Jumpline MAG_Sum_Fall 2025 - Flipbook - Page 42
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Editor’s Page
Communication
and banter lead to
camaraderie, and
camaraderie leads to
synergy; synergy leads
crews to new heights.
Michael Vallone, Ret.
Jumpline Editor
My Resilience
There was a time, a while ago,
when I was down on the infamous canvas. Many events brought
me there. I see now what I absolutely did not see then. I was going through very dif昀椀cult times. I was in a dark place and
saw no way out. It’s called hopelessness. Hopelessness is devastating to the spirit, personality, and mind. It can
crush the will to succeed and even dampen efforts to heal what is
ailing. It is a darkness in spirit, clouding one’s inner light.
I got up from that canvas. That dark place. My resilience began
with a strong foundation. A foundation of my spirituality, religion,
and my soul. My belief in God. Mostly, God is never even mentioned in resilience, and if it is, it’s whispered due to political correctness or the desire not to offend another’s sensibilities. It’s a
mistake. I’m going to cross those boundaries.
My foundation was built early in my life. I was born and raised in
the Catholic faith. I received the sacraments and attended mass
religiously (pun intended) early on. My Catholicism has been a
journey though. In my teenage years I fell away from the strictness of the required routine duties of a good Catholic. But I never
lost my faith. And through the decades of my life, I have vacillated
in what was required, attending church sporadically. I prayed often with my own personal prayers.
When I was in that darkness, I had no hope, felt alone, logically
saw no way out. In desperation, I called to God to help me, begging for relief. He answered me. It was literally like a light switch;
one morning I woke without the funk, pain, anguish, agony, and
hopelessness that shrouded me the day before. I can’t explain it.
I was a new person with a new spirit. I saw with new eyes. I won’t
use the term miraculous, so I’ll just say it was an extraordinary
event. It was a one-hundred-eighty degree turn in my life.
I have maintained that change in myself. I attend mass, confession, and receive the sacraments. I pray my daily prayers and
have been saying several other prayers which renew me. It is
an absolutely amazing feeling, renewal. My outlook is positive.
I smile. I read avidly, mostly works of 昀椀ction for entertainment,
but also the Bible. I don’t read for biblical clarity. I read for faith.
Although I retired a few years ago, I worked part-time as a crew
member on three full-length independent 昀椀lms and several indie
shorts. I have begun to write, including some 昀椀ction, and have
become involved with the Jumpline Magazine! I am with a good
woman. Life is grand!
The hand of God has turned my life around. I am not pain free,
and I don’t expect to be. Getting old has its drawbacks. But the
fact I am getting old is a blessing. What weighed me down before
no longer does. I have no anger in me. I have a calmness. God truly works! He
broke my chain!
There are estimated to be 100-200 昀椀re昀椀ghter suicides every
year, and the rate of 昀椀re昀椀ghter suicide is much higher than that
of the general public. The MDFR family has been wounded and
scarred by too many of those acts. Suicide is a personal act,
committed alone, which may be why some don’t reach out for
help. For survivors though, it is tragic and painful, often leaving
deep concerning questions, such as: “What could I have done
to prevent this?” Or “Did I miss the signs?” And the proverbial,
“Why?” There is this sense of guilt mingled with the sorrow of
deep loss.
A lot is going into suicide prevention. Groups,
organizations, and mental health professionals
are trying to stem the growth of suicide. IAFF Center For Excellence, National Fallen Fire昀椀ghter’s Foundation, the
Phoenix Group, and MDFR’s own PEER support team and Wellness Of昀椀ce. If a colleague, loved one, friend, or family member
came out and said, “I’m thinking of killing myself,” the alarm bells
would go off, people would jump up, and everything would be
done to prevent the act. If it was so simple!
Suicide is a complex mental health issue. Everyone has commonalities, nevertheless, all are different. Different circumstances, problems, health (mental/physical), resources, stamina, constitution, ability to absorb pain (mental/physical), and resilience.
There will not be a one size 昀椀ts all answer to the suicide issue.
Resilience is an important word, perhaps the most important
word when it comes to prevention of 昀椀re昀椀ghter self-demise. Suicide just doesn’t happen one day. It’s not a single act. It is the
product of a chain of events and the effects this chain of events
has over a person, which could take weeks or years.
Resilience is a process, the ability to adapt and
cope with events that occur in one’s life. These
events are usually horri昀椀c, visually, physically, and mentally. Although they may last only minutes in duration and may or may
not occur again, for 昀椀re昀椀ghters they are usually repetitive and
continuous. These events can gnaw at a person and hurt the spirit, mind, and psyche. If not dealt with, they become like a cancer
of thoughts and personality. As with cellular cancer, the person
might not even know they are suffering, resulting in a huge mental health dilemma. And sometimes if they do know, or at least
suspect, they don’t seek proper treatment. Instead, they suffer in
silence. That suffering can wear a person down mentally, person-
Summer/Fall 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
