Fire taps something ancient and vital in each of us, something both snarling and reverential.

Cats are the slipperiest of domestic animals. Thousands of years of genetic coding has taught them to melt into azaleas, lie motionless behind garden gnomes, glide along fence tops, and slink under benches.

Fire taps something ancient and vital in each of us, something both snarling and reverential.

Wasn't growing catnip in one's yard the kitty equivalent of giving candy to children?

Its hard in the firehouse to avoid the dessert thing. At 3 in the morning after some emergency, I have been known to eat an ice cream sandwich.

Most people go to the office and sit at a desk. When firefighters go to the office, we might birth a baby in the morning, save a drowning surfer in the afternoon, and run into a fire at night. What could be more interesting than that?

In a fire you have to be thoughtful, you have to have a certain kind of intuitive smarts that the veterans have. I'm not there yet, despite the Stanford degree.