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Honor and Privilege
Michael vallone, Ret.
It is a curious thing we
do. The drive, the inclination,
the calling that brings an individual from an average human
to a 昀椀re昀椀ghter. It’s more than
a job; more than a career. However we de昀椀ne this
thing that we do, it certainly is consuming of body,
spirit, and mind. That’s okay, being consumed by the
passion of the 昀椀re service. It’s not all take, it has its
bene昀椀ts. But the deleterious effects of consumption may be
too much for some individuals. That’s not good.
“Service” is an all-consuming term, a double-edged sword. So many 昀椀re昀椀ghters have done great
things, like saving a life, or offering comfort to the trodden. The
other side of that sword is the horror of events that can 昀椀ll the
psyche of responders. It is the responsibility of the individual to
care for themselves as well as the BrotHERhood to care for their
fellows.
It has been said 昀椀re昀椀ghting is an honor and retirement is a privilege. It is so. Having done both, I see it. Retirement shall be the
point today, the privilege of it. As an old man, an old retiree, I
have observed two things in particular that make me smile. Old
people like to give advice and talk about their ailments.
Retirement is a journey, just as the 昀椀rst day of the 昀椀re academy was, albeit a very different one. The retirement journey itself
is also a double-edged sword. It comes with wisdom, experience, and monetary savings that enable us not to have to go
to work. It also comes with age and the changes in body and
mind. I’m thrilled when I wake up and draw a deep breath. But
the body does break down, such as a mild case of shingles,
which brought pain, or a kidney stone that brought agony. As
with most ailments, they passed, alleviated by effective meds
from the ER. Now there is another kidney stone. Recently I
played an intense, competitive game of wif昀氀eball. While running
to 昀椀rst after a good hit, something went “pop,” and the pain in my
right calf was agonizing. I limped the rest of the way and beat
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the throw, but my wif昀氀eball day was over. I remember
some things from 1973, but not two days ago. I’ll
take the good with the bad, but now
somehow, the good seems so much
better than it ever has.
So much advice to give. Accumulate holiday leave
your entire career. Also, sick leave or whatever annual leave you can, and cash it in at the end. It’s a
mortgage payoff. If you retire early in the calendar year,
you’ll be okay, but if you retire later in the year, you might want
to have 35% withholding most of the year. The IRS is not your
friend. More advice: get that EMS degree early. Avoid condos,
townhouses, or anything with an HOA. They take, and take, and
take. Once in a while a huge sum of money is discovered missing, either through incompetence or malfeasance, and it’s no
pleasure paying for someone else’s errors. Timeshares are a
money pit with endless sales pitches, and what you’ve already
paid is never enough.
One thing retirement offers is time! Time to pursue adventures, nature, or mundane things such as reading. I
now know “Tarzan” is a series of twenty-four books (Oh, Johnny
Weissmuller)! Surprises can also occur. I fell into that. I became
a grip and then an audio technician on three full length independent 昀椀lms. I had never even thought of working in the 昀椀lm
industry, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. On the
other side of that art/science work, I’ve never looked at movies
in the same way since. I’ve always had a passion for writing.
Retirement now offers the time to do it. A script I wrote is in
pre-production to 昀椀lming. But the 昀椀ckle 昀椀nger of 昀椀lming always
lurks. More stories are percolating. I’ve discovered seven MDFR
昀椀re昀椀ghters who have written books or scripts!
Retirement is a great experience, and a privilege, and it should be embraced. I will not
carry a sign that says the end is near, nor will
I go silently into the night. No one should.
Summer/Fall 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
