This last spring, I was on a construction project when I met a very interesting man. He is a full time firefighter, a Captain, I believe. He worked four days on, three days off, etc. Because of his mixed hours, he is able to paint houses as his side job.

During a coffee break, I started a conversation with him. I knew his boss and several of his fellow firefighters. Quite naturally the conversation turned to the firefighters that died in the twin towers on 9/11. I asked him about that. His comments startled me, as I'd never heard anything like this before.

He said, in essance: "Those dumb bastards that died were NOT heros, they were just doing their jobs. They were trained and equipped. They were simply following orders."

He then pointed to a house across the street and said: "If that house blew up, and YOU ran into that house to save someone ... YOU would be a hero. You would be a hero because you wouldn't know what you were doing. You aren't trained. You would not be wearing a thousand dollars worth of fire protection gear."

He went on to say: "If I ran into that house, I would have already made the call, I would have donned my gear, and I would evacuate everyone safely."

Then, and here's the amazing part, he went on to say: "Those fire command officers in charge of the scene at 9/11 should be brought up on criminal charges. They KNEW what was happenning, and yet they knowingly sent those firefighters to their deaths."

I'll be interested in your comments. CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson