I'm just very GLAD that I was on a small department when "Hazing was a part of the job". No holds were barred and EVERYBODY was a part of it.
One minute we might be chopping a guy apart, then the next minute stretching in together. Putting our lives on the line for each other. Then coming out with a BIG SMILE on our faces for doing TOGETHER what we thought was a good job.
Back to the firehouse and as the equipment is cleaned up, it started all over again. EVERYBODY got their turn. It was all part of building the Brotherhood. Polish, Irish, Jew, Black, White, it didn't matter who they were or what anybody looked like. But what every guy knew was that no matter how anyone looked, they could burn and they had families that cared about them just like the other guy.
Yet with all this hazing going on, when one of the guys needed help moving, or fixing their car, or painting their house, everybody made it a point to be there and help each other.
Nobody went home mad. Hard to believe today but true. They went home and actually looked forward to going back to work for the next shift. That's when the hazing would start all over again. I guess to an outsider, they would think everybody "hated each other". When in reality, "they actually loved each other".
As I see it, our politically correct laws have destroyed firehouse life for EVERYBODY. I'm just glad that I was around the firehouse at an earlier time. Many of the retired guys do their best to keep in touch. NOT ONE OF THEM, regrets the years of hazing that went on.
Yes, we still talk about those days and how GREAT they really were. So many stories and so many happy times together. My guess is that "we are probably NOT alone about how we feel about it".
