Fire!

Can I yell, "Fire!", in a crowded blog? I guess it doesn't apply in my case. It's not so crowded around here.

Alex spent most of yesterday helping out at the volunteer fire station, getting ready for, and then working at, the annual Fireman's Carnival. The other kids and I got stopped by roadblocks, coming home yesterday afternoon, due to the parade that kicks off the carnival. I think every fire truck within 50 miles was in that parade. Alex could've ridden on a truck, but he decided to come home for dinner before returning for his evening shift. It's pretty scary thinking he's become so acclimated to his new role that the thrill of riding on the firetruck has become old hat.

He told me he was mostly a go-fer all day, which suits him just fine since it lets him do a variety of things. At then end of the evening he was working the Gold Fish Game. He said they gave away a lot of goldfish. That's fine as long as he doesn't bring any leftover fish home. About 10 PM he called, all excited, to tell me one of the fireworks they were setting off caught something on fire. How convenient that they were at the Foreman's Carnival! He wasn't even calling for a ride home; just to tell about the fire. He called when the fire was out for a ride home.

I think he found his Calling. Everything about working at the firehouse excites him, from an actual fire to emptying trash cans for the firemen. He even sacrificed a day at The Shore! It's so nice to see him enjoy something that is not a video game. Even though it worries Vicki a little, there are worse fields to get into than firefighting.