Like Family

Today was one of those rare, almost spiritual days for me where in retrospect, everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place.  Two events took up the entire day - Al Rasch's funeral and a turkey dinner for the families of the fire department, hosted by the officers.  I was up at 6:00 a.m. (early for me on a Saturday) to get a turkey in the oven, and then off to the firehouse at by 8:15 in my class A's.  Although the sign-up sheet had me playing the skeptic for the past few days, the number of firefighters who turned out to participate in the funeral ceremonies was rather dramatic.  About 10 of us proudly served as pallbearers.  As we carried the casket in and out of St. Pius X chrurch we had another 18 or so firefighers standing on either side of the walkway.  It was really beautiful - maybe more so for me because I wasn't expecting that kind of turnout.  Since they were there, I called them to attention and had them salute as the casket passed by on it's way back to the hosebed of the 1954 Ward LaFrance.  Nice touch, and it was a wonderful statement about the brotherhood we all share, even after death.  I rolled away from the church feeling very proud of the Westfield Fire Department and its members for pulling together in a very self-motivated sort of way.  Each person shared the same compelling need to show someone like Al Rasch how much we respect him and his family. 

At the cemetery, the firefighters lined up in double-rows on opposite sides of the casket with the family flanking us to one side.  Al was a WWII veteran, and as such was accorded all the appropriate military honors, including a 3-gun salute and the always tear-jerking tri-folded flag ceremony.  Mrs. Rasch accepted the flag solemnly and proudly.  After about a minute of silence (a long, somewhat uncomfortable minute), all the firefighters were called to salute and the fire siren (back at the fire house) blasted 3 cycles.  Standing there at full attention, I could see the family members as they murmured amonst themselves that the siren was part of the ceremony and that it was for Al.  There was no need for anyone to say anything else.  Just standing there, with the wail of the siren in the back ground and the calm silence within the cemetery, it was clear that we were giving the Rasch family our most sincere and honest form of respect.  I''m proud to say that I knew Al.  Not for very long in terms of his lifetime (89 years!), but long enough to appreciate his love of jokes and his passion for gardening ("hey, take a look at this tomato!") and family.  He'll be missed.  Those of us who participated came away with something special - an affirmation that the bond of brotherhood is stronger than life itself.  I like to think that Al, and others who passed on ahead of him, people like Bob White and Stan Boneski, were standing right there with us.

Another big part of volunteer firefighting is holding family events.  For me, and many in the volunteer fire service, aside from the personal satisfaction in helping others and carrying on the brave tradition, the sense of community you get is very real and very rewarding.  So in that spirit, the officers of the Westfield Fire Department held a turkey dinner for all the firefigher families this evening.  A number of us were at the firehouse for the better part of the afternoon (after having been there all morning) to prepare.  Around 6:00 p.m., many of the rest of the firefighters and their families came rolling in.  It was really a wonderful evening.   Sandi Lockwood held a coloring contest for the kids with Gayle Peterson and Rose Jones serving as judges.  The kids had a great time with that and just playing with each other.  No fighting and no trips to the hospital this time (Joseph Darley...:-).  There was plenty of hot food, plenty of good conversation and plenty of dessert.  All too often, the firehouse is a place of politics and strong opinions.  None of that was part of the scene today and tonight.  It was really wonderful to enjoy good times with good people.  Special thanks to Chief John Lockwood, Deputy Chief Stephen Hughes, Captain Dan Barone and Lieutenant Joe Passamano.  The chef's hats are on order...

And to really ice the cake, I drove home and my two boys (6 and 8) dutifully got ready for bed and were out cold in no time.  Awesome.  Almost spiritual.