 17, 2010
God bless Rob — what a thankless yet so necessary and noble job. Glad he is OK; thoughts and prayers for those hurt.
Gerry
August 17, 2010
Hello Beth – Thanks for your comment. I’ll bet a lot of firefighters would rather run into a burning building than take care of a terminally ill patient as nurses often must. There are a lot of thankless jobs out there, and a lot of nobility on display among ordinary everyday folks.