Dont be a Fake'n Jake!

Tonight I write out of frustration. I guess I really am the odd guy out. Maybe I am the guy that doesn't fit into the culture, maybe just maybe I am the problem. I am totally OK with this. I am happy to be the problem child. I have filled that role many times. 

If I am the guy that is going to hold you to the standards that you are going to hold others to than I am OK with that also. I will be that guy. Every. Single. Time.

We are supposed to be building the brotherhood. That is what all of us are saying here. We lost the brotherhood. There is no brotherhood left. The brotherhood is dead. YOU killed it. You! That guy! The guy that is the last to show and the first to leave.

The guy that is there for the applause but wont check the saws. If you want to know where it is look. Look inside. Are you the guy that you would want to hang out with? Are you the one that you would turn to in life’s trying times? Are you?

How do we get through to them or do we just be done with them? I hate the idea of throwing anything away. People shouldn't be thrown away. A small list does exist though, of people and types that are disposable. Please make your own list. My list is mine.

If you want to be a brother be one. But for heavens sake be willing to put some heart and soul into it. Stop being a “Fake’n Jake’.

Be accountable to the guys that you said you would be there for. If you have a different opinion then you have a different opinion. We don't have the time or the inclination to continue on a path that is only self fulfilling. We have people dying for gods sake. People in the communities that we swore that we would protect. Brothers dying from preventable illnesses. Not every firefighter killer is going to come out of a NIOSH report. 

Some of you died a long long time ago. Something happened. We need you back. We need you back on the line ready. Ready to teach the new guys and girls that are coming along. We need you to stand BESIDE us, not in front of us, not behind us, we need you to join us, and as a team, as a commanding presence pass along to these folks the knowledge that they need to protect themselves, their fellow firefighters and the communities that they swore to protect. 

NexGens, be real. Above all. 

Thanks for all that your all doing. Go forth......fight the good fight.....be a good one....we need more good ones.