the f word, quietly

Well, that careened into the ditch faster than Harry Nelson yanking the wheel. 

Remember in “Part 1” where I was working on a Firefighter of the Quarter Nomination for (great guy) Troy in my head and then figured out something while driving through Gilroy and (another great guy) Alan won Firefighter of the Quarter?

Well, the months roll past and I no longer have to hold my breath driving through (garlic capital of the world) Gilroy, CA.  The end of Quarter 1 of 2025 arrives and I am sitting there doing the Vice President schtick at the April meeting next to Treasurer Alan and because I have this thing about crafting agendas so they end on a happy topic, Firefighter of the Quarter is agenda item 8.c.  The department could use a happy topic, as we’ve been wracked with the sudden death of firefighter Kevin Meyers.  A great, great, great, great guy, who started serving while he was in high school (!).  Seved the community at the tip of the first responder spear for more than three (!!!)  decades.  Always with a caring gesture and smile.  Married to EMT Carrie, who is just the best, and the Department’s PIO. 

Kevin’s obit is here.  

Last Saturday, the Department hosted the visitation.  It was cold and rainy and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people stood in line, waiting to get into the station to pay their respects.  So many people kept coming that we had to change plans on the fly and move all the rigs except Truck 32 (Kevin’s favorite) out of the apparatus bay so there would be room for everyone.  We raided the Village Hall supply of folding chairs and it was still standing room only.  Hip to hip in the chairs and shoulder to shoulder standing on the periphery, Poynette came together for one of their best; a community’s collective heart broken. 

Troy walked to the front and served as emcee.  He did a wonderful job, and I started writing the Firefighter of the Quarter nomination in my head that night as I could not fall asleep.  The nomination ended up like this: 

We are all standing there on Saturday, with hundreds from the community in attendance, and somebody has to face the community in a difficult moment.  I don’t know if he was asked or if he volunteered and it don’t matter either way.  Because he either stepped up to do something difficult in front of everyone and that’s a noble thing, or he was asked to do so and that is just about all you need to know about his reputation among us, or in the community.

Cheerfully marching to the beat of a slightly unconventional percussionist, Troy drives a Subaru, wears one of those Euro helmet things, and has a tendency to pose a slightly unconventional question from time to time.  And the department is all the better for it. 

Convention, and doing something like it has always been done … is a trap.  Traps are dangerous. 

Firefighting has its base and physically savage moments but at its core, it is a thinking person’s game.  It is you, and your fire brothers and sisters against a problem, where the collective intelligence of the team solving the problem determines the outcome.  Here is a good place to state the obvious … whenever Troy is with is, we are a much smarter team.  If I am on a hose line, I want Troy at the pump panel.  If I am about to dangle from a rope, I want Troy to check the harness and pulleys before I give Mr. Gravity the middle finger. 

An excellent wheel man, a great teacher and a friendly and caring colleague, if we had to vote for somebody other than the Chief to stand in front of the community last Saturday, Troy would have won in a landslide.

He did it better than any of us could, in his self-effacing and empathetic style, working in some light-hearted moments and a pipe-measuring hack of all things.  To be -- at the same time -- of solemn duty and of good cheer is a rare combination.  

That rare and aspirational combination of duty and good cheer … consistently demonstrated by Troy … recommends him most highly for Firefighter of the Quarter. 

Particularly pleased with the “Mr. Gravity” line about how we trust Troy with our lives, I printed it and put it in an envelope and dropped it in the Chief’s inbox.  This will end next Thursday’s meeting nicely, I thought to myself. 

Get through agenda items 1 – 8.b., which is where the members made me president and get to 8.c..  Chief announces there are two nominations and I think (almost outloud) “cool, someone else also nominated Troy”.  Chief reads my nomination for Troy and I’m a happy little agenda planner and then Chief starts reading the second nomination and … I … quietly swear.

Troy hears the second nomination is for me and immediately tries to withdraw his nomination and I’m like “SAME!” and that’s not working for either of us so I suggest rock paper scissors and that doesn’t work either and there’s an actual vote by ballot.     

This has gone completely haywire. 

While I am seriously and deeply appreciative of the nomination and vote, I remain Team Troy. 

And Team Alan, and Team James, and Team Danielle, and Team Brandon and Team … all the rest.