I can't remember very much of my life when I wasn't surrounded by people who weren't either firemen or policemen. At the risk of being politically incorrect in my opening statement, I have just aged myself terribly because when I was growing up, "men" was the only suffix to both those titles. Nowadays, of course, it is so much different, and rightfully so.
But, getting back to the "dark ages," as I was growing up and old enough to baby-sit, it seems that some of my most vivid memories are those of the people that I baby-sat for, the scanner always on in their homes and turn-outs placed in a strategic place to be quickly grabbed when needed. I can name so many of them; the Combellack brothers, Al Herzig, Paul Ewing, Wilbur Howe, Carlin Meyers, so many more, all from El Dorado County and unknown to everyone here in our area but still all the same kind of people we have here today. Those, who gave of themselves, who put their lives on the line, to make our communities a safer place to live in. I remember the stories I used to hear from them.
My sister and I were both married to police officers, another world sometimes when you live with someone dedicated to the dangerous side of public service.
Their lives and what they did were deeply ingrained in me and a major part of the way I think and feel today. My respect for these people was such a part of my upbringing and, as an adult, that respect for those who do these same jobs today, has only grown tenfold, through the years.
Last Saturday I went to a celebration of life for Angelo Sciascia at the Topaz Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Angelo, at the age of 77, as a result of injuries received in a car accident on March 25, died four days later in Reno on March 29. I hardly knew Angelo, but I knew the kind of person he was just by what he chose to do in the last 10 years of his life. Had he not died from that fatal car accident, he would have still been at the fire department doing whatever he could do for as long as he could do it. He was dedicated to being a volunteer fireman for the Topaz Lake Volunteer Fire Department and, for his 10 years he had at the department, he gave everything he had to give; to the department and to his community. At the gathering, I felt the loss almost as deeply as those who knew him so well. He was a tremendous loss to our community.
Two years ago, within a week or two almost to the day, I was at a similar memorial for Bud Semas at the Antelope Valley United Methodist Church in Coleville, to honor Nevada's oldest volunteer firefighter, and walked away with the same feeling that I had last Saturday at Angelo's memorial; that special bond between special people who do a special and very necessary job for all of us.
We, as a community, should look around us and thank these people in every way we can, to be there to support them, to understand, they are there for all of us. When we pick up the phone and call 911, it is really our neighbors, right there doing everything they can for the rest of us. Most don't get paid to do the job they do, most are there after they do the jobs they do get paid for. But, they are there, working overtime and sometimes to the maximum of their mental and physical limits, for all of us when we need them the most. Saying thank-you just doesn't seem enough sometimes.
I respect my nephew, Kevin Kleinworth. He has always wanted to do work in public service. Against physical problems, he has fought to maintain a job in public service as a firefighter. I truly respect him for his fortitude. It is something in his heart and I bless him for it.
He was on the fire line at the Waterfall fire when it came roaring down through King's Canyon near Carson City and he was caught in the burn-over at the cul-du-sac at the mouth of the canyon. He was one of the first injured in that fire. It has not deterred him, in the least, to continue on in the job of being a fire fighter. In fact, it seems to have made him more determined.
There is something unique and special about the people who do these jobs for us, the community, be they fire department or police department, be they paid or be they volunteer, it doesn't matter. They are all there for us when we need them.
Just keep on keepin' on and the best I can do is say "thank-you."
-- Jonni Hill can be reached through The Record-Courier at jhill@recordcourier.com or by calling 782-5121, ext. 213, or after hours at JHILL47@aol.com
