WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.919 Disclaimer. We'd like to know before the start of this interview that the opinions 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.199 about to be expressed by the guest of tonight's Getting Salty Experience Podcast are that 3 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.000 of the guest and do not directly or necessarily reflect the views of the host 4 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:34.079 of the Getting Salty Experience Podcast. You're listening to the Getting Salty Experience Podcast. 5 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:49.359 A low Dog Doyle Welcome about to get in Salty Experience podcast. It's 6 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:53.439 the only one in the whole world. Room brings the fire House Gets You 7 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:58.960 table to you. What do we say about there? Let's kind of close 8 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:03.359 up with what you have going on. I don't know, fell on my 9 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.560 head before it came off my border and fell off my head. Is this 10 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:12.840 what better makes my head look smaller? Better? Let's let's bring a little 11 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:18.760 close Chief Steve. Huh, that's the Chief Steve one. Yeah. Anyway, 12 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.280 fire out kitchen table. You know it holds the weight of a thousand 13 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:26.799 stories problem. You could then the figure out all the problems in the world 14 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:30.879 at the kitchen house, at the fire house table, right right, everything, 15 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:37.000 Yeah, we solve them. We solve them more. Sometimes we're talking 16 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:38.959 about the fires, you know. Sometimes we talked to Mike about fires. 17 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:45.799 When the dropped the fire and we went mutual a to the basement. The 18 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:52.719 windows like there was a two bagger floor was walling out the windows. So 19 00:01:52.840 --> 00:02:02.760 the Charlie exposure whatever corner the brothers pushed in did a search for nobody work 20 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.039 in the rock well, working the rock well. That's my anyway. We 21 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:10.960 wish fight the best. He's he's volley right. First's gonna be a volley 22 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.599 and then he's taking the paid last week. Yeah, he's gonna be a 23 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:16.199 He's gonna be a medical guy for a little while. There's some blood pressures 24 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:22.080 and that's about boy. That's my boy. My Yeah. I told him 25 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.520 I can't have any ms stories. No, no, there he was. 26 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.599 So I got the cuff on the guy right and he's flailing all. I 27 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:31.319 don't know, he was flaring all. I wanted to hit him with some 28 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.719 kenemy, you know, knock him down. He's like, what forty five 29 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:39.560 of a one hundred was way up there. I said, this is what 30 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:43.120 I gotta do, Bro, I gotta jump run into action. Bro loved 31 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:46.520 up, loved up, loved up. Start giving the breast. I'm begging, 32 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:52.759 I'm begging, I'm and I told him he can only say one thing. 33 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:58.520 That's the thing I want to hear from his MS days. That's it 34 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.479 with me. From that little buddy. Oh my god, that's too fun. 35 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:08.479 His face is colmic right doing this mostly, you know, his faces 36 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:09.960 like that, and he's just doing this when he gets a little like, 37 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.800 oh my god. I can see him right now, he's like, oh 38 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.599 my gosh. He's smirking too. He's got a big smile. You know. 39 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:22.039 You can see him going on there on today. That was in the 40 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:30.919 Krobe class before Chief Steve. So he's achieve is actually Steve. Chief is 41 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:35.479 actually his bop. That's what I'm saying. Nice, oh man, that's 42 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:42.280 what I'm doing. Wicked chicken pom. Yeah, well you know what he 43 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.759 did. It has to be a healthy chicken pong because his book started out 44 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:49.039 being uh, healthy Cooking in the fire House, which is almost like an 45 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.240 actually octy moron right, like like a jumbo shrimp like healthy probably a couple 46 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:55.800 of years ago. Uh up your veins, you know what I mean. 47 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.639 If Joe is finding to college, he's probably bacon the number one. So 48 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.639 you know what I mean, maybe you wouldn't have to get this stent I 49 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:08.039 did that in the firehouse, right, how did we do that? What? 50 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:13.879 This much oil in the pot? Right right? Yeah? Yeah, 51 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:18.600 I'm going to bacon. The oil was boiling. So they just sat in 52 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:20.519 the cold oil for a while. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, y 53 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.680 soaking up like a sponge healthy with bacon. The cutlets and the colts that 54 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.439 we weren't this small. They're like this big, you know, yeah, 55 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:32.680 monster exactly, yeah, pound them out so it's bigger than the police, 56 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:39.240 like this thick. So it's like like that. All right, So look, 57 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.680 commercials on so we can get mister Joe in here. 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Find us now at www Dot n j f E 75 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:21.319 dot com. That's www. Dot n j f E dot com. Wonderful 76 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:26.959 And if I'm not mistaken, I believe the owner of the original owner of 77 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.720 that company just passed two weeks ago, So our deepest condolence is out the 78 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:36.360 New Jersey Fire could be I'm almost sure that's correct, Kevin. We just 79 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:44.439 said right here. Actually George passing away. I think I think Pe is 80 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:48.279 the one who told me originally, so our condolence is mister Fosdick's family. 81 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:53.439 All right, ruf what else we got? That's it we got? Bring 82 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:55.360 him in. I want to bring Joey Banana in. Bro, I asked 83 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:58.199 him he was a member of crime family, the Banano crime family, said 84 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.439 I wish. I don't know, I just uh would it would have went 85 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:06.199 really good tonight with a nice plate of unhealthy chicken palm for Demo. I 86 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:10.160 would have been like to like, let's like chicken palm. Your wife is 87 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:12.759 Jewish? Ship maybe develop the fish or something. I don't know. What 88 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:19.079 are you having? Filter? Amazing, amazing skulls? Are you ready? 89 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:25.160 Guns? I'm ready. I don't have Yeah, out of the water coming 90 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:31.720 to the stage, fire fighter Joe Banano, Yeah you got a hold of 91 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:39.120 No looks good, Rob, huh, yes, look at him. Bro. 92 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.240 When we see the old pictures, wait, you see the pipe sticking 93 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:46.160 out of them? Bro, it was turty tree. How much How much 94 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:49.360 was you mentioned back in the I don't know, but I think that's one 95 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:51.600 of the reasons your brother didn't like me, because I when I went to 96 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.639 one thirty eight, I was working out. I think I was a little 97 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:01.000 good beefier jack than he was, and he didn't a little more swall a 98 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:05.199 little bit, says the word. Alright, before we get out in front, 99 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:07.279 though, let's uh, let's get patriotic, because again, this is 100 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.000 the greatest country in the history of the world. So yes, all right, 101 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:20.199 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to 102 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:28.639 the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty 103 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:46.000 and justice for all. Isn't the associate of a certain family, I believe 104 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:52.120 so with that head of hair and that named me like that? All right? 105 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.399 So uh, jo, let's go back to the early days. Your 106 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.120 dad was refinement to already know how you got into it. But tell us 107 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:01.080 you would tell us a little bit how you will Bronx guy originally tell us 108 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:05.399 a little about the early days of grown up in the Banano family. H. 109 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.600 Yeah, born and raised in the Bronx. My father went to eighty 110 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:13.399 eight Engine in nineteen fifty seven. And yes, I was born and raised 111 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:18.559 in the Bronx. Went to Catholic Catholic elementary school. My father was eighty 112 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:24.960 eight engine we lived in the Uh yeah he was good looking. Yeah, 113 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.840 he was good looking. Joe drew that, by the way, Yeah, 114 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:31.919 and I drew Yeah, yeah, I do that. Yep, that goes 115 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.080 what we were just saying, and appreciate. You never know what talents guys 116 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.799 have before you start ripping the soil, you rip him to shreds, they'll 117 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:41.600 have something too awful. But yeah, no, and then again, I 118 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:46.360 can't say he talked all that much about the fire department growing up. Yes, 119 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:50.279 it was a big part of his life, but he didn't bring it 120 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.120 home to him that much. And you know, eighty eight engine in the 121 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.840 late sixties and seventies was nuts in this. I do remember him coming home 122 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:01.759 distinctly, remember him coming home smelling like smoke, probably all the time, 123 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.480 all the time. I mean he would come home. Yeah that's a pitched 124 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:07.879 nineteen fifty seven I think when he was a proby carrying an old Scott bottle. 125 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.000 But uh yeah, I do. As a kid, I do remember 126 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:15.559 him smelling like smoke, seriously smelling like smoke. And I was like, 127 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:16.600 you know, and I never said to myself, Wow, my dad's a 128 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:20.679 farm man and dangerous, Like you're a kid, you don't really kind of 129 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:24.399 know any and he didn't. But I do remember him doing a drill once 130 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:28.799 with you know, if the house goes on fire, all the kids get 131 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.919 on your knees, crawl on your knees to get on the meeting place out 132 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.720 on the front yard. Yeah he did. He didn't do that with us. 133 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.039 He didn't do that with us a few times. I do remember that. 134 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:43.399 And then I definitely remember the parties, like the beach parties in the 135 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:46.639 summer with all the guys an eighty eight engine and they would just you know, 136 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:52.240 that's the part to me that was so I guess it was amazing to 137 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:56.039 me, Like the first time he took me to eighty eight engine, I 138 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:58.240 mean a whole and there's a couple of guys that like yourselves, that do 139 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:01.440 podcast and stuff, and the one guy, the way he said it, 140 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:05.799 he was the whole firehouse. That smell is so unique and it's sweat leather 141 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:18.320 and smoke, but more wet leather. They should bottle it, because when 142 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.159 I never forget the first time we went to a communion, uh whole communion 143 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:26.320 breakfast with the UFA or something, and he took me to the firehouse and 144 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:30.720 I mean, when I walked in. To me, every guy in that 145 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:33.080 place looked like they were sasquatched. They were so big to me, to 146 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.679 a seven or eight year old kid, Yeah, I just looked around and 147 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:41.720 and and just awe the size of these guys and the you know, the 148 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:46.879 deep voices they all had, and it just was like, wow, I'm 149 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.679 like, look at the heady company that I'm in with these men of men, 150 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:54.039 you know. And but again that was just then and then, and 151 00:11:54.080 --> 00:12:00.240 they were all so just something about fireing. They just seemed to always take 152 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.799 a liking to children and they were just like, it's just a kid joke. 153 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:07.679 Me let me know this. It was so endearing to me that they 154 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:13.000 were just so nice to me and so pleasant and the only the only thing 155 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:16.159 I do remember is I think once he got there, he forgot that you 156 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:18.440 have an eight year old kid, we do. And none of the firemen 157 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:22.840 held back on dropping the F bomb. And you know, I went to 158 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.320 I went to Catholic school, so we never heard any of that. So 159 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.720 the minute I walked, the minute I crossed the apron of eighty eight, 160 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:33.320 we got in the kitchen, they were like F this and F that. 161 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.840 I'm like Oh my god. Listen to the eighties. Guys are talking, 162 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.960 Oh my god, it's horrible. So I didn't remember them like we were 163 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:45.480 unloading on each other with the curse words. But I guess that was part 164 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:52.000 of the environment. That's one of the nicest looking firehouses. Inside. I 165 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.519 trying to find some Let me see if I can get the they buff the 166 00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:00.480 who they are with thirty eight thirty eight I worked a few times. You 167 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:09.879 know the brass it's legit like you know that was in two thousand and two 168 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:13.759 three, you know, something like that, bouncing around like I worked there 169 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:18.039 a few times. And uh, it definitely is one of the cleaner up 170 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.840 the firehouses on the job, there's no doubt. I'll tell you a story 171 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.480 about Christiano. I might have said the story on the show before this, 172 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:28.960 but I remember my mother told me to go because the firehouse wasn't where he 173 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.080 was in the last part of his career, wasn't too far from the house. 174 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:33.720 He said, go to the fire house and get some ice for me. 175 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:37.039 So we get dad the ice making it. The father was working that 176 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:41.399 day. Now, my father right a little tested this never it was like 177 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:46.120 never a curse and as long as he was in the house around us, 178 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.279 never said ship, never said damn. You know, he would say what 179 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:52.639 the deuce. That's the worst thing. He would say, what the deuce? 180 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.320 You know. I walked into the firehouse. Now he's in the kitchen, 181 00:13:56.360 --> 00:14:00.120 but he's got his back to the app right his floor. And I 182 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:07.440 walk in and I hate my father. Same thing the guys. I see 183 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:15.200 the guys in the kitchen, like, I don't know how they held it 184 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:18.159 back when they went home, because he never cursed at home. Never same 185 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:22.440 here. I was in shock that he was unloading those words out of his 186 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:26.000 mouth, you know, But I guess that's just the way it was. 187 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:31.559 And yeah, he just accepted and so yeah, he never he never really 188 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:33.840 took the job home with him. He didn't talk about it that much. 189 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.159 So yeah, then he grew up in the Bronx and around nineteen sixty eight, 190 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:41.120 sixty nine, you know, I get the got the bug to move 191 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.639 out to Long Island. So we moved out to Lindenhurst, Long Island, 192 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:48.600 which I hated because I was a city kid and regularly, you know, 193 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:52.759 like nobody on Long Island knew what a spoil Dean was. Oh hang out, 194 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:58.399 we're talking about stickball, three seas stickbull played football Sue and Sue's city 195 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.759 kids, right, yeah, said on the cross stick, like what is 196 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:07.080 that lacrosse stick? Exactly? So I would say, like, you know, 197 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.320 what do you guys guys go to get a school dean? He like, 198 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:15.720 what's a school dean? I go in to paints up on the one? 199 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.759 Would it would? It would be like the out of bounds like left 200 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:20.799 or right? Fair ball like along the street, you know what. We 201 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:26.600 used to throw sneakers up on. Yeah, but all city kids stuff. 202 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:30.639 But eventually I had to get used to it and and get used to being 203 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.799 in in a school in Long Island, and I grew up there, and 204 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:39.360 then then I went to the military. Uh yeah, I was in Yeah, 205 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.879 I was in the Air Force. Which is another funny story with my 206 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:46.840 father, because you know, unfortunately I was an arrogant, snotty teenager. 207 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:52.840 I wasn't your boy next door. And you know, he was really pretty 208 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.200 strict, and me and him had our share of battles. He was a 209 00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:00.200 golden gloves boxer. Me and him, I mean we used to just god 210 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.159 verbally, you know, and I fought him tooth and nails, and I 211 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:07.559 like to relate this story, especially for younger people listening, because I think 212 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.799 everybody should get a chance to go in the military to straighten out. So 213 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.879 I just remember I had so fed up with him. I go, you 214 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.919 know what, I'm gonna fix his ass. I don't need this ship. 215 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:19.759 I don't need you get me up at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning to 216 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:23.279 rake Leaves. I'm going in the military. I don't need this shit. 217 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:32.679 So next thing, I want to recruit and him watch this. You think 218 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:36.399 you're gonna get me up on a Saturday morning at nine o'clock to rake Leaves. 219 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:40.639 What an hour? Hell no, Hell no, I'll go in the 220 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:42.879 military. And I went down to the recruiting office and he never said a 221 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.559 word. I thought he was gonna say, you know, i'd like to 222 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:47.759 see you going in the name he was in the Navy. I like to 223 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.600 see going to the Navy like me, or like your uncle or your uncle 224 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:52.639 was in the army. He just let me make my cause I think in 225 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:55.720 the back of this morning, he goes, day, are just gonna fix 226 00:16:55.799 --> 00:17:00.960 him and he's gonna get his big payback. And I'll you will never And 227 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.200 I want to honor the man to this day. I'll never forget getting on 228 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:07.799 the plane. He drove me six o'clock in the morning to Fort Hamilton and 229 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:11.759 processed me. And then that if I go on a plane to Biloxi Air 230 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:15.480 Force Base for basic training, by the time you get there, it's three 231 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.880 thirty in the morning, and the drill sergeants greet you on the bus screaming 232 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.680 at you. And I'll never forget it was four thirty in the morning. 233 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.119 I'm standing at attention with a guy twice my father's saw he screaming at me 234 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:30.279 at the top of his lungs, and he's like, you got a half 235 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.079 an hour to sleep, because you're getting up at five. At five thirty 236 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.119 is a roll call and five thirty I had like an hour's sleep, and 237 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:40.839 I wake up and from five thirty in the morning till ten thirty at night, 238 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:44.319 you're just doing something, jumping around, getting yelled at screen, got 239 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:48.640 watching. At that point, you said yourself, maybe this wasn't a good 240 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:52.720 idea. I don't know I what I what I did know what I did 241 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.480 say to myself, I'm standing at attention. My sergeant was Sergeant West. 242 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:00.799 Guy was as big as a refrigerator. Screaming two inches from my f and 243 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:02.920 when he got out of my face that somebody else was when he got away 244 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.599 from me, I go, boy, I really showed my father fixed. 245 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:10.880 He wanted me to rake leave. He wanted me to rake leaves for an 246 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:15.599 hour. And now I'm making leaves all day every day at four thirty in 247 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.559 the morning, getting yelled at. So he must have been when he shut 248 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:21.680 up an eight een engine. He must have got in the kitchen and said, 249 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:25.440 my knit wit son thought he was going to kill me, and went 250 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:29.440 the air was I am? He must have been smiling for me, probably 251 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.039 ripping him up and down. And they were so and how old hellow you 252 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.920 in for two years? Uh? Yeah, I was in for two years 253 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:45.000 different, oh, and completely entirely different. I came back completely focused, 254 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.440 and I went right to college. I started college right away. And then 255 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:52.480 it was getting near the time the fire deponent test was coming up, and 256 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:56.960 again I had to be a belligerent idiot, and again I regret it to 257 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.599 this day, saying I'm not going to be a voument like you, you 258 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:03.720 know, almost saying I'm better than that, which I regret to this day 259 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.680 because it was the best decision I ever made that he and he didn't force 260 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.079 me. He goes, listen, you don't have to take the job, 261 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:12.000 but take the test. I want you to take the test. You don't 262 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.039 have to take the job. Take the test. Just the same thing Joe 263 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:17.920 last week. You don't you don't want to be fine with it. You 264 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:19.680 don't have to take the job, but take the test. You might change 265 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.960 your mind. But if you don't take the test, you can't turn the 266 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:26.640 test. Everybody says that the same thing. Right, They take the test, 267 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:30.960 and by the time it comes around four or five years later, Right, 268 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.880 they're in a different line, right, different part of their life, 269 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.680 and all of a sudden they're looking forward, you know, to getting on 270 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.839 the job. You know what I mean, just like you're saying. Right. 271 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.559 So I was in good shape. I trained for the test, and 272 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:47.160 then I took it, and then I I'll never forget. I was at 273 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.440 the Jamaica Armory training for it, and I met this fellow, Tom Pellegrino, 274 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:53.039 who was in two ninety end up but being in Provy school with me. 275 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.559 I met him at the drills for the training, and I was one 276 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.960 of the few guys that could whip the dummy over my shoulder, up and 277 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:04.839 down the stairs. And he was really a skinny guy, and he wanted 278 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:07.720 to be a fireman since he was born. And he goes, I can't 279 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:10.440 do the dummy thing. You gotta help me, you know. And I 280 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.599 didn't know him from all in the wall, but I was meeting all great 281 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:18.079 guys my own age at the Jamaica Armory training and I'm like, Wow, 282 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:21.359 these guys are funny. They're fun looked like they'd be fun to work with. 283 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:23.319 So I helped him and and he knew all about the fire he knew 284 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.240 about pensions, he knew about medical benefits, he knew about promotions, he 285 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:32.240 knew about everything. And so he was kind of a little bit of a 286 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:36.640 mentor. And so then we both got called. I think my list number 287 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.400 was eleven oh two. He was eleven twenty four, and they said, 288 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:41.680 Tom, we're gonna be in the same class together. And I met, 289 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:45.880 I'm sure you familiar Craig but Cherry. Yeah, we're trying to get him 290 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:49.160 on too. Yeah, he was at that time. He was taking the 291 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:52.319 same test I was, and they were going to have an eligibles association, 292 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:59.000 and he was like the president of the Eligibles Association. So at one of 293 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:00.720 the meetings, I was with friend Tom and a couple other nice guys. 294 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.640 At the meeting, I said, why, these are pretty great guys, 295 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.079 just like the firefighters my father that I admired when I was a boy. 296 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.400 I said, these guys are all my age now now, and there were 297 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:14.440 a lot of laughs and fun. One character worse than that crazy insanity. 298 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:18.519 It attracts the insane, it really does. Somebody just said that. One 299 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:22.240 of the chiefs said that. Somebody said that firemen are insane. You gotta 300 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:26.240 be a little insane, right, Well, we're a different breed if you 301 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:30.400 weren't to start with it reads, Yeah, you start to get like that, 302 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:33.000 and then you get the humor and you get the It's just something about 303 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.000 it attracts that type of an individual. You know. It's not the corporate 304 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:41.000 world. So he I'll never forget the way he stressed it to me, 305 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.160 because he said to me, Joe, listen, we're probably gonna get on 306 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:47.720 seventy eight, seventy nine by the time our list numbers come up. He 307 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:49.359 goes, you gotta take it, and I go, Tom, Why I 308 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.839 go, I was in the military. I don't want this, yes, 309 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:56.920 sir, No, sir, Polisher shoes inspections and goes, Joe, it's 310 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.279 not like that. He goes the training. Oh yeah, after that, 311 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:07.319 it's a frat house and I go, how could that be? And he 312 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:11.079 wasn't lying. And you know, my father actually never alluded to any of 313 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:15.720 that craziness or frat house type stuff, so I thought it was a serious 314 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.480 job. He never talked about it that much, so I had no inkling. 315 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:22.240 This guy Tom. He knew everything about it. The pension. Then 316 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.640 the key thing that he stressed to me. He says, Joe, listen, 317 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.480 you have to take it even if you hate it. And we get 318 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:33.839 on in nineteen seventy nine. You only have to hate it till the spring 319 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.440 of ninety nine. And then I go, well, then what happens He 320 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:41.400 goes, then you're eligible for your pension. And I said, what's a 321 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:52.960 pension? Well, he said, Joe, they give you a half pay 322 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.119 for the rest of your life. I go, but by the time you're 323 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:00.920 forty something years old. First of all, that's Star Trek. To me, 324 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:03.759 nineteen ninety nine doesn't even exist. It's Star Trek. We'll be using 325 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:11.319 phasers and yeah, that is true. That is very true in nineteen seventy 326 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:17.480 nine. You think nineteen ninety nine is like Star Trek. And the proof 327 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:21.519 of that is you know the TV show Lost in Space, Yep, the 328 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:26.039 Jupiter two that took off. Do you know when that was? Nineteen ninety 329 00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:30.519 nine? If you watch that show and they say the Jupiter two is now 330 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:37.440 launching and T minus whatever on July twenty third, nineteen ninety nine. So 331 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.839 for me, that's what nineteen ninety nine was going to be. Like, 332 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:42.480 I'm not gonna it's tom I'm I'm gonna be in my forties. Are you 333 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:47.000 crazy? It's not gonna happen. And he said, Joe, I'm telling 334 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:49.799 you just we're gonna be in the same class. Just show up. And 335 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.160 so I said, all right, at least they're calling me. I showed 336 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:56.599 up. And I mean, once I got to the training academy and I 337 00:23:56.759 --> 00:24:03.759 saw the the I guess, the type of individuals, and the bosses were 338 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.759 all alive. The instructors were all strict, but funny. I mean, 339 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:11.119 they had that same humor that I saw with my father's firefighters that he worked 340 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:15.799 with, plus more of it was the individual fireman that I was actually working 341 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:18.839 and going to the training academy with I mean, you definitely bond up with 342 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.440 four or five guys, six guys and something, stayed friends with them for 343 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:26.680 the rest of your life. And it just was And then they had the 344 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.519 in between the training, there was time for laughters and humor. Yeah, 345 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:34.759 and it just started. It started getting better and better, and I all 346 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.599 right, I did military. I can do this for eight weeks. I 347 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:44.039 think that was the training academy at the time was eight weeks. Let's what's 348 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:55.000 that guy holy wowing this thing in? Yeah, I was. I was 349 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.640 pretty jacked in in prov school. And would you have you had a couple 350 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.920 of mods back then? What'd you have going on over there? He had? 351 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:03.960 Oh yeah, Well no I didn't. Oh yeah, yeah. I 352 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:06.880 didn't discover that world as I got in the firehouse either, because I told 353 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:08.759 you I went to Catholic school. I was an alder boy once I got 354 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:15.440 to Proby School. And those were once we we're going out weeks ago, 355 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:17.480 we're gonna talk about this is gonna be fun. You know, you're gonna 356 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:19.440 have a ball. And I started meeting a whole bunch of crazy one crazier 357 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:26.720 than the next ball. But is that other picture gun which one with the 358 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:30.359 three the three of them, the three Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, 359 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:33.960 okay, let get to that. We're just fixing that. Yeah, that's 360 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:37.359 the guy in the middle. In the middle is Tom Peller. Well, 361 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:40.920 let's that they called us the Italian Battalion because on the left is Kenny g 362 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:47.240 and Ellie Engine two thirty six, Engine two ninety and me Engine and eventually 363 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:49.079 Engine three nineteen. But the guy in the middle of two ninety, he's 364 00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:52.519 the guy that really pushed the job on me and said, hey, Joe, 365 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.160 forget him about it, forget about Tom Pellagreeno the Italian. You guys 366 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:04.480 are Italian Battalion, well with Jane and pelgrinal So that's awesome. But yeah, 367 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:07.319 he talked me into it. And then and then you know, once 368 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:11.079 you get out of the academy. Being that my father didn't talk about it 369 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:15.119 all that much, I was almost in complete culture shock. Now I went 370 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.559 to Engine three nineteen, which is a super slow house on a side street 371 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:26.640 in Metropolitan Village, Middle Village, metrop in between regular residential houses. But 372 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.720 they had fantastic senior guys there that it did their time. In all the 373 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.759 busy companies, same thing it was the same. I don't like to use 374 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:41.759 the word charming, ingratiating, welcoming, friendly, funny, one guy funnier 375 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:45.079 then the next. And because they had the downtime, they were good on 376 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:48.400 the meals. I had no. I brought my lunch. I brought my 377 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:52.519 dinner with me because my father never said to me that they prepare a meal. 378 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:56.599 So I had a bag with me. I figured it's like a job, 379 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.480 you'd show up with punch clock. I'm a bagging it and they're like, 380 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:04.279 hey, in on the meal. I'm like, what meal? I 381 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:07.839 brought dinner with me? And of course that's humorous, Like, what do 382 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:08.799 you mean they brought a meal with you? Not in on the meal? 383 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:11.559 You gotta be in on the meal. You have a chicken colored parmejean. 384 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:22.039 Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm in on the meal. I mean I 385 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:26.160 remember to this day that first night. So my impression of the fire service 386 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:32.039 was that when you punch the clock out, you go to fire to fire 387 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:34.000 to fire device, and then they would let you go it the next day 388 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:40.640 and you go. I didn't know you could have bunks and couches and TV 389 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:44.400 and and a meal. So next thing I know, like I said three 390 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:47.119 nineteen was a dead slow company. They're like, okay, the guy's making 391 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.920 chicken color palm. Joh. I'm sitting in the kitchen twiddling my thumbs on 392 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:52.319 like any probe, on the edge of your seat, waiting for the big 393 00:27:52.359 --> 00:27:56.359 one. And next thing you know, they're putting the meal out. And 394 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:59.079 you know, there was some guys they had had some time on putting the 395 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.039 meal out. Let me sit where your bunk is, kid like bunk, 396 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:08.519 all right? They take me upstairs like this that pell Aino is right, 397 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:11.799 Joe. You know, it's just not to through up that. That's like 398 00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:17.839 a common thing we get with a lot of guests that had their fathers on 399 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:22.599 the job obviously before them, that most of the guys back in that time 400 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.680 frame, they didn't talk about the job. The guys get on the job 401 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:30.119 and they almost really are like you, like they don't have any inkling of 402 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:32.880 what the hell's going on, which is like strange to us, you know 403 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:33.960 what I mean, for the most part, like you would think that, 404 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:37.480 I mean, you had a taste of the firehouse, but like little things 405 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:40.599 like that, you don't know about the meal and you don't know about like 406 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:44.200 all these other little things is kind of strange, but it's a common theme. 407 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.799 Yeah, that's my very first night tour. I go, I go 408 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.559 to a family party and my sisters and my mother, Well, how was 409 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:55.319 it last night? That was pretty good man. You know, we had 410 00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:57.079 this really good meal. We had like two runs and I just soundly couch 411 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:03.279 it. I could see my brother's eyes like, bring the next room, 412 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:07.000 they go. Three night is the busiest night you ever had. You don't 413 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:11.200 sleep in the firehouse, you don't watch the firehouse, and you don't eat 414 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:18.359 meals in the firehouse. Ye. What goes on here stays here. So 415 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:22.759 apparently that was the thinking. So I can fast forward. Another story about 416 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:26.039 that revolves my brother when his first assignment, when he went to three fifteen. 417 00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:29.119 Because I didn't talk, I guess I did the same thing. I 418 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:30.039 didn't talk about it that much. I said, let him find out on 419 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:34.440 his own. So, but what with me? So then I finished chicken 420 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:41.000 colored pomege on dinner Delicious. Then I'm sitting around watching TV. I guess 421 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:41.920 for them, it's a regular night. Okay, so you got a new 422 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:45.319 probeat. I guess the lieutenant showed me this, that and the other thing. 423 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:48.839 Polish the pole and make sure your mask is up to blah blah blah. 424 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:52.440 But eventually they wanted to get the night's sleep. So I'm sitting in 425 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:57.160 the kitchen and one by one the guy's disappearing up to the bunk room and 426 00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:00.359 I'm in the kitchen by myself, watching TV. And I go, Now, 427 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:03.680 what am I supposed to do? And I'm sitting there. I go, 428 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:07.200 I guess I'm supposed to go upstairs. They showed me where my bunk 429 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:11.759 was, so I took my flashlight. I went up to the bunk oo 430 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:15.000 and like I said, three nineteen, it was a slow company. Go 431 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:19.680 upstairs. Well you catch your first five Joe. Well, the twist to 432 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:22.519 that story is they're like, don't worry about this place being quiet, kid, 433 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:30.480 because every third night we're going to three thirty two. Ahange change and 434 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.519 he goes, you're gonna get it. You're gonna get plenty of work, 435 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:37.480 kid, don't worry about it. But that night, I said, okay, 436 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:41.400 I s wintered up to bed. I felt so guilty, like do 437 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:45.759 I take my pants off or do I need them on? That is so 438 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:48.799 true. I didn't know I always slept with my pants for like the first 439 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:52.519 couple of years because I didn't know what to do. It's the truth. 440 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:57.000 Well maybe I should have my boots on ready to go, And I said, 441 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:00.680 I don't know what to do, so I yeah, so I think 442 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:03.119 I just took my shoes off late on top of the blankets. Am I 443 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:07.680 ready to go? And I guess eventually I fell asleep, and next thing 444 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:10.400 I know, I had one guy rustling in the bathroom. And you know, 445 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:11.279 next time, I look at the clock and I'm like, oh my 446 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:15.920 god, it's like eight o'clock. We didn't go out the whole night, 447 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:22.119 and I got a chicken cutar palm in my stomach rolling around. So I 448 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:26.480 get up, I go to the bathroom. I go downstairs. The next 449 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:30.119 crew is coming in for breakfast, all the kidding around. Who brought wolves 450 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:33.079 and jelly donuts? And haven't day kid, you haven't coffee. I've drink 451 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:36.759 coffee in my life, Like I'm not really a coffee You gotta drink coffee. 452 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:38.640 It brob, you gotta make the corfie, you gotta make the coffee. 453 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:42.680 So I made the and I sat down and I go and I guess 454 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:48.519 one of the guys said, I didn't know what getting relieved meant on dates. 455 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:52.319 I knew what it meant, but I didn't know what it was how 456 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:56.160 a. But yeah, so they go, uh, you know, Malcolm's 457 00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:59.960 in. He goes, Joe, you want to you want to get relieved? 458 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:02.759 I go, what do you mean get relieved? And he goes, 459 00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:06.039 yeah, I'll take You know, you can leave early if you want. 460 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:08.160 I go on if I'm allowed, and we'll chat. Joe, don't worry, 461 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:10.599 that's part of it, you know, get up. It's not early 462 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:14.680 relief. He'd say, thirty just you know, I got it, and 463 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:19.000 I get my car and I drive home and and my you know, my 464 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:21.039 friends are all I thought. It was like my father thought I was gonna 465 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:23.599 go home smelling like smoke every night. Yeah. I went home, and 466 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:29.440 I'm like everybody from eight engine fellow, but I know eighty eight engine in 467 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:31.319 nineteen sixty nine. And I was gonna say you too to your friends, 468 00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:37.920 but to two thirty six and two nineties, so they were like that, 469 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.400 yeah, oh yeah at that time. So yeah, and three thirty two 470 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:44.440 was right in the same battalion as them. Sure. Yeah. So then 471 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:45.799 they said, don't worry about a kid, you're working Friday night. Your 472 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:49.079 next shift. You know, I'm looking at the calendar. My next shift 473 00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:51.359 is blah blah blah, and I'm like, okay, Friday night. He 474 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:53.960 goes Friday night. It's the summer, and you're going to You're going to 475 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:59.400 three thirty two that night. That's okay, what's you know? I guess 476 00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:00.559 Okay, So I go. What happens? We get on the rig, 477 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:04.680 they call us, we call them, We passed them on the end of 478 00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.039 our parkway, and then we park in the quarters and we become Engine three 479 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:10.519 thirty two for the night. Okay. So I'm like, all right, 480 00:33:12.119 --> 00:33:15.640 and the minute we I mean the minute they put us in service, Engine 481 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:17.680 three thirty two respon in ten seventy five by blah blah blah. And then 482 00:33:19.880 --> 00:33:24.319 the best way I could describe it to people is the scene where Martin Sheen 483 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:31.119 is coming down the river in Apocalypse Now. And that's what it was like. 484 00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:37.640 Riding at two o'clock in the morning in Engine three thirty two. I 485 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.920 thought I was in I thought I was Martin Sheen going down the river in 486 00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:46.039 Apocalypse Now. I'm like, we're passing the car. Yeah, what no, 487 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:49.119 No, I was talking to Cooves man. That's a that's a great 488 00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:52.279 analogy, Yeah, because that's there was smoke all over the place, the 489 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.440 whole the whole area, smoke like smoke. And you know, we we'd 490 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:00.359 be passing a car fire and I'm like, why are we passing this call 491 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:02.119 boy? Because we were responding to a ten seventy five. We can't stop 492 00:34:02.119 --> 00:34:06.400 for a call boy. But yeah, but but you know, and then 493 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.679 house fire, house fire, call, fire, house fire, abandoned building 494 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:12.440 call, fire, house fire. I'm like, oh my god, they're 495 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:15.000 like the kid, you're not going up to bed. It's not like back 496 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:19.440 in Metropolitan Avenue. Don't even go. It's not even worth it going up 497 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:31.199 the stairs. Yeah, that's the look he had too, That's exactly the 498 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:37.000 look. That was great. And some of the members in the background, 499 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:42.199 Yeah, that was some of them. That's freaking awesome, man. And 500 00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:45.159 just like riding through that neighborhood at that time of night in the summer, 501 00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:49.119 especially because it was you know, hot summer, and I was like, 502 00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:52.159 oh my god, this guy's doing this every night. And then yeah, 503 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:53.880 it wasn't like, yeah, I was glad to learn the job and and 504 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:58.800 get catch work and all that stuff, but you know, and I it 505 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:00.239 was new, so I didn't want to back in the quiet, and a 506 00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:02.440 lot of the older guys like, hey, if you like it that much, 507 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:06.760 why don't you make money with me? Yeah, it worked for me 508 00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:12.639 mutual. And again, what's a mutual Friday night? I pay you back 509 00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:20.639 next Tuesday. You can do that. Yeah, Okay, so you pick 510 00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:25.079 it up better and better and better. So yeah, and then let's see, 511 00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:29.880 let's fast forward that a little bit. Well, I just relat a 512 00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:31.920 quick story. We'll talk about it later on with my brother. But again 513 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:35.239 I didn't talk about it that much with him. You know, it's a 514 00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:37.679 job that works better with attraction and promotion. I mean, he saw my 515 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:42.360 father, he saw me enjoying it. He met all the firemen I work 516 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:45.599 with. They were characters, and there was no other choice of him but 517 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:47.679 to take the test for the fire depart But I'll never forget him saying same 518 00:35:47.719 --> 00:35:50.880 thing. I'd never broke him in. I never told him about the meals. 519 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:52.719 I never told him about I don't find that as out. But the 520 00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:57.679 one thing I remember him saying, he goes, Joey, I can't grasp 521 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:00.679 this concept. You know, all the jobs I had grown up, you 522 00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:07.400 have a boss and you have to treat the boss with respect. And I 523 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:08.119 go, why what happened? He goes, well, I got to three 524 00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:12.800 fifteen and just like me, you know, you don't know what's going on, 525 00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:15.800 and you're sitting there and you're wide eyed and you're wonder what's going on. 526 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:19.960 And he goes, and all the guys are in the kitchen, and 527 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:22.760 this lieutenant comes into the kitchen ready to start the roll call at the beginning, 528 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:27.559 and some guy goes, I can't believe I have to work with you. 529 00:36:27.320 --> 00:36:34.039 You buck tooth, blah blah, black filling the expletives. He goes, 530 00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:37.360 Joe the way he was talking, and this is his boss, and 531 00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:39.320 you don't get fired. I go, no, you don't. I don't 532 00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:43.880 know why. But it's one of those jobs that I guess you're allowed to 533 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:47.880 do that, which totally doesn't exist in corporate I mean, you can't probably 534 00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:54.320 exist on anymore either. Probably world's changed drastically. Yeah, but back then, 535 00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:58.239 and I'm not saying it was all the time, but you could you 536 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:00.519 could buy especially if the guys very close to each other, you know, 537 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:04.239 and you could say anything at any time. Yeah, you could bust a 538 00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:08.199 guy. You could bust chops on a boss in a friendly way, I 539 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:12.400 mean, not me. Yeah, but you're allowed to. But you can't 540 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:15.519 in cooperate regular world. You can't even bust your brses chops, even kindly. 541 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:21.119 It's you know, the level of power that he has that kind of 542 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:23.360 didn't exist in the fire. So that was the one thing he related to 543 00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:27.039 me about being on the farre And then he said, is it always like 544 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:28.679 this? And I go, no, there's going to be busy place and 545 00:37:28.760 --> 00:37:31.000 slow places guys. You like working with guys, you know, But the 546 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:35.519 rest of it, yeah, it's you know, it was amazing to me. 547 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:39.239 So then, you know, and I had quite a few tragedies in 548 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:45.679 my life. Nineteen eighty one, I was working in engine. Three nineteen, 549 00:37:46.599 --> 00:37:50.079 you know, we had a fire at my house and my mother was 550 00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:57.119 burned fifty five third degree bone and I just I just left somebody relieved. 551 00:37:57.199 --> 00:37:59.960 I didn't even hear about it. I just got relieved from three nineteen. 552 00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:02.079 I was driving home and I come down my block and I see them pulling 553 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:07.119 furniture out of my parents' house where I was at the time, And the 554 00:38:07.159 --> 00:38:10.159 neighbors came over and they said they just took him all by helicopter to NASA 555 00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:15.920 County Burn Center, and she lived for about five days and then she and 556 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.599 she passed away, yep. And then after that there was you know, 557 00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:23.679 like falling out with my father and stuff like that. So that was tragedy 558 00:38:23.760 --> 00:38:29.480 number one, you know, in my life to go on with. So 559 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:31.079 then that's why I said I was in one fifty one for a while. 560 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:36.159 Because the captain of Engine three nineteen was so gracious and he said, Joe, 561 00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:39.159 under normal circumstances, death leaves about a week, but this is beyond 562 00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:43.760 normal, So take as long as you want, you know, take off 563 00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:45.599 as long as you want. We'll come with you. And so I was 564 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:50.840 off for about two to three weeks, trying to deal with the grief my 565 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:53.239 brothers and sisters and and I just said, you know what, I can't 566 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:57.159 just sit home anymore. I called up and I went back to her, 567 00:38:57.159 --> 00:38:59.079 and he said, Joe, you know, this is a quiet fi I 568 00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:01.199 had everybody like, but you know what, it might be better if you 569 00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:05.960 go to a double house a lot more got funny guys, and it'll just 570 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:07.639 be better for you to be around that many people. So it says we 571 00:39:07.679 --> 00:39:13.360 got a detail to one fifty one UFO until further words. So I took 572 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:16.360 the detail and those firefighters in three or five one fifty one were unbelievable. 573 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:22.119 It was like they adopted me. They were the nicest, funniest, greatest 574 00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:24.079 guys I probably in my whole career that I worked. One twenty nine was 575 00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:29.119 pretty great too, But those guys, and they knew what happened, so 576 00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:31.480 they were real gentle with me, with you know, dealing with it and 577 00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:35.519 it just they were just fantastic and it helped me. But it was a 578 00:39:35.559 --> 00:39:37.199 slower house. I wanted a little bit more work. I still didn't want 579 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:40.639 to commute to the Bronx. So this assignment to one twenty nine came up, 580 00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:45.480 and I took it and transferred to one twenty nine, which from the 581 00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:52.400 day I got there, I mean, it was what a collection of my 582 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:57.679 lieutenant. My lieutenant used to say, he goes, it's like I'm a 583 00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:02.800 what was the movie, uh, the Dirty He goes, It's like I'm 584 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:07.760 working with a dirty dozen, you know, he goes, I one one 585 00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:12.760 character worse than the next, and they were. And we got it, 586 00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:17.239 and we got a slew of Proby's in from Proby School and one was one 587 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:22.199 more unique character than another. Matter of fact, the other firehouses around they 588 00:40:22.280 --> 00:40:24.400 used to call it PS one twenty nine. He was like a bunch of 589 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:30.840 school kids. And I left. And the characters at this job, including 590 00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:32.480 officers at tracks, it's so funny. So I'll never forget. His name 591 00:40:32.519 --> 00:40:37.079 is Captain A todd h He was my captain, and he used to call 592 00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:40.320 him a TODs retards instead instead of a dirty dozen, they used to call 593 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:45.440 him a TODs retards. And that was my shift of guys that I worked 594 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:47.159 with. So I again, I was fairly new. I was only on 595 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:50.400 the job three years, so I it was still with the yes sir. 596 00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:53.719 And also so I never forget I walked in to the firehouse and it was 597 00:40:53.760 --> 00:41:00.239 really a cast of characters old and young and then recently young that you couldn't 598 00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:04.519 even he led them all eight TODs retards. So I'll never forget. I 599 00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:07.760 go up to the office to meet, you know, to he's Joe. 600 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:09.920 The Captain's upstairs. Go upstairs and you know, meet him and stuff like 601 00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:14.159 that. So I'll never forget. I walk in, he's got his boots 602 00:41:14.159 --> 00:41:17.920 on, and on his boots it says right and left, So you knew 603 00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:23.559 which put the boot in, And just as I opened the door, a 604 00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:30.440 golf ball rolls between my legs and I, you know, I saluted, 605 00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:35.639 and he said, hey kid, it's not that kind of place, you 606 00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:37.119 know, Come on in. I'm Captain A Todd. How do you do 607 00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:39.920 blah blah blah. Did they get your bunk? You know you're gonna be 608 00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:45.239 in the truck company. You know these are blah blah blah. Go downstairs, 609 00:41:45.320 --> 00:41:46.679 have Corfee, meet the guys. Stuff like that. So and another 610 00:41:46.719 --> 00:41:50.800 funny thing. I'll never forget it because I wanted to be in a crazy 611 00:41:50.840 --> 00:41:52.400 place three nineteen. It was kind of calm. The guys they were funny, 612 00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:59.159 but not that real busy firehouse funny tracks, those kind of characters. 613 00:41:59.519 --> 00:42:00.519 And I'll never forget as long as I live. I go to go in 614 00:42:00.599 --> 00:42:04.440 the bunk room. He goes, yeah, okay, you're on for the 615 00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:07.599 night to it tonight. They'll show you a bunk before. So I go 616 00:42:07.639 --> 00:42:08.880 to the and I want to get the lay of the place, so I'll 617 00:42:08.880 --> 00:42:13.800 never forget. I walked to the bunker room and on the door of the 618 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:16.960 bunker there's a poster and it says alone in the dark with a bunch of 619 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:23.440 half half dressed men. Oh yes, there is a god. And I 620 00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:28.079 remember between the golf ball going through my legs him have been right and left 621 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:30.360 on his boots, and seeing that, I go, I've arrived on my 622 00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:36.480 plate. I found my happy place. And it turned out to be everything 623 00:42:36.559 --> 00:42:40.480 but everything, including that great Fineman. Well, we all got about eight 624 00:42:40.480 --> 00:42:45.239 to nine probe's out of the next class, one guy greater than the next 625 00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:49.320 personality wise, the older five fifes could have been kind to a gentler and 626 00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:52.960 characters and knew the job and just everything. It was just great. I 627 00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:57.159 would have paid them to be there. Yeah. Now that place is We 628 00:42:57.159 --> 00:43:00.480 were talking about this the pre show a little bit. It was mostly a 629 00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:06.840 blue collar area, right, and then it got really occupied by Asians, 630 00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:14.840 like uh, that is occupied every every crevice, every room, every everywhere. 631 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:16.199 It wasn't like that when you got there, though, right, it 632 00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:22.599 was more no, no, But it very quickly started to turn over. 633 00:43:22.159 --> 00:43:28.519 And it's so populated that it's ridiculous. How populated. It's like Chinatown, 634 00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:30.559 and they used to call it. They change then they call it yeah, 635 00:43:34.079 --> 00:43:37.239 yeah, roof. He made the capital mistake when it comes to Asians, 636 00:43:37.280 --> 00:43:42.360 you know, yeah, bring that up. What do you call them oriental? 637 00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:45.719 Called them oriental? No, I had no idea. I've been saying 638 00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:51.440 oriental for like only fifty five. Was like, dude, you can't say 639 00:43:51.480 --> 00:43:52.880 oriental. I'm like, what are you talking about? I have no idea? 640 00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:59.800 Like, man, give me, Yeah, but I get those guys 641 00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:01.599 were running around over that like they were. They were doing a lot of 642 00:44:01.599 --> 00:44:06.599 work there, right, like running wise and occupied, structural work, busy 643 00:44:06.599 --> 00:44:08.679 as fire aus for call fires because they had the junk yards over there. 644 00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:12.440 Jay Stadium. Yeah, it was. It was great. It was a 645 00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:15.920 great place to work. It was busy, not too many false alarms. 646 00:44:15.960 --> 00:44:21.559 Usually everything we got called out on was something seen. You guys there, 647 00:44:21.559 --> 00:44:24.000 you remember that really stuck out that you have any names or anybody really? 648 00:44:24.239 --> 00:44:28.079 Yeah, well, somebody once told me there's really only ten New York City 649 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:30.639 firemen, and all clones of each other. You know. There's a there's 650 00:44:30.639 --> 00:44:35.800 a black guy, there's a German guy that's really cheap. There's a weird 651 00:44:35.840 --> 00:44:40.480 single guy, and they go, Joe, that's you, and then we're 652 00:44:40.519 --> 00:44:44.920 all clones of each other, you know. So yeah, there was a 653 00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:49.119 guy, Bob Cook. He was a plumber, great fireman. Great uh, 654 00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:52.920 because he was a plumber. He knew everything about taking locks apart and 655 00:44:52.199 --> 00:44:57.000 hinges, and I mean he was one of the great guys, uh to 656 00:44:57.079 --> 00:45:06.880 work with their But it just he was piping. He was because I guess 657 00:45:06.880 --> 00:45:12.079 he knew the trade so well. He knew everything about it. Well, 658 00:45:12.159 --> 00:45:14.360 yeah, you talked about the fires kitchen be able to solve everything, and 659 00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:15.719 that was one of the other things about it. When you sat around, 660 00:45:15.719 --> 00:45:20.840 if you had a plumbing problem or a sighting problem, or there was somebody 661 00:45:20.880 --> 00:45:25.400 that knew how to do it. Yeah, was what's the guy's name that 662 00:45:25.480 --> 00:45:30.239 Freddy? Was Freddy? If he get his last name, probably when you 663 00:45:30.239 --> 00:45:35.079 were on your way out, he was probably he probably got Schluick. He 664 00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:37.519 was the officer there. No, No, he wasn't an office. He 665 00:45:37.639 --> 00:45:49.559 was a tall guy, really tall guy next to you. So well, 666 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:52.639 we had we had a guy, Gary Moroses. He was another great guy. 667 00:45:52.679 --> 00:45:55.320 He used to call him Sasquatch. No, no, he was he 668 00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:59.920 was like six eight. Oh my god. Yeah, they used to they 669 00:46:00.440 --> 00:46:04.119 they used to make fun of him because they said he the skot pack looked 670 00:46:04.119 --> 00:46:09.440 like a vitamin pill on his back. That's how that's how big he was. 671 00:46:09.519 --> 00:46:15.400 Yeah, And they used to they used to terrorize him something awful because 672 00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:20.280 one guy would wait behind the shower because it's funny, I could be a 673 00:46:20.280 --> 00:46:24.519 little risk. You can't I without cursing. They used to kid him because 674 00:46:24.519 --> 00:46:29.039 they go, you know, he's not exactly a porn star in that department, 675 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:32.239 even though he's six even though he's six eight, So a lot of 676 00:46:32.239 --> 00:46:35.800 guys would say, well, if you're six eight, no matter how big 677 00:46:35.840 --> 00:46:40.639 you are, there proportionately it's gonna look. So what they used to do. 678 00:46:40.679 --> 00:46:43.639 They used to wait for him to come out of the shower, and 679 00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:46.320 a guy would like hide behind the door and then pull the towel away from 680 00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:52.000 him and run away. And he'd be covering himself up, and they'd say, 681 00:46:52.039 --> 00:46:53.360 well, they go, Joe, his hand covers everything. I go, 682 00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:55.920 yeah, but his hands as big as a baseball man. Right, 683 00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:02.519 he's probably a porn star in reality. But when you and and maybe he 684 00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:06.840 would be right, guy's long dipping, you know what I mean. He's 685 00:47:06.880 --> 00:47:10.039 going from uh yeah, So then the comedy would the comedy would ensue and 686 00:47:10.039 --> 00:47:13.320 another guy would say, yeah, well that's why I don't exercise my legs. 687 00:47:13.320 --> 00:47:19.039 Because I try to keep my legs as and as possible, you know, 688 00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:22.559 and you know how that comedy goes, that just keeps going and going 689 00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:27.719 and better than the next, better than the next. Yeah, but you 690 00:47:27.800 --> 00:47:30.639 did a pretty decent amount of time. He did what eight years in the 691 00:47:30.119 --> 00:47:32.599 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a great time 692 00:47:32.639 --> 00:47:36.840 that I loved it. Yeah. And then the whole book thing started to 693 00:47:36.840 --> 00:47:39.039 happen, and again I was no, I'll be the person. If anybody 694 00:47:39.039 --> 00:47:42.599 for one two on Ali is listening, they're probably throwing stuff at the screen 695 00:47:42.679 --> 00:47:45.960 right now because they're like, I didn't even cook all that much. And 696 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:50.679 when he take a color bombas John blah blah blah and this whole bomb. 697 00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:53.360 You know. But I just got certified as a fitness trainer and NUTRITIONUS. 698 00:47:53.599 --> 00:47:57.239 I went to n y U. I was starting to do a little personal 699 00:47:57.239 --> 00:48:00.440 fitness training on the side. I just a whim. I took a class 700 00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:04.159 at the New School call how to write a cookbook and get it published. 701 00:48:04.760 --> 00:48:08.280 Now. I didn't go with the idea, oh I'm hell bent on publishing 702 00:48:08.280 --> 00:48:12.199 a cookbook, finding cookbook. I wasn't. I just cooked once in a 703 00:48:12.199 --> 00:48:15.119 while in the fires. And when I did because I didn't want to end 704 00:48:15.199 --> 00:48:17.960 up overweight and out of shape and unfit. I knew it was part of 705 00:48:19.000 --> 00:48:21.679 the job. So I said, you know what, I'm going to try 706 00:48:21.679 --> 00:48:23.360 to clean up the meals a little bit. If you guys don't mind, 707 00:48:23.400 --> 00:48:25.440 I'll jump in tonight. I had some time on then. Yeah, I 708 00:48:25.480 --> 00:48:29.800 got Joe, you got the wheel tonight make whatever. You know, we 709 00:48:29.840 --> 00:48:36.239 don't have to have cheese doesn't have to be eight inches thick on the armagan 710 00:48:40.280 --> 00:48:43.559 but yeah, so I said, it didn't have to, you know, 711 00:48:43.719 --> 00:48:45.800 so that kind of thing. Just tone it down a little bit. And 712 00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:51.760 then I took this course. So Johnsonino, who was in fifty eight engine 713 00:48:51.760 --> 00:48:54.639 he wrote the Firefighter's Cookbook back in eighty four, wound up being on a 714 00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:59.599 New York Times best sellerst for nine weeks in a row. And I did. 715 00:48:59.639 --> 00:49:01.039 I met on, you know, and I was telling them that this 716 00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:04.840 thing kind of happened to me. We actually did a couple of radio show 717 00:49:05.679 --> 00:49:10.400 things together. And but he ended up having a triple bypass, I mean, 718 00:49:10.480 --> 00:49:14.360 due to his eating. Dudeh his fitness. I don't know. I'm 719 00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:16.239 not a doctor, I can't say that. But again, I don't know 720 00:49:16.280 --> 00:49:20.960 that fitness was all that big in the sixties and seventies, especially busy firehouses. 721 00:49:20.960 --> 00:49:22.840 They're like, hey, you know, I can't be bothered. I'm 722 00:49:22.840 --> 00:49:28.719 a busy fire house. I can't be bothered watching what I eat. Yeah, 723 00:49:29.280 --> 00:49:31.960 right, right, Well, Well, I at one twenty nine and 724 00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:35.599 at one of the firefighters at work, and I remember he was making mashed 725 00:49:35.639 --> 00:49:38.400 potatoes for ten people. He had five sticks of butter. He was peeling 726 00:49:38.440 --> 00:49:43.800 him like bananas and dropping him in there and dropping him in the in the 727 00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:45.920 thing, which is fine once in a while, but a steady died of 728 00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:49.719 it, you know, career wise. So that's kind of what I was 729 00:49:49.760 --> 00:49:53.000 looking out for. So I took this course. The teachers went around the 730 00:49:53.039 --> 00:49:57.519 room try to get everybody's ideas for cool. I didn't even have a rough 731 00:49:57.559 --> 00:49:59.679 I had a rough idea. Yeah, if I was going to do a 732 00:49:59.679 --> 00:50:02.559 book, because I have some background and fitness and nutrition and and there was 733 00:50:02.599 --> 00:50:07.519 a successful book, maybe I'll do a healthy one. And that basically that's 734 00:50:07.519 --> 00:50:09.480 how I said it. And the teacher said, wow, that's when he 735 00:50:09.519 --> 00:50:12.960 went around and read that's a pretty good idea. We have an editor coming 736 00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:17.599 in from Herst Publishing to say afternoon. They they're the guns. Look he's 737 00:50:17.639 --> 00:50:23.079 got the gun. Please, you know they would the chop busting I got 738 00:50:23.119 --> 00:50:27.719 because of his picture. Yeah, like that is in the wrong. That's 739 00:50:27.719 --> 00:50:31.760 a sweet potato. That the airbrush, and they go, look at your 740 00:50:31.800 --> 00:50:36.639 crotch, Joe. They blew up the crowd. There's nothing there, you 741 00:50:39.440 --> 00:50:43.679 women, you got off that picture far out weighs the ball bus and you 742 00:50:43.760 --> 00:50:47.360 got worry about it. They go take the sweet potato out of your arm, 743 00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:52.800 put it in your pants with safe you know, you know, all 744 00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:55.480 too well, all too well. And it went, you know, with 745 00:50:55.599 --> 00:50:59.840 the chop busting. But yeah, so the teacher said. An editor came 746 00:50:59.880 --> 00:51:02.639 in that afternoon from Herst Publishing. She gave her a synopsis on what it's 747 00:51:02.679 --> 00:51:06.280 like to publish a book, and she was so strict about it, and 748 00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:08.840 I like, I don't even have recipes ready. These There had seventy five 749 00:51:08.880 --> 00:51:13.400 people in the class who went to ten times the training I did, and 750 00:51:13.519 --> 00:51:16.840 background worked in restaurants, and so I got don't really. So the teacher 751 00:51:16.920 --> 00:51:20.920 ended the client, thank you very much for coming. She opened the floor 752 00:51:20.960 --> 00:51:22.800 for a few minutes and everybody was shooting their ideas to her, and she 753 00:51:22.920 --> 00:51:25.480 was shooting people down left and right. So I'm not even gonna mention it 754 00:51:25.519 --> 00:51:29.599 because I'm not even that ready. And the teacher said, don't be shy 755 00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:32.480 if you have a great idea mentioned you and he goes like, I'll fireman 756 00:51:32.559 --> 00:51:37.039 for instance, Joe, would you stand up and say your idea. I 757 00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:38.159 said it the same way. I said, listen, I've been a firefighter 758 00:51:38.159 --> 00:51:42.599 for fourteen years. Now try to put healthy meals in the fires. It 759 00:51:42.679 --> 00:51:45.719 was a successful book and I was on the best seller list, but I 760 00:51:45.760 --> 00:51:51.199 would probably do a healthy version of that healthy Firehouse cookbook. And then he 761 00:51:52.559 --> 00:51:55.840 the editor, said, oh my god, what a great idea you know. 762 00:51:55.920 --> 00:51:58.639 And she says, come up after the class, I want to talk 763 00:51:58.679 --> 00:52:00.800 to you. And everybody, everybody in the class is ready to kill me. 764 00:52:02.519 --> 00:52:07.760 They're sitting there with three hundred recipes ready to go, and here's this 765 00:52:07.840 --> 00:52:12.760 clown comes in with like a notepad and a pencil, and they did they't 766 00:52:12.760 --> 00:52:15.719 want to publish a book. So then, of course I went back to 767 00:52:15.800 --> 00:52:19.079 the fire house to tell them and they were like, you gotta be kidding 768 00:52:19.159 --> 00:52:22.119 me. What book you wor aaddy? I'm telling you. I took this 769 00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:28.599 class that the hall adding, and then they put it in. I put 770 00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:30.000 in. They didn't want it to be New York fireming cookbook. They wanted 771 00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:36.280 to that national appeal. So I put it in at a firehouse magazine and 772 00:52:36.320 --> 00:52:38.159 he asked for recipes from across the country. I got about sixty to eighty. 773 00:52:38.599 --> 00:52:42.599 I used about thirty or forty in my own. And then guys I 774 00:52:42.639 --> 00:52:47.840 work with guys I went to Proby School with around the job and also around 775 00:52:47.880 --> 00:52:51.840 the country. Put the thing together, put the proposal together, put it 776 00:52:51.880 --> 00:52:53.679 and they said, Okay, it's a go. It's gonna happen, And 777 00:52:53.840 --> 00:52:57.840 they put it together. You shoot the cover and next thing you know, 778 00:52:58.400 --> 00:53:00.599 it was crazy. It was It was crazy. It was off to the 779 00:53:00.679 --> 00:53:06.039 races. And that's the second book. Yeah, that was the second book. 780 00:53:06.079 --> 00:53:07.000 Yeah, back to the first one. Let me see the first that's 781 00:53:07.000 --> 00:53:09.880 the one. I happened to just find that one on the well. I 782 00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:14.679 aged progressively as the books go on. Yeah, I was gonna say, 783 00:53:15.519 --> 00:53:17.559 Junior, how did how did it sell? Joe? How did it do? 784 00:53:19.039 --> 00:53:22.960 The first one actually did really well. And then you know, I 785 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:25.360 got a funny story about that. They put me on QBC to sell the 786 00:53:25.400 --> 00:53:30.280 book, and the uh it was right at the time of the Oklahoma City 787 00:53:30.320 --> 00:53:35.880 bombing. So and you know, you're on for like ten minutes. It's 788 00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:38.360 completely business with them. So I could see the clicker on the side. 789 00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:40.360 It was like, you know, one hundred books, one hundred and fifty 790 00:53:40.440 --> 00:53:44.440 two hundred eight. Oh Joseph fireman in New York. And he's a cookbook 791 00:53:44.440 --> 00:53:49.880 guy, and he didn't doing this healthy Firehouse cookbook. He's a nutritionist and 792 00:53:49.920 --> 00:53:52.480 the fitness trainer and and the books and so a woman we're going to take 793 00:53:52.480 --> 00:53:57.000 a call from the audience. This woman couldn't have been better. She says, 794 00:53:57.000 --> 00:54:00.639 Oh, my grandson's a uh fireman the Oklahoma City bombing, and I'm 795 00:54:00.639 --> 00:54:05.320 buying this book to give to him an honor, and I hope he makes 796 00:54:05.320 --> 00:54:07.679 some of the recipes out of it. She couldn't have been better. I 797 00:54:07.719 --> 00:54:15.039 looked at the clicker was going like a Roulette wheel. I'm like, wow, 798 00:54:15.159 --> 00:54:17.880 holy catch. It was three thousand. We were selling three hundred books 799 00:54:17.880 --> 00:54:35.719 a minute. Wow. Well I'm not I'm not shorry about that part of 800 00:54:35.760 --> 00:54:38.480 it either, because everybody thought, like, because you're going good Morning America, 801 00:54:38.559 --> 00:54:42.400 read first of all those shows, don't pay you. You're promoting a 802 00:54:42.400 --> 00:54:45.880 book. And the other thing is the money that you make as a first 803 00:54:45.880 --> 00:54:50.800 time author. Is it what like up? Not a lot? And then 804 00:54:50.840 --> 00:54:54.159 they start cutting up. The agent gets fifteen percent. You're not a professional 805 00:54:54.199 --> 00:55:01.039 recipe writer. You should get him in here. He's getting someone. Someone's 806 00:55:01.039 --> 00:55:12.800 calling them all. Yeah, so uh yeah, my girlfriend does recipe writing. 807 00:55:12.840 --> 00:55:15.920 She's got to look over all the recipes. She gets eight thousand dollars, 808 00:55:16.239 --> 00:55:20.280 this one gets this, this one gets that. And by the time 809 00:55:20.320 --> 00:55:22.760 they chop it up, and I'm not complaining about it at all, but 810 00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:28.960 you don't get the guys a thought like, oh, Joe's gonna be at 811 00:55:29.000 --> 00:55:34.320 a millionaire And I'm saying, listen, got eight thousand dollars she charged you 812 00:55:34.360 --> 00:55:39.519 eight grand? I mean sheet no. But you know you got to keep 813 00:55:39.559 --> 00:55:42.960 your head because you can't say to them, no, I'll do it myself. 814 00:55:43.039 --> 00:55:45.079 Because then said, okay, well we'll see in a couple of years. 815 00:55:45.159 --> 00:55:47.840 You bounce around the recipes. So you got to be gracious and say, 816 00:55:47.880 --> 00:55:51.880 okay, if that's what you be done, and you do that, 817 00:55:52.119 --> 00:55:54.320 I think we have you on Good Morning America, right guns, which one 818 00:55:54.360 --> 00:55:57.599 is that's the first one you want to do? Yeah, I think, 819 00:55:58.039 --> 00:55:59.920 all right, yes, let me see what we have here for you. 820 00:56:00.079 --> 00:56:02.679 This could be bad, this could be good. No, no, no, 821 00:56:02.679 --> 00:56:07.320 no, not at all. Sorry. I had to get to the 822 00:56:07.360 --> 00:56:21.760 right one. It's gonna be bad, Joe, it's gonna be television. 823 00:56:21.800 --> 00:56:25.880 There's people. That's the wrong. You sent me go to the next one. 824 00:56:25.960 --> 00:56:30.000 I mean, you gotta go to the second one. What's the second 825 00:56:30.039 --> 00:56:31.800 one? Later a minute? The second one was the twenty second clip you 826 00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:35.639 wanted me to play? Which was that the one? He does this to 827 00:56:35.679 --> 00:56:37.960 me all the time to worry Asian guy? Which guy? Let me see 828 00:56:38.320 --> 00:56:45.199 the white people are Asian guy? Look at his face. I can't help 829 00:56:45.199 --> 00:56:47.760 it myself. He's screwed me up. Sorry, you only got three of 830 00:56:47.840 --> 00:56:52.360 them. Christ So here we go, Here we go. This is which 831 00:56:52.360 --> 00:56:55.079 one? Is this him? Here? Is this the one? Yeah? 832 00:56:55.159 --> 00:57:01.199 Yeah, okay, you know you don't need to have a point weather or 833 00:57:01.239 --> 00:57:07.239 even the garden. One I ever had was in the remember that guy Winter 834 00:57:07.960 --> 00:57:14.559 minus thirty ring in a tiny apartment with barbecue on the fire escape and then 835 00:57:14.840 --> 00:57:22.400 ate it on the blanket on the you're really today really started talking like you 836 00:57:22.440 --> 00:57:29.679 know where you work? This is the one, right, God? I 837 00:57:29.719 --> 00:57:35.360 didn't like it too spicy because you walk out such a nice party. Hello, 838 00:57:35.639 --> 00:57:39.559 how you doing chicken rice? Yeah, we can do chicken rice, 839 00:57:39.639 --> 00:57:47.400 but no spicy, no spicy. It's why you still doing White people hate 840 00:57:47.400 --> 00:57:52.159 flavor. To cut it off? Why you be with him so pussy? 841 00:57:52.239 --> 00:58:02.039 Can't even have food festival must be planned food festival only. Okay, okay, 842 00:58:02.800 --> 00:58:09.039 to get you one. Where do you find these things? You guys? 843 00:58:09.599 --> 00:58:22.519 You guys were a trip. Man, You guys were a trip before 844 00:58:22.599 --> 00:58:29.239 before doing guys in the firehouse that were about it or jealous or any of 845 00:58:29.280 --> 00:58:34.800 that stuff. Did you ever have any bad? Not too bad, because 846 00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:38.639 I didn't. I was totally not arrogant about it. Every time I did 847 00:58:38.679 --> 00:58:42.440 anything on TV, I brought them in, you know, I said, 848 00:58:42.440 --> 00:58:45.559 listen, this is a team effort, and you know, and for us 849 00:58:45.559 --> 00:58:51.239 to go get Chaufford into them by limousine into the Regis filming show with ten 850 00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:52.840 of us in the audience. Yeah, so I tried to share whatever. 851 00:58:52.960 --> 00:58:58.400 I'm sure there were a few that it was always Yeah, it wasn't. 852 00:58:58.480 --> 00:59:00.400 It wasn't all that bad. I mean towards the end it started to get 853 00:59:00.400 --> 00:59:05.719 because then they did a second book, and then you know, they wanted 854 00:59:05.719 --> 00:59:08.760 to come to the firehouse a lot and do a story. And again i'd 855 00:59:08.800 --> 00:59:13.119 be the first one to say I was pretty average in the cooking department. 856 00:59:13.800 --> 00:59:15.559 Eventually I got it better and better, and then I said, I need 857 00:59:15.599 --> 00:59:20.119 some chops in this department. So I anted a few contests and I won 858 00:59:20.199 --> 00:59:22.679 them. So I go, can you leave me alone? I want to 859 00:59:22.960 --> 00:59:25.159 you guys enter a contest then and see how you do. So I want 860 00:59:25.159 --> 00:59:30.599 a couple of contests. But yeah, and I'd like to think I was 861 00:59:30.719 --> 00:59:35.119 a good fireman and generally liked. And I wasn't like, hey, you 862 00:59:35.199 --> 00:59:37.519 guys are low leaf fireman, I'm a cookbook author or anything like, you 863 00:59:37.559 --> 00:59:42.880 know, so I was not in the least And I tried to share it 864 00:59:42.920 --> 00:59:46.599 with everybody as much in as often as possible. And I would be the 865 00:59:46.639 --> 00:59:50.000 first one to say I was a little lucky. The right place at the 866 00:59:50.039 --> 00:59:52.599 right time could happen to anybody who's happened to happen to me, So share 867 00:59:52.639 --> 00:59:58.199 it what you can, whether it was a news article or in person or 868 00:59:59.079 --> 01:00:00.719 whatever. So, yeah, that's kind of how I treated it. What 869 01:00:00.800 --> 01:00:04.960 was your best meal? What was your favorite meal? Yeah, you're gonna 870 01:00:04.960 --> 01:00:09.159 say the go to or my favorite, my fable. My favorite was, 871 01:00:09.280 --> 01:00:15.119 and especially if you had to work, was Thanksgiving dinner and everything from soup 872 01:00:15.159 --> 01:00:19.519 to nuts, from the salad to the dessert, to the turkey, to 873 01:00:19.599 --> 01:00:23.360 the stuffing, to the homemade cranberry sauce, to make a dessert. No, 874 01:00:23.480 --> 01:00:30.519 that was agna, make the dessert. Just everything about the Thanksgiving and 875 01:00:30.519 --> 01:00:32.679 then the fact that you're actually working on Thanksgiving, you know, and you 876 01:00:32.679 --> 01:00:37.880 you were saying before Gonzo that you're saying, how the don't tell anybody how 877 01:00:37.920 --> 01:00:42.360 the about the meal and the what you know? So I would always laugh. 878 01:00:42.400 --> 01:00:44.440 I would always say it was funny. I wasn't married. Most of 879 01:00:44.440 --> 01:00:46.320 the firefighters are married. So then they would get a phone call that working 880 01:00:46.360 --> 01:00:52.400 with me on Thanksgiving and we're putting out a beautiful Thanksgiving spread, and then 881 01:00:52.440 --> 01:00:53.679 the phone call comes for the wife, Oh, we wish you were here. 882 01:00:53.760 --> 01:00:58.239 Aunt Connie misses you, and uncle Bill and Connie, we wish you 883 01:00:58.239 --> 01:01:00.239 were And he'd be like, oh, you don't know how old it is 884 01:01:00.239 --> 01:01:01.719 for me to be here. And then you hang thee up, give me 885 01:01:01.760 --> 01:01:10.119 the goddamn remote control. I'm so don't exactly they were so like, but 886 01:01:10.239 --> 01:01:13.039 to the wife, they're like, yeah, you know, honey, I 887 01:01:13.079 --> 01:01:15.920 miss you too, and I just wish I was there because you know how 888 01:01:15.960 --> 01:01:17.320 much I love your aunt Connie and uncle Bill. And they're like, I 889 01:01:17.360 --> 01:01:22.440 can't stay. I'm so glad I'm here. So it's kind of like we 890 01:01:22.480 --> 01:01:23.599 do when we go to the trade shows. The wife said, we go 891 01:01:23.679 --> 01:01:28.199 out and din. Yeah, probably mac Donalds or something. Meanwhile, is 892 01:01:28.199 --> 01:01:31.559 that Louis like, yeah, give me a sixteen ounce pil a. Yeah, 893 01:01:34.599 --> 01:01:40.119 need a wedge, valid wedge it right. But they caught onto that. 894 01:01:40.280 --> 01:01:45.559 She's like, oh, you going out to McDonalds again tonight. So 895 01:01:45.760 --> 01:01:50.159 Thanksgiving meal in general, I did like to mess around with desserts, which 896 01:01:50.199 --> 01:01:53.119 isn't really a big deal in the firehouse, but if we had the time 897 01:01:53.199 --> 01:01:57.039 later on, Like I make a pretty good carrot cake. Again, it's 898 01:01:57.039 --> 01:02:00.239 a healthy carrot cake that was in my first so I would make a carry 899 01:02:00.280 --> 01:02:08.960 cake and sometimes Johnsonino was very famous for his rice pudding. Yeah, but 900 01:02:09.880 --> 01:02:15.320 I'm certain if there's a lieutenant listening right now, he worked in one twenty 901 01:02:15.400 --> 01:02:17.400 nine one night. He said, I make a better rice pudding than anybody 902 01:02:17.440 --> 01:02:21.360 on the job, including Johnsonino, and I said, well, I'd like 903 01:02:21.440 --> 01:02:22.599 to get the recipe from you, and he wouldn't let me. He wouldn't 904 01:02:22.599 --> 01:02:27.360 give it to me, wouldn't let me watch him. And if you're listening, 905 01:02:27.360 --> 01:02:30.000 lieutenant, get hold of the show and get hold of me. Sometimes 906 01:02:30.039 --> 01:02:34.360 i'd like to get that wrestling. I'm sure he's retired, but I don't 907 01:02:34.360 --> 01:02:37.440 recall his name, but man, and he was the only thing I caught 908 01:02:37.519 --> 01:02:39.679 him doing was he was putting like eight or nine egg yolks in the milk, 909 01:02:42.079 --> 01:02:45.719 which really thickens it up. So but he wouldn't tell me anything else. 910 01:02:45.760 --> 01:02:49.400 He was real secretive about it. I forget his name, but it 911 01:02:49.440 --> 01:02:52.239 was a good, real good handful of easy things that guys can do can 912 01:02:52.519 --> 01:02:59.119 go from batty to semi healthy. Well, a perfect example is what you 913 01:02:59.159 --> 01:03:04.320 said before bakeing chicken cutlets instead of deep flying them. I had a guy 914 01:03:04.360 --> 01:03:07.159 from Latter one thirty one night work with me, and he goes, oh, 915 01:03:07.199 --> 01:03:10.440 that's interesting. We made meat loaf and instead of you know, use 916 01:03:10.440 --> 01:03:15.159 a leaner cut of beef, of course, but I would make it on 917 01:03:15.199 --> 01:03:20.119 a rack so that the fat drippings would all drain off. So that's the 918 01:03:20.119 --> 01:03:23.239 way to make meat loaf without it swimming in the junk of the bottom of 919 01:03:23.280 --> 01:03:28.239 it. So it's like a little this little perfectly. Like I said about 920 01:03:28.320 --> 01:03:30.880 mash potatoes, Yeah, of course you put four sticks of butter in for 921 01:03:30.960 --> 01:03:35.760 eight people. Yeah, of course butter. It tastes great. But what 922 01:03:35.800 --> 01:03:38.599 I would do is I would roast garlic like six or seven heads. Roast 923 01:03:38.639 --> 01:03:43.119 the gallic in the oven and tinfoil, squeeze the garlic out, and then 924 01:03:43.159 --> 01:03:49.239 mix that out. Mix that out with the mashed potatoes. Taste and fine, 925 01:03:50.280 --> 01:03:52.360 you know, one of the taste and fine. So what you know, 926 01:03:53.119 --> 01:03:57.559 Like I said, there's so many little things you can do in general. 927 01:03:57.639 --> 01:04:00.199 Like I said, the chicken color palmejeon in and of itself is really 928 01:04:00.440 --> 01:04:04.079 not all that bad. And most of the Flyhouse meals are protein and carbohydrate 929 01:04:04.159 --> 01:04:09.280 based. You know, chicken color parmejan what is its pasta? No, 930 01:04:09.559 --> 01:04:14.079 you have to have a three h piece of sheet rock cheese on the top 931 01:04:14.119 --> 01:04:20.599 of You don't have to sheat rock the chicken colored parmesan with a sheet rock 932 01:04:20.639 --> 01:04:26.039 sized piece of cheese on it, you can just shred it and put and 933 01:04:26.480 --> 01:04:31.679 probably reduce the fat and cholesterol in it by two thirds at least, right, 934 01:04:32.199 --> 01:04:35.280 you know, And again I'm not I was never so about it, 935 01:04:35.280 --> 01:04:40.480 because there's always time for as long as you're fit already this time, there 936 01:04:40.559 --> 01:04:45.320 is a time to just go all out and eat whatever you want. You 937 01:04:45.360 --> 01:04:47.760 know. I think I may have even made that mistake in the urge to 938 01:04:47.760 --> 01:04:51.159 be jacked, swollen or whatever you called it, you know, and not 939 01:04:51.400 --> 01:04:57.639 taken into consideration that you went to some all hands from twelve midnight to four 940 01:04:57.639 --> 01:05:00.639 point thirty in the morning, which is warmly supposed to be sleeping. And 941 01:05:00.679 --> 01:05:03.360 then I would come back and say, oh, well, yeah, I 942 01:05:03.360 --> 01:05:08.199 guess that'll help burn off some fat. No that I went back into the 943 01:05:08.239 --> 01:05:11.320 chicken color palmejan and dove into it at three o'clock in the morning, four 944 01:05:11.320 --> 01:05:15.159 o'clock in the morning, you earned an extra meal, you know, working 945 01:05:15.199 --> 01:05:23.039 extra right after that. But yeah, so you know, I was never 946 01:05:23.119 --> 01:05:26.639 a strict one hundred percent advocate. Nobody could live like that for long, 947 01:05:27.159 --> 01:05:30.159 you know. I'm even competitive athletes and bodybuilders. I mean they you know, 948 01:05:30.280 --> 01:05:32.280 yeah, they trained for a contest or whatever they're doing, but then 949 01:05:32.320 --> 01:05:35.360 they have times when they go off. I mean that a woman, and 950 01:05:35.400 --> 01:05:40.239 that's again that we talked about the tradition of eating in and around the fires. 951 01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:42.960 I mean, that's part of our tradition, is having a meal together. 952 01:05:42.960 --> 01:05:45.480 And that was the other thing I was missing too, is if you're 953 01:05:45.519 --> 01:05:49.280 out on the meal because you're dieting, Uh, you don't get the camaraderie. 954 01:05:49.320 --> 01:05:53.480 You don't get to sue it everybody. And also and also the good 955 01:05:53.519 --> 01:05:58.320 food and then a gun. If you'll all appreciate this, I'm sure we 956 01:05:58.400 --> 01:06:02.239 used to always say this short universal is they would say, free food has 957 01:06:02.239 --> 01:06:04.880 no calories. So I go, what do you need? So, you 958 01:06:04.920 --> 01:06:08.679 know, a guy would you know exactly where I'm going with this. So 959 01:06:08.719 --> 01:06:12.360 a guy would say, Bill, you know dinner tonight. Oh no, 960 01:06:12.360 --> 01:06:14.719 no, I'm on a little bit of a diet. Well, liutense going 961 01:06:14.719 --> 01:06:23.719 on vacation. The meals free, all right. I mean I said free 962 01:06:23.800 --> 01:06:30.000 food has no calories. You guys would do that all the time. Yea, 963 01:06:30.119 --> 01:06:32.800 yeah, yeah, no, I'm not a little bit of a diet. 964 01:06:32.880 --> 01:06:36.840 Watch what I eat a little bit of weight? Well, vacation, 965 01:06:38.280 --> 01:06:41.800 yeah yeah, vacation. So the meals are on the arm. Oh yeah, 966 01:06:42.599 --> 01:06:49.239 I'm in. And of course the universal, the universal firefighter out on 967 01:06:49.280 --> 01:06:53.400 the meal but sneaking it at three o'clock in the morning, making a chicken 968 01:06:53.400 --> 01:07:01.280 colored sandwich for himself. The seagull I forgot that expression, right, A 969 01:07:01.400 --> 01:07:05.440 seagull out on the meal. But he's in when everybody goes to bed. 970 01:07:05.800 --> 01:07:10.679 The guys in one o three they used to take like the dirtiest sponge when 971 01:07:10.679 --> 01:07:13.840 they knew that one of those guys was working. They would egg it and 972 01:07:13.880 --> 01:07:15.880 bread it and put the cheese on it and sauce and lay it like right 973 01:07:15.920 --> 01:07:20.679 on the top. I tell everybody except that person, And I've seen the 974 01:07:20.719 --> 01:07:26.199 guy eat it one time. I've seen it one day. You'll eat the 975 01:07:26.239 --> 01:07:29.440 ice cream too. Maybe they're not going to eat, but you'll see him 976 01:07:29.440 --> 01:07:32.559 in eating the ice cream. Bro. Yeah, because you know, listen, 977 01:07:32.599 --> 01:07:36.360 you're gonna be there for fifteen hours, you know. And because I 978 01:07:36.360 --> 01:07:40.079 had a background of fitness and nutrition, I was the first one to help 979 01:07:40.119 --> 01:07:42.039 if they asked for it, or listen, Joe, I need to lose 980 01:07:42.079 --> 01:07:45.119 weight. Can you figure out nutrition? De it for me something that I 981 01:07:45.119 --> 01:07:47.199 could live with. But you know, I guess they would go with all 982 01:07:47.239 --> 01:07:56.480 of these crazy uh the Captain of was it two ninety nine? And you 983 01:07:56.559 --> 01:07:58.360 know it was a little overweight. He was asking me. He goes, 984 01:07:58.440 --> 01:08:01.480 Joe, you eat like a like a linebacker and you never gain any weight. 985 01:08:01.719 --> 01:08:05.679 I go, yeah, because I'm eating regularly. I'm eating right mix 986 01:08:05.719 --> 01:08:10.880 of protein, fat and carbohydrate calories. There's exercises, and he goes, 987 01:08:11.000 --> 01:08:14.199 I think I got to go in this cabbage soup diet. So I'm like, 988 01:08:14.239 --> 01:08:16.600 cabbage soup. Oh yeah, I sort on one of these talk shows. 989 01:08:16.640 --> 01:08:20.439 You eat cabbage soup, like just cabbage soup three times a day for 990 01:08:20.520 --> 01:08:25.319 ten days, and you can lose ten pounds of ugly fat instant, almost 991 01:08:25.319 --> 01:08:30.640 instantly. I get you could do that by cutting your head off, less 992 01:08:30.640 --> 01:08:38.119 painful probably, but I still let Joe. But anyway, but the problem 993 01:08:38.119 --> 01:08:42.199 with the cabbage soup diet personally. He was a big man, naturally big 994 01:08:42.239 --> 01:08:45.760 anyway, very strong too in the gym. Uh yeah, I said, 995 01:08:45.760 --> 01:08:48.000 you have good muscles under there. You just get carrying too much body fat. 996 01:08:48.079 --> 01:08:51.000 You gotta be a cool cardio. Clean up your diet a little bit. 997 01:08:51.239 --> 01:08:54.840 I go, cabbage soup is not going to jump started. Plus you 998 01:08:54.880 --> 01:08:57.279 have a big appetite. That's how come you do. You're a big man, 999 01:08:57.840 --> 01:09:01.039 and for you to be roaming around the fire house sipping on cabbage soup 1000 01:09:01.079 --> 01:09:05.560 while everybody's eating chicken culor parmesan. It's driving me crazy. So I go. 1001 01:09:05.640 --> 01:09:09.960 You can eat chicken cutlored palmejan You don't have to load up on the 1002 01:09:09.960 --> 01:09:13.840 passet. Maybe you have a salad beforehand, eat a little bit better during 1003 01:09:13.840 --> 01:09:15.800 the day, not to mention if all you're eating is cabbage. Shoot, 1004 01:09:15.800 --> 01:09:21.239 you can imagine what the fire I smell like. Oh my god, I 1005 01:09:21.279 --> 01:09:27.520 go, you're killing us. You're killing us and you're not even losing exactly. 1006 01:09:30.119 --> 01:09:32.279 Look, did you have a roof? Did you ever work the guy 1007 01:09:33.840 --> 01:09:41.239 eight Burmeister? Yeah, I know the name. He used to have like 1008 01:09:41.279 --> 01:09:45.199 an egg sandwich I don't have many yolks and bacon, And then he used 1009 01:09:45.199 --> 01:09:49.159 to put the bacon fat oil in his cup and he would drink the bacon 1010 01:09:49.199 --> 01:09:55.279 oil with his egg sandwich. I'm like, holy shit, it's a sight 1011 01:09:55.359 --> 01:09:58.159 to be seen, it really is. My mother used to cook eggs in 1012 01:09:58.239 --> 01:10:01.920 the morning with the bacon fat. Yeah a bacon Germany. Yeah yeah. 1013 01:10:01.960 --> 01:10:06.640 They would splash the hot bacon fat over the egg. Yeah yeah yeah. 1014 01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:11.319 I shied away from that years ago. I just used a regular nonstick ship 1015 01:10:11.359 --> 01:10:15.079 but yeah, that's heart attack waiting to happen. Obviously she passed away early 1016 01:10:15.119 --> 01:10:18.079 because he didn't habits. But thank god didn't yet Louis, thank god, 1017 01:10:18.119 --> 01:10:21.680 a little buddy. They they stayed away from the light, stayed away from 1018 01:10:21.680 --> 01:10:27.960 the away from the light, little buddy. See hereditary some of it, 1019 01:10:28.479 --> 01:10:30.640 Joe right, because we had to get two stints just recently. Yeah, 1020 01:10:30.720 --> 01:10:35.359 there's a genetic factor to it too, But more of it I saw it 1021 01:10:35.479 --> 01:10:39.640 was not genetic. More of it. I saw it was kind of lifestyle 1022 01:10:39.680 --> 01:10:45.880 related. And again it's a funny place if as kitchen, that's hard to 1023 01:10:45.880 --> 01:10:48.000 push information. You really can't push information. You kind of get it, 1024 01:10:48.079 --> 01:10:51.119 let it, let it go by attraction. I always said, by attraction, 1025 01:10:51.239 --> 01:10:56.479 not promotion. So not listen. If you're a fit, you go 1026 01:10:56.560 --> 01:10:59.880 to a job to lieutenants on the second floor landing with his mask off, 1027 01:11:00.119 --> 01:11:01.439 he can't catch his breath, he's out of completely out of breath. He 1028 01:11:01.560 --> 01:11:03.960 knows. I don't have to say anything. Even a fellow fireman, I 1029 01:11:03.960 --> 01:11:06.960 don't have to say anything. He knows, and he's like, you know, 1030 01:11:08.039 --> 01:11:10.199 I got to do something about this. So then you're like, okay, 1031 01:11:10.239 --> 01:11:14.920 well it's fixable. Let's let's let's do something about it because it makes 1032 01:11:14.920 --> 01:11:18.479 for better job performance, longevity, you know. I mean I always hear 1033 01:11:18.640 --> 01:11:21.000 guys, screw the city, screw the city. I go. The best 1034 01:11:21.039 --> 01:11:26.039 way you could screw the city is enough, live, live forever, live 1035 01:11:26.079 --> 01:11:30.199 long enough to collect until you're one hundred. Yeah, you know, and 1036 01:11:30.439 --> 01:11:34.840 I like you ought to be doing like when they're traveling back in time. 1037 01:11:34.880 --> 01:11:38.319 Bro, that's half all you want to go, man, not just star 1038 01:11:38.399 --> 01:11:42.359 trek. Yeah. I have a few fitness related funny stories like that, 1039 01:11:42.439 --> 01:11:44.479 like that that captain, That's what he said to me. He said, 1040 01:11:44.560 --> 01:11:48.800 Uh, well, they always have funny witticisms, which amazing. They should 1041 01:11:48.800 --> 01:11:50.640 be in a comic book. I'll never forget the one guy I was. 1042 01:11:51.000 --> 01:11:55.199 I wasn't promoning. I was eating. Ah, not the bad gentleman. 1043 01:11:55.279 --> 01:11:57.720 You know, it's healthy things. Goes had an uncle. It was just 1044 01:11:57.880 --> 01:12:00.319 like you. Guy got a great build on to me had He had a 1045 01:12:00.319 --> 01:12:03.079 great build on him. And he was walking across the street one day he 1046 01:12:03.119 --> 01:12:08.079 was killed. He was hit by a vitamin truck and killed. I love 1047 01:12:08.159 --> 01:12:12.880 those, right, I don't know it just like you. He was buried 1048 01:12:12.920 --> 01:12:19.960 in a V shaped coffin you know, so they always had like a comeback. 1049 01:12:20.239 --> 01:12:24.199 I'll never I always use the mistake. It's harder as you get alda 1050 01:12:24.239 --> 01:12:30.600 mentally to go through hard workouts. Lieutenant Wilfred the Wolf smellsing from engine three 1051 01:12:30.720 --> 01:12:32.880 nineteen and that's how they got their name the Lone Wolf from him. Legendary 1052 01:12:33.199 --> 01:12:39.520 officer character like no other. And I'll never forget. At the height of 1053 01:12:39.640 --> 01:12:42.000 like getting into three nineteen, I was in great Shair and worked out in 1054 01:12:42.039 --> 01:12:45.039 the base and I come upstairs. I'm all sweaty, pumped up from working 1055 01:12:45.039 --> 01:12:47.279 out, and he's laying on the couch and he goes, Joe, I 1056 01:12:47.319 --> 01:12:50.640 tell you what, when I see you come up those stairs, it's like 1057 01:12:50.680 --> 01:12:55.239 an inspiration to me. And he sits up from laying down on the couch 1058 01:12:55.279 --> 01:12:57.119 at the milk on he sits up and he goes, it's it's like an 1059 01:12:57.159 --> 01:13:00.000 inspiration to me. And he goes, I just like I feel like I 1060 01:13:00.039 --> 01:13:03.720 should work out. And then he says, he says, I think I'll 1061 01:13:03.760 --> 01:13:15.319 lay down to the feeling pantses and and the other thing I remember him saying, 1062 01:13:15.680 --> 01:13:20.439 which is true for a firefighters listening young and old about throwing the fitness 1063 01:13:20.479 --> 01:13:26.399 and nutrition out the window completely, he says. Most he wound up saying 1064 01:13:26.720 --> 01:13:28.880 if I knew, if I knew I was going to live this long, 1065 01:13:28.960 --> 01:13:32.159 I would have taken better care of myself. That's the one that kind of 1066 01:13:32.279 --> 01:13:34.920 that's the one that kind of really thinks. So you want to be sticking 1067 01:13:34.960 --> 01:13:40.199 around, and it's how does a guarantee longevity, like you said before, 1068 01:13:40.439 --> 01:13:43.800 accused of had genetics and stuff. Maybe not, but your quality of life 1069 01:13:43.920 --> 01:13:46.680 is going to be better. And that goes with also being a firefighter. 1070 01:13:46.760 --> 01:13:50.880 Listen, I never wanted they said, let no man's ghosts return to say 1071 01:13:50.880 --> 01:13:54.279 his training let him down. Well, I don't want to be hanging out 1072 01:13:54.279 --> 01:13:58.760 of a window not being able to pull somebody up because I can't do a 1073 01:13:58.760 --> 01:14:00.279 pull up or I can't do a push up, or I can't you know, 1074 01:14:00.520 --> 01:14:04.399 it's a job that requires physical strength and stamming it, you know, 1075 01:14:04.479 --> 01:14:09.479 and it's part of the responsibility. You lose the I mean, you lose 1076 01:14:09.520 --> 01:14:13.119 the ability the concept of being out of shape the minute you take the job. 1077 01:14:13.159 --> 01:14:15.680 It's part of the responsibility of being a firefighter. Now you don't have 1078 01:14:15.760 --> 01:14:19.439 to be mister America. You don't have to be a powerlifted but be it 1079 01:14:19.600 --> 01:14:25.119 reasonably fit. Reasonably fit means you should be able to I say, at 1080 01:14:25.199 --> 01:14:30.279 least ten push ups, five pull ups, twenty three hand squats, and 1081 01:14:30.359 --> 01:14:35.159 maybe comfortably jog you know, two or three laps around high school track. 1082 01:14:36.319 --> 01:14:40.279 I mean that's the low end of the spectrum. You want to be an 1083 01:14:40.279 --> 01:14:43.640 elite athlete, that's a whole other story, but at the bare minimum, 1084 01:14:43.880 --> 01:14:45.520 you know. So, yeah, it worked. It worked by attraction. 1085 01:14:45.640 --> 01:14:48.279 You know. Listen, if the older firefighters aren't getting it, and they 1086 01:14:49.159 --> 01:14:51.800 they started to wander into the gym after a while and they're like, you 1087 01:14:51.800 --> 01:14:54.199 know, what should I do? I say, you know, I want 1088 01:14:54.199 --> 01:14:58.199 to just try twenty minutes on the treadmill. Good for your hot Well, 1089 01:14:58.239 --> 01:15:00.720 let that firefighter I told you, Bob Cook, he was a plumber, 1090 01:15:00.520 --> 01:15:03.800 old school, real old school firement and you know, the whole fitness thing. 1091 01:15:03.800 --> 01:15:06.800 And then the way I explained it to him on a level that he 1092 01:15:06.840 --> 01:15:11.520 could understand. I go, Bob, you're a plumber. How many how 1093 01:15:11.520 --> 01:15:15.680 many cast iron pipes? Did you take a part that were caked with grease 1094 01:15:15.720 --> 01:15:17.479 on the inside? And I go, how do you clean it? Either 1095 01:15:17.560 --> 01:15:23.359 mechanically clean it or you run what hot water or through hot water through it. 1096 01:15:23.800 --> 01:15:25.640 So I go, So, when you go on a treadmill for twenty 1097 01:15:25.640 --> 01:15:30.479 minutes, your veins and arteries are pipes and they could get clogged up with 1098 01:15:30.720 --> 01:15:33.800 what fat. Last I got that you eat plaque, which turned fat, 1099 01:15:33.840 --> 01:15:39.319 which turns into plaque. So by exercising for twenty minutes, increasing your blood 1100 01:15:39.359 --> 01:15:44.680 pressure, increasing your blood temperature by a few degrees, which heats up the 1101 01:15:44.720 --> 01:15:47.199 fat, and then you're coursing it through your veins at one hundred and twenty 1102 01:15:47.239 --> 01:15:49.640 bats a minute, which isn't out of line for anybody to be able to 1103 01:15:49.720 --> 01:15:53.800 do that twenty minutes on a treadmill. And he goes, wow, now 1104 01:15:53.880 --> 01:15:57.640 do you explain it that way? I get it. It's like old pipes. 1105 01:15:57.680 --> 01:15:59.720 So if I do three days a week, I go, yeah, 1106 01:15:59.720 --> 01:16:03.640 that's fight. Eventually started being on the treadmill three days a week just because 1107 01:16:03.720 --> 01:16:06.720 it made sense to him that way, right, So there's a way to 1108 01:16:08.039 --> 01:16:11.319 to you know, not force it down. So you're never gonna force it 1109 01:16:11.319 --> 01:16:15.039 down. Somebody's throw it anyway. It was just like the fat offs in 1110 01:16:15.079 --> 01:16:18.840 the firehouse, Like you know, there'd be like fifteen guys that put in 1111 01:16:18.880 --> 01:16:26.039 like forty fifty bucks a guy and whoever loses the most weight right when it's 1112 01:16:26.119 --> 01:16:28.960 not dangerous bro guys, No, no, I know guys were doing crazy 1113 01:16:29.000 --> 01:16:32.800 wearing the suits and trying to sweat fucking water out right, they weren't. 1114 01:16:32.800 --> 01:16:36.239 They weren't losing weight. They were losing it because if they five hundred dollars, 1115 01:16:36.279 --> 01:16:40.039 they're trying to kill all right. I think you had to do it 1116 01:16:40.079 --> 01:16:42.720 in like two months. And what I used to say all the time about 1117 01:16:42.760 --> 01:16:45.199 Freddy and and Baizel all the time they were nice and when they were fat, 1118 01:16:45.239 --> 01:16:48.880 you like that. Nobody likes ther skinny buyzel. Nobody likes skinny boyzel. 1119 01:16:48.960 --> 01:16:53.439 Where I need the roly poly fat buyzel. You know what it was? 1120 01:16:53.720 --> 01:16:59.840 Well, because because under eating to calorie restriction to lose weight, it 1121 01:17:00.119 --> 01:17:01.600 it affects your mood too. Like I said, the Captain walking around the 1122 01:17:01.600 --> 01:17:08.039 firehouse on cabbage soup for ten days was a miserable sob right, especially if 1123 01:17:08.079 --> 01:17:12.159 he's he's eating cabbage soup and right next to him you're piling down a sheet 1124 01:17:12.239 --> 01:17:17.199 rocked chicken colored parmesan sandwich and he's looking at it with literally with lust in 1125 01:17:17.199 --> 01:17:23.279 his heart. Yeah, and I'm like cap let's get the cabbage soup. 1126 01:17:23.920 --> 01:17:27.880 Let me write yep, let me let me write you up something that you 1127 01:17:27.920 --> 01:17:30.760 can live with with the appetite level that you have, and I go with 1128 01:17:30.840 --> 01:17:33.640 the with the frame and muscle that you have, that fat will go away 1129 01:17:33.640 --> 01:17:39.000 pretty quickly, yeah, you know, and you'll be left with a you 1130 01:17:39.039 --> 01:17:42.760 know, pleasing physique. I mean that's another boy product of it. You 1131 01:17:42.800 --> 01:17:45.880 can't hate that. Don't get me into the wife stories. With the pleasing 1132 01:17:45.880 --> 01:17:49.600 physique, I'll go off on a whole nother tangent with that. With and 1133 01:17:49.640 --> 01:17:51.760 he goes. You know, you know what they would say, It doesn't 1134 01:17:51.760 --> 01:17:57.800 matter what my pleasing my physique is, it ain't happening. Yeah, yourself, 1135 01:17:58.000 --> 01:18:01.279 how about that? Do it for yourself right for pride? Yeah, 1136 01:18:01.359 --> 01:18:06.800 you know, uh, for your own personal pride jaw performance. You know, 1137 01:18:06.880 --> 01:18:11.399 listen, you'll you'll you'll also get a kick out of this, because 1138 01:18:11.439 --> 01:18:15.640 that's the other thing with If you're fig and the other firefighter isn't unfit, 1139 01:18:15.319 --> 01:18:17.960 you know, and he's I can get just as many chicks as you Banano 1140 01:18:18.159 --> 01:18:20.800 because you know, you reach around his stomach and grab his crutch and goes. 1141 01:18:20.800 --> 01:18:25.119 Because this is all that matters you know, and he's I go, 1142 01:18:25.399 --> 01:18:28.039 that's not all that matters. I go. Do you think when you step 1143 01:18:28.039 --> 01:18:30.680 out of the shower and you drop your towel and you have to stand on 1144 01:18:30.680 --> 01:18:33.000 a mirror to see if you're even ready for it? You think that your 1145 01:18:33.000 --> 01:18:38.239 wife likes looking at that? I go, you don't have to do not 1146 01:18:38.359 --> 01:18:42.800 to mention you haven't seen it in about five year bro right, you have 1147 01:18:42.840 --> 01:18:45.720 to stand on a mirror to let you know that you're ready. Yeah? 1148 01:18:45.880 --> 01:18:51.479 Yeah, whoa, all right, where are we? COOVII? You don't 1149 01:18:51.479 --> 01:18:56.600 have any good time. That's where I'm at. We went to Uh, 1150 01:18:56.720 --> 01:19:01.000 let's just quick talk about your You made a where was it? Oh? 1151 01:19:01.079 --> 01:19:04.760 Kid's book? All right? Yeah, I did that. Uh. You 1152 01:19:04.760 --> 01:19:09.880 know that I always had this sinkling to write a children's book about fitness. 1153 01:19:09.920 --> 01:19:15.039 It's not really about It's a story, children's story book about an overweight elephant 1154 01:19:15.119 --> 01:19:18.319 that you know he's getting made fun of. I kind of incorporated the whole 1155 01:19:18.319 --> 01:19:24.399 fire house life thing into it. And then how another Fireman season and you 1156 01:19:24.439 --> 01:19:28.239 know there's a twist to the story where you know, I won't reveal it, 1157 01:19:28.319 --> 01:19:30.479 but there's a twist to the story. It's basically a fun children's story 1158 01:19:30.479 --> 01:19:33.239 book I wanted to do, and that one I made. You know, 1159 01:19:33.640 --> 01:19:38.520 it's completely dedicated to the nine to eleven people. We lost on nine to 1160 01:19:38.560 --> 01:19:43.920 eleven, So you got the seven on the elephant. Yeah, yeah, 1161 01:19:43.960 --> 01:19:46.000 my brother was in seven. Later in the book there's two seventy three and 1162 01:19:46.039 --> 01:19:50.640 one twenty nine on the other firefighters, so it's yeah, it's just a 1163 01:19:50.640 --> 01:19:55.239 cute little story book about being the best that you can be. And you 1164 01:19:55.279 --> 01:19:58.439 know, and that's why I used an elephant because and I think back to 1165 01:19:58.520 --> 01:20:00.479 my captain too, because they said to my cat, and you know, 1166 01:20:00.520 --> 01:20:02.760 you'll have a big muscular physique, that's who you are. You're never going 1167 01:20:02.800 --> 01:20:05.760 to be skinny, but work with what you got. So I said, 1168 01:20:06.039 --> 01:20:09.439 I used the elephant. You know, an elephant's never going to be skinny, 1169 01:20:09.840 --> 01:20:12.479 but just be the best elephant that you can. Which doesn't mean you 1170 01:20:12.479 --> 01:20:15.960 able to be grossly obese. That's why then the picture looks obese. Beyond 1171 01:20:16.000 --> 01:20:19.399 obese. Just be a big, proud elephant if that's what your body type 1172 01:20:19.439 --> 01:20:24.439 is. Where can you guys find the books on Amazon? Yeah, you 1173 01:20:24.439 --> 01:20:26.960 can find it on Amazon. If they go to my website, they can 1174 01:20:26.960 --> 01:20:33.399 get a hold of me personal your website Americanfirehouse Cuisine dot com beautiful. Yeah, 1175 01:20:34.239 --> 01:20:38.880 uh okay, so we uh but when were we was the job you 1176 01:20:38.920 --> 01:20:44.880 went h went back to the latter one ninety six. Huh. Yeah. 1177 01:20:44.920 --> 01:20:49.359 When I transferred out of one twenty nine right when the book happened, because 1178 01:20:49.359 --> 01:20:53.000 I wanted to be in a brand new place when the book happened, because 1179 01:20:53.039 --> 01:20:55.039 you know, when you're brand new in a place, there's a little bit 1180 01:20:55.039 --> 01:20:58.600 of a grace period. And I knew that the book was coming out, 1181 01:20:58.840 --> 01:21:03.199 and I didn't want to be in one twenty nine because it was It was 1182 01:21:03.239 --> 01:21:06.640 crazy. Everybody was there was crazy, and they actually got in a lot 1183 01:21:06.640 --> 01:21:12.239 of trouble because they were taking Apron runs right after the My timing to leave 1184 01:21:12.359 --> 01:21:17.399 was perfect because they got in that whole thing with what's his name Van Essen 1185 01:21:18.119 --> 01:21:21.720 and taking Apron runs, and the whole place got into a lot of trouble. 1186 01:21:21.720 --> 01:21:26.079 But there was such a bunch of characters. I almost saw it coming, 1187 01:21:26.119 --> 01:21:29.039 and I said, listen, I got a you know, a transfer. 1188 01:21:29.039 --> 01:21:30.439 I want to be in a brand new place when the book hits. 1189 01:21:30.439 --> 01:21:34.920 This way, the fire flies all lay off a little bit brandw place and 1190 01:21:35.000 --> 01:21:41.520 you know, and that's kind of the way I went. And nothing disrespectful 1191 01:21:41.520 --> 01:21:44.800 to one twenty nine. It was a great place to work. But I 1192 01:21:44.800 --> 01:21:46.720 don't know, I don't know that right after that, they had a bunch 1193 01:21:46.760 --> 01:21:50.640 of crazy things happened there. I mean, one was those apron run things, 1194 01:21:50.680 --> 01:21:55.439 and they got all kinds of trouble for that with the union and with 1195 01:21:55.520 --> 01:21:59.479 von Essen. You know, a fella they had pulled in a false alarm 1196 01:21:59.479 --> 01:22:03.600 from the pay phone and got hooked up for that and fire remember that, 1197 01:22:03.760 --> 01:22:08.119 And you know what a shame story that was because he was a great guy 1198 01:22:09.000 --> 01:22:13.640 and I have no idea what he was thinking when that happened. Sometimes people 1199 01:22:13.640 --> 01:22:16.159 do stupid things, that's all they do. And that was one that you 1200 01:22:16.159 --> 01:22:19.000 couldn't even have a cover story for. And they would have loved to have 1201 01:22:19.000 --> 01:22:23.800 helped him out, but that there was no helping him out, and he 1202 01:22:23.880 --> 01:22:28.359 run up fighting. It's terribly He was a really great guy and he just 1203 01:22:28.439 --> 01:22:30.359 did something really stupid. I mean, just not thinking, you know, 1204 01:22:30.960 --> 01:22:34.319 and we've seen that over the years, what the guy do personally in their 1205 01:22:34.319 --> 01:22:40.079 home life for and you know, I think you alluded to before fighting in 1206 01:22:40.119 --> 01:22:43.680 the fires also physically fighting. I mean, I've had to restrained guys sometimes. 1207 01:22:43.720 --> 01:22:46.960 I'm like, listen, you're on duty that mfile and you know, 1208 01:22:48.119 --> 01:22:54.720 you know, you lose it and you know you hurt this guy, you 1209 01:22:54.760 --> 01:23:00.239 know, and it happens. I mean, it's so I was always kind 1210 01:23:00.239 --> 01:23:03.239 of sensitive to that, you know. And that's even where the chop busting 1211 01:23:03.279 --> 01:23:08.720 and all the other stuff comes in. And then there's a side to it 1212 01:23:08.760 --> 01:23:12.039 that's part of the nature of the job. I get it, but you 1213 01:23:12.119 --> 01:23:15.600 gotta know where And again you said it before I can cut. It's the 1214 01:23:15.760 --> 01:23:18.840 senior guys responsorbated to say, listen, layoff right. You know, he's 1215 01:23:18.880 --> 01:23:24.279 starting to take this a little too personal and you're pushing the envelope a little 1216 01:23:24.319 --> 01:23:28.600 bit too far. I mean, there's a good story about that that they 1217 01:23:28.600 --> 01:23:31.680 should learn a lesson, because I can't stand bullies. David c Is you 1218 01:23:31.720 --> 01:23:35.199 know who that is, right, the boxer David c Is the boxer. 1219 01:23:35.279 --> 01:23:41.680 Yeah, he had some big mouth typical I used to say, remember the 1220 01:23:41.680 --> 01:23:45.079 movie Back to the Future, mm hmm. Remember the Bully Biff. Yeah, 1221 01:23:46.880 --> 01:23:51.239 but remember the Bully Biff. I go Clone Biff about eight thousand times, 1222 01:23:51.279 --> 01:23:56.000 and that's every new York City. Find a lot of them have that 1223 01:23:56.159 --> 01:24:01.359 type of gruff bully personality. So anyway, David sees this guy just like 1224 01:24:01.399 --> 01:24:03.920 the guy Biff Big, you know that big day. You're a box He 1225 01:24:04.079 --> 01:24:05.960 wait, what do you weigh on undred and seventy eight pounds? I throw 1226 01:24:05.960 --> 01:24:09.760 you around a room like a d doll, but doing it in a way 1227 01:24:09.760 --> 01:24:12.840 that was mean to the guy. And David sees he was a nice guy, 1228 01:24:12.840 --> 01:24:15.840 but he had to you know, he was he was a professional fighter. 1229 01:24:15.760 --> 01:24:17.720 And he goes, I could He goes, listen, lay off, 1230 01:24:18.960 --> 01:24:21.239 and they told him to layoff, and he wouldn't lay off. But now 1231 01:24:21.279 --> 01:24:25.039 it started to get personal and he goes, well, so you think you 1232 01:24:25.079 --> 01:24:27.840 could take me? He goes, and he wouldn't last around with me. 1233 01:24:29.039 --> 01:24:30.640 You know I could bench press five hundred pounds, And he goes, okay, 1234 01:24:30.680 --> 01:24:36.239 he set it up. So they set it up and they I wish 1235 01:24:36.279 --> 01:24:40.279 I would have went to the thing. They said it was a right because 1236 01:24:40.880 --> 01:24:45.239 a really good boxer and a Biff and a person that doesn't have a box 1237 01:24:45.279 --> 01:24:48.319 this night and day, and he went in to ring with him, and 1238 01:24:48.359 --> 01:24:50.920 now they didn't really like each other. On top of it, and the 1239 01:24:50.960 --> 01:24:55.680 other guy was really trying to hurt him, and he says, listen, 1240 01:24:55.720 --> 01:24:59.079 I'm paying with him. But he goes, he's trying to hurt me. 1241 01:24:59.720 --> 01:25:04.279 And I don't like the guy anyway, and the guy in the corner said, 1242 01:25:04.319 --> 01:25:09.880 knock him out. So the next round he completely tore the guy apart 1243 01:25:10.640 --> 01:25:14.760 to the point of being embarrassing, and to the guy apart leveled them. 1244 01:25:14.840 --> 01:25:18.319 Which those are the kind of stories I like, they need their come up 1245 01:25:18.439 --> 01:25:27.000 and you know, yep, but so yeah, So I finished out my 1246 01:25:27.079 --> 01:25:32.520 career in one fifty two. Then because of the cookbook stuff, I was 1247 01:25:32.560 --> 01:25:36.680 getting a lot of calls to do like, uh, like, if you 1248 01:25:36.760 --> 01:25:45.880 go on the Regis Philbin show, if you use Ronzoni pasta a fee And 1249 01:25:45.960 --> 01:25:47.199 I said, really, I didn't know that, And so then they started. 1250 01:25:47.199 --> 01:25:50.520 I started to be like a not an A list celebrity, more like 1251 01:25:50.520 --> 01:25:57.479 a WS the zealous celebrity wasn't quite Emerald, Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay, 1252 01:25:57.600 --> 01:26:01.800 but there was a call for less celebrities, cheap date celebrity, let's call 1253 01:26:01.840 --> 01:26:04.680 it, to do appearances. And you know, you're also in New York 1254 01:26:04.680 --> 01:26:09.880 City, fine, which holds a little public public in the public eye. 1255 01:26:10.399 --> 01:26:13.840 So I started doing appearance that's here and there for so so run Zonie was 1256 01:26:13.840 --> 01:26:17.399 having a yead there I am with dark hair, how about that? And 1257 01:26:17.520 --> 01:26:26.439 Martha Stewart, she was a trip, very nice though, Oh funny. 1258 01:26:26.439 --> 01:26:29.960 I got a funny story about her too. We were doing we were up 1259 01:26:29.960 --> 01:26:32.039 in her uh West Point, Connecticut is where our studio is. And and 1260 01:26:32.119 --> 01:26:34.680 again I told you, I shared it. I brought about six or seven 1261 01:26:34.720 --> 01:26:39.960 five with me from one twenty nine up there to her office. So they 1262 01:26:40.000 --> 01:26:44.760 had like a waiting room with all glass doors, glass windows on it. 1263 01:26:45.119 --> 01:26:48.199 So my six or seven fire fighters from one twenty nine were there, and 1264 01:26:48.239 --> 01:26:53.159 I said, only these guys alone for too long, you know, because 1265 01:26:53.199 --> 01:26:57.800 they you know, they're just rife for trouble. So the women's, the 1266 01:26:57.840 --> 01:27:00.960 women's she had like seventy five women were looking for her, and the women's 1267 01:27:01.000 --> 01:27:04.119 restroom was right where this glass, big glass window was where all these guys 1268 01:27:04.199 --> 01:27:08.600 were in this room and they're just milling around having coffee, waiting for her 1269 01:27:08.640 --> 01:27:13.720 to put us all on the air. So while I'm rehearsing with her, 1270 01:27:13.760 --> 01:27:15.239 they come and get her, and mate, they go, Joe, I'm 1271 01:27:15.239 --> 01:27:17.239 out here for a second, and Martha, come with us. You got 1272 01:27:17.319 --> 01:27:21.039 to see this. So one of the guys must have rifled through the drawers 1273 01:27:21.399 --> 01:27:26.439 because there was all women going into women's bathroom. Rifle through the drawers, 1274 01:27:26.479 --> 01:27:31.399 found a magic marker and he put fight Apartment Petting Zoo and he put it 1275 01:27:31.479 --> 01:27:38.520 up on the glass FDNY Fighted Apartment Petting Zoo. Women All women Welcome. 1276 01:27:39.039 --> 01:27:42.600 And She's like, oh my god. Only these guys alone for too long, 1277 01:27:42.840 --> 01:27:49.279 They're just going to get in trouble. So yeah, So the summer 1278 01:27:49.319 --> 01:27:55.880 of tooths, I had just my papers who were in early late two thousand 1279 01:27:55.880 --> 01:28:00.560 and early two thousand and one, and I was still getting calls to do 1280 01:28:00.600 --> 01:28:02.359 cooking stuff. So ron Zoni called me up and said, Joe, we're 1281 01:28:02.399 --> 01:28:08.359 sponsoring the New York Firefighters cooking contest and we'd like you to be one of 1282 01:28:08.359 --> 01:28:15.640 the judges and also go on TV and promoted. And so they said, 1283 01:28:15.760 --> 01:28:17.439 you know, you're gonna do a few appearances over the summer. So I 1284 01:28:17.520 --> 01:28:20.000 did want to, like, maybe Good Morning America Today show, Right, 1285 01:28:20.039 --> 01:28:24.000 there's gonna be a big New York Firefighters cooking contests. Get your recipes in 1286 01:28:24.600 --> 01:28:27.840 blah blah blah, and the winning recipes will be served at the New York 1287 01:28:27.840 --> 01:28:33.359 City Marathon, and so did a couple of the TV shows. So they 1288 01:28:33.600 --> 01:28:35.600 on the end of August they called me up and they say, Joe, 1289 01:28:35.600 --> 01:28:41.760 we got a live WB eleven episode. It's going to be live and they're 1290 01:28:41.760 --> 01:28:45.920 gonna do it at one fifty two at your fireouse. Okay, no problem. 1291 01:28:45.000 --> 01:28:49.920 And they go we're booking the date September eighth, two thousand and one. 1292 01:28:50.319 --> 01:28:56.119 Okay, yeah, I'm free, no problem. So a couple of 1293 01:28:56.159 --> 01:29:00.800 weeks went by, It's about the week before they called me up and they 1294 01:29:00.800 --> 01:29:04.000 said, Joe, the thing is still on for sure, but we don't 1295 01:29:04.000 --> 01:29:10.079 really get a good signal out in Queens, and you know, plus we 1296 01:29:10.119 --> 01:29:13.439 have to take all our equipment and people out to Queens. You know, 1297 01:29:13.720 --> 01:29:16.079 would you be okay if we did it in Manhattan? And I said, 1298 01:29:16.119 --> 01:29:19.199 yeah, my brother used to work in lat of seven, not a problem. 1299 01:29:19.199 --> 01:29:20.439 He goes, no, No, we're not going to be at lat 1300 01:29:20.479 --> 01:29:24.960 of seven. We're going to be We're using Ladda three on thirteenth and broad 1301 01:29:24.960 --> 01:29:29.439 Away And I said, yeah, no, you know firefighters that work there, 1302 01:29:29.960 --> 01:29:32.119 and he said, uh, it's not down not too far from away. 1303 01:29:32.199 --> 01:29:36.319 My brother's fire houses. I said, yeah, no problem. He 1304 01:29:36.319 --> 01:29:39.359 said, yeah, we'll send the cost service for you. It'll put you 1305 01:29:39.439 --> 01:29:42.720 up at five in the morning. The only thing is they can't do it 1306 01:29:42.760 --> 01:29:47.039 on the eighth. Are you available on the morning of the eleventh? I 1307 01:29:47.079 --> 01:29:53.399 said yeah. Never knowing God, who could ever have imagined anything on that 1308 01:29:53.439 --> 01:29:57.079 scale of any of us? And I said, yeah, I'm available on 1309 01:29:57.119 --> 01:30:00.000 the eleventh. And they said, okay, Well, the court service, 1310 01:30:00.000 --> 01:30:01.079 this guy will pick up at like five in the morning, drive you into 1311 01:30:01.119 --> 01:30:04.479 Ladder three and it's gonna be live. The host of the TV show is 1312 01:30:04.520 --> 01:30:08.640 gonna be there. He's gonna meet you and the kid around with him a 1313 01:30:08.640 --> 01:30:13.119 little bit. And so I arrived at Ladder three at like five thirty in 1314 01:30:13.119 --> 01:30:15.800 the morning, met everybody. We started talking what's going Oh, yeah, 1315 01:30:15.800 --> 01:30:18.000 it's gonna do this TV segment. It's gonna be live. Then the host 1316 01:30:18.039 --> 01:30:24.079 pulls up at about I don't know, six thirty something like that. Now 1317 01:30:24.119 --> 01:30:27.600 they were live WB eleven at the studio, and what they would do is 1318 01:30:27.640 --> 01:30:31.520 we're gonna cut live to Ladder three, Ary Hoff at Ladda three and they're 1319 01:30:31.520 --> 01:30:36.239 gonna be Larry's making his recipe Joe's making one of the Ronzoni winn winning recipes 1320 01:30:36.319 --> 01:30:40.399 or entered recipes and they're gonna bring it out on the street and let people 1321 01:30:40.399 --> 01:30:44.880 taste it and all live. So that was like, yeah, like six 1322 01:30:45.000 --> 01:30:49.680 thirty. So we did that segment, and then after that segment was over, 1323 01:30:50.399 --> 01:30:54.159 you're off the air. The next one is gonna be at like seven 1324 01:30:54.279 --> 01:31:00.399 forty five. Okay, yeah herd before oh yeah, yeah, We're cut 1325 01:31:00.399 --> 01:31:04.159 live at seven fourth and then they cut back live again and by that time, 1326 01:31:04.359 --> 01:31:10.239 Captain Patty Brown came in. I never met him. He's like, 1327 01:31:10.279 --> 01:31:12.479 oh, are you from the photo unit or I go, no, I'm 1328 01:31:12.479 --> 01:31:15.399 not from the photo unit. That's the first time I haven't met him. 1329 01:31:15.439 --> 01:31:17.399 You know, how do you do? So nice to meet you. And 1330 01:31:17.560 --> 01:31:19.520 he says, what's going on? Soh yeah, they're doing this. Oh 1331 01:31:19.560 --> 01:31:23.800 you heard about this blah blah blah, you know e eatining And I said, 1332 01:31:23.840 --> 01:31:27.359 yeah, I'm just I'm recently retired. They asked me to come and 1333 01:31:27.399 --> 01:31:30.359 do this thing to promote this content. Money's going to the widow and Children's 1334 01:31:30.359 --> 01:31:33.880 Fun from Ronzoni and yeah, he says, all right, yeah, make 1335 01:31:33.880 --> 01:31:36.600 yourself at home coming to kids. So you know, we're kidding around. 1336 01:31:36.600 --> 01:31:40.800 Next thing, you know, the next segments at like seven forty five, 1337 01:31:40.840 --> 01:31:44.520 well live, So me and the host go to the street and people passing 1338 01:31:44.560 --> 01:31:47.199 by walking word taste this taste that. What do you think? Getting around 1339 01:31:47.199 --> 01:31:54.640 with them? Behind me is Joe Maloney and another guy both got killed unfortunately, 1340 01:31:54.960 --> 01:31:58.880 waiting for their family. Yeah, they got their cell phones out and 1341 01:31:58.880 --> 01:32:02.760 they're calling their kids before they go to school, saying, you know you 1342 01:32:02.760 --> 01:32:05.840 could I have a picture of it. They're right behind me with the cellphones 1343 01:32:05.880 --> 01:32:09.720 talking to their kids like hey, it's daddy on TV. And they're waving 1344 01:32:09.760 --> 01:32:13.840 in the background. And then they cut again and they go the next segment's 1345 01:32:13.840 --> 01:32:20.039 going to be at I think it was eight fifteen or eight twenty. The 1346 01:32:20.119 --> 01:32:21.960 last segment. I was just gonna be the last segment. Eight. The 1347 01:32:21.960 --> 01:32:29.079 plane hit it by eight forty six. Right they finished the segment, the 1348 01:32:29.159 --> 01:32:34.439 firefighters are all like goofing around and the camera guy leaves. To this day, 1349 01:32:34.439 --> 01:32:41.920 it was it's so vivid to me. The girl is there that worked 1350 01:32:41.920 --> 01:32:45.119 for Ronzoni and she said, Joe, unfortunately the cost server this guy is 1351 01:32:45.119 --> 01:32:48.399 in the Bronx and he can't get here for at least an hour. I 1352 01:32:48.479 --> 01:32:50.680 said, no problem, and they were all kidding around me. They're like, 1353 01:32:50.720 --> 01:32:53.880 hey, bring food and kitchen, hang out with us. I go, 1354 01:32:53.960 --> 01:32:57.960 okay, no problem. So I start walking back to the kitchen and 1355 01:32:59.039 --> 01:33:00.279 they said, besides, I look at you're gonna be stuck in traffic. 1356 01:33:00.359 --> 01:33:04.680 So it's almost nine o'clock. You know what you rush wanted to wait till 1357 01:33:04.680 --> 01:33:09.479 like ten o'clock. So I said, oh yeah, all right. So 1358 01:33:09.479 --> 01:33:12.119 I started walking back to the kitchen. Her phone rings. She looks at 1359 01:33:12.159 --> 01:33:15.159 me, she says, Joe, good news. There's another person from the 1360 01:33:15.199 --> 01:33:16.439 cost service right around the block. You can go now if you want. 1361 01:33:17.560 --> 01:33:20.319 I looked at the firefights. They looked at me. I said, you 1362 01:33:20.319 --> 01:33:23.640 know what, I don't want to hold a guy up if he's here. 1363 01:33:24.199 --> 01:33:27.279 What the heck can on? It's a difference in the car car getting a 1364 01:33:27.359 --> 01:33:32.199 ride home. I looked at them all, took my turnout coat, hung 1365 01:33:32.239 --> 01:33:38.119 it up. You know. They wanted me to do this segment, and 1366 01:33:38.159 --> 01:33:39.600 you know, and they're like, hey, you got to watch the last 1367 01:33:39.600 --> 01:33:43.239 few seconds of this segment. The chicks on the TV you're talking about you. 1368 01:33:43.840 --> 01:33:45.680 And I watched it at the house, watch with them and then I 1369 01:33:45.680 --> 01:33:46.640 said, all right, fellows, listen, the guy's here. I'm gonna 1370 01:33:46.640 --> 01:33:49.760 take off all right, and I said, way, I said, I 1371 01:33:49.760 --> 01:33:55.880 have a safe tour, and I got in cost service pulled out. By 1372 01:33:55.880 --> 01:33:59.319 the time I come to sixth Avenue, they were turning out for the World 1373 01:33:59.359 --> 01:34:03.399 Trade Center. And now I hear fire trucks like crazy. But it's Manhattan, 1374 01:34:04.439 --> 01:34:08.279 you know. I'm like, so I said to the cow service guy, 1375 01:34:08.359 --> 01:34:10.319 go, do we fair to put the radio on for a second. 1376 01:34:10.760 --> 01:34:15.119 He puts the radio on and I hear we interrupt this program. Apparently a 1377 01:34:15.159 --> 01:34:17.239 small plane. We're getting reports to a small plane is hit the World Trade 1378 01:34:17.279 --> 01:34:20.760 Center. And as I go up the Blox, I could look over my 1379 01:34:20.840 --> 01:34:24.479 joulder and looked out the window and it's a small plane. The amount of 1380 01:34:24.520 --> 01:34:28.479 smoke that's coming out that And they're like, well, we're hearing mixed stories 1381 01:34:28.520 --> 01:34:30.920 that it might be a commercial plane. We'll get back to you on it. 1382 01:34:30.960 --> 01:34:35.359 But it was it would had just happened. And by the time I 1383 01:34:35.359 --> 01:34:39.479 got to the Queen's Midtown Tunnel, we watched the what do you call it? 1384 01:34:39.520 --> 01:34:45.399 The radio and by the time I pulled out of the tunnel and got 1385 01:34:45.439 --> 01:34:47.079 past the toll. I look over my right shoulder. You could see the 1386 01:34:47.079 --> 01:34:51.560 World Trade Center. I see the second plane, next explosion. I'm like, 1387 01:34:51.680 --> 01:34:56.399 was that the part of the first explosion? And then the radio's on 1388 01:34:56.520 --> 01:35:00.199 and now he's like, no, apparently a second plane. It's beautiful out. 1389 01:35:00.199 --> 01:35:05.359 There's no way a guy got lost there is He is h a bionics 1390 01:35:05.359 --> 01:35:12.159 weren't working properly. Something's not and he goes, this is apparently isn't an 1391 01:35:12.199 --> 01:35:15.399 attack of an attack of some sort? Uh, close the tunnels. The 1392 01:35:15.439 --> 01:35:17.439 bridge is gonna be closed, the tunnel and I said that. I turned 1393 01:35:17.439 --> 01:35:21.000 his car around, and he turned the car around right at the booth, 1394 01:35:21.079 --> 01:35:25.000 and they said I had my badge out, as you know, because it 1395 01:35:25.000 --> 01:35:28.960 doesn't matter tunnels closed. Nobod's getting trouble. Police want to have we gotta 1396 01:35:29.000 --> 01:35:32.479 order to close the tunnel. And then I drove out to Long Island. 1397 01:35:32.479 --> 01:35:36.199 By the time I got to Long Island, walked in the door, the 1398 01:35:36.439 --> 01:35:43.960 first tower was collapsing, and I just I go on watching thousands of people 1399 01:35:43.960 --> 01:35:46.800 and hundreds of fine killed right before my eyes, and I go, if 1400 01:35:46.800 --> 01:35:49.159 anybody's there, A lot of three is there? There's no doubt about it. 1401 01:35:49.640 --> 01:35:55.319 Now my brother Michael, who was out on a disability pension at that 1402 01:35:55.399 --> 01:36:00.319 point, but happened to be in New York visiting at the time. Sister 1403 01:36:00.359 --> 01:36:03.920 lived out in West Iceland, and I had actually asked him to come into 1404 01:36:03.920 --> 01:36:06.039 the segment and he didn't want to get up at five in the morning. 1405 01:36:08.119 --> 01:36:11.239 And good thing, because he knew so many guys in lat of three that 1406 01:36:11.239 --> 01:36:14.720 we would have been hanging out there talking to him and probably hanging out and 1407 01:36:14.720 --> 01:36:18.520 probably would have took the run, no doubt about it. So he said, 1408 01:36:18.560 --> 01:36:21.960 Joey, I can't watch this on TV anymore. And I sayid either 1409 01:36:23.000 --> 01:36:25.159 can I? And he says, do you have extra gear? And I 1410 01:36:25.199 --> 01:36:28.359 said, yeah, I do, and he says, come pick me up. 1411 01:36:29.520 --> 01:36:31.840 They went to my sister's house. I picked him up, gave him 1412 01:36:31.880 --> 01:36:35.319 some gear. We hopped on the Long Island Railroad. You know, it's 1413 01:36:35.359 --> 01:36:39.159 a crazy story. While we're on the Long Island Railroad if a woman comes 1414 01:36:39.199 --> 01:36:44.800 up to us and she says, my husband works with cant Fitzgerald. And 1415 01:36:44.840 --> 01:36:45.760 they were on the one hundred and tenth floor. I see who guys are 1416 01:36:45.760 --> 01:36:48.279 going into the World Trade Center. Can you do me a favor? Here's 1417 01:36:48.279 --> 01:36:50.119 this picture? Would you look for him for me, and if you do, 1418 01:36:50.199 --> 01:36:55.039 here's my telephone, please contact me. So he took the number, 1419 01:36:55.079 --> 01:37:00.520 and so we got to Penn Station. The next day, I walked out 1420 01:37:00.560 --> 01:37:02.800 of Penn Station with my brother. Of course we had to argue with us, 1421 01:37:02.800 --> 01:37:06.600 and by then every emergency service in the world is responding. A couple 1422 01:37:06.680 --> 01:37:10.840 of New York State troopers and a Humma pulled over. Fellas jump in, 1423 01:37:11.520 --> 01:37:14.760 jumped in and got us as close as we could get. We walked the 1424 01:37:14.760 --> 01:37:19.239 rest of the distance. When I turned the corner and God saw that pile 1425 01:37:19.399 --> 01:37:25.359 of I mean I really I dropped on my knees crying. My brother was 1426 01:37:25.399 --> 01:37:29.520 actually kinna have to console me, because I knew what we were walking into 1427 01:37:29.560 --> 01:37:32.760 and what we were going to hear. There's no way that that was going 1428 01:37:32.800 --> 01:37:35.520 to be a minor event in any way, shape or form. And then 1429 01:37:36.079 --> 01:37:41.600 just the insanity of like this was done. What in the name of some 1430 01:37:41.720 --> 01:37:45.159 kind of statement. Thousands of people are going to be grieving, hundreds of 1431 01:37:45.159 --> 01:37:50.640 thousands of people grieving over want some religious craziness, I need to come on 1432 01:37:50.720 --> 01:37:54.359 already. And then by the time we got there, you know, then 1433 01:37:54.399 --> 01:37:58.520 you get busy doing what you were doing, which I saw early on there 1434 01:37:58.520 --> 01:38:00.920 wasn't going to be many people to even saved, which was a terrible part 1435 01:38:00.920 --> 01:38:03.720 for the pointment that survived it. If you could save people, but there 1436 01:38:03.800 --> 01:38:11.039 wasn't too many people to say that's and then just to see the level of 1437 01:38:11.159 --> 01:38:16.920 destruction and I mean, you know, steal as thick as your leg, 1438 01:38:17.199 --> 01:38:21.960 bent like spaghetti, and and just all of it just was so overwhelming. 1439 01:38:23.520 --> 01:38:26.760 Guys. You gotta pitch from the three truck, right, yeah. Yeah. 1440 01:38:26.800 --> 01:38:30.399 So we started walking around and Michael said to me, goes, Joe, 1441 01:38:30.560 --> 01:38:34.119 isn't that three truck? And I said yeah, and I saw it, 1442 01:38:34.119 --> 01:38:40.119 and I go, there's no chance that you know, if they were 1443 01:38:40.119 --> 01:38:45.680 in the truck, forget it. So then, uh, this friend of 1444 01:38:45.720 --> 01:38:49.800 ourz that was a Captain Steve Treco, he was in one O eight. 1445 01:38:49.920 --> 01:38:55.079 Uh, he came over to us with a he goes, Joe, it's 1446 01:38:55.119 --> 01:38:59.800 not one hundred percent, but we have a missing list. And I knew 1447 01:38:59.800 --> 01:39:02.359 what missing men. I mean, they didn't find him yet, but in 1448 01:39:02.399 --> 01:39:05.640 that pilot was missing. And then you start going down the list, and 1449 01:39:05.760 --> 01:39:09.720 I said, anything on the guys in lat of three? And he goes, 1450 01:39:09.720 --> 01:39:13.239 nobody in lat of three made it and yes, I heard later on 1451 01:39:13.880 --> 01:39:17.800 Patty Brown's transmissions from the forty fourth floor and all of that stuff. And 1452 01:39:17.840 --> 01:39:24.239 then guys jumped on the rig too. There what's that They rode heavy, 1453 01:39:24.319 --> 01:39:28.720 So they lost almost double the amount of guys that they would have lost regularly, 1454 01:39:28.880 --> 01:39:30.359 like just you know, six guys going out they lost, and I 1455 01:39:30.399 --> 01:39:33.039 think they lost ten or twelve or something if I remember right, Yeah, 1456 01:39:33.079 --> 01:39:36.720 twelve. And that's because a lot of fire has had that because it was 1457 01:39:36.720 --> 01:39:44.039 the change of toys and not everybody just leaves, you know. But yeah, 1458 01:39:44.079 --> 01:39:50.000 so and that was just I mean, and then I because I we 1459 01:39:50.079 --> 01:39:54.720 went back to Lat of seven where he worked and found out five five fights 1460 01:39:54.760 --> 01:39:59.319 from Lat of seven, Yeah, passed away and it was his. It 1461 01:39:59.399 --> 01:40:03.640 was his group he worked with. So had he wasn't he had on disability 1462 01:40:03.640 --> 01:40:06.000 pension, it might have been him to it and all the might haves and 1463 01:40:06.039 --> 01:40:10.640 should have. And I'm sure you guys got your ton of stories too, 1464 01:40:10.760 --> 01:40:14.479 But yeah, I was. I couldn't believe it when I and then I 1465 01:40:15.079 --> 01:40:18.359 knew when I saw the truck and I yeah, and I believe out of 1466 01:40:18.399 --> 01:40:23.560 the twelve that passed away, they only found two. I don't think they 1467 01:40:23.600 --> 01:40:27.920 even found any remnants of anybody from a lot of people. So what I 1468 01:40:27.960 --> 01:40:30.279 did is after that, I because I had a tape of them alive. 1469 01:40:30.359 --> 01:40:33.640 That morning, I went and had tapes made, delivered it to all the 1470 01:40:33.680 --> 01:40:38.439 families, and I go, this is the last moments. You know, 1471 01:40:38.479 --> 01:40:41.479 if you have any questions, have any questions you want to ask me about 1472 01:40:41.520 --> 01:40:45.119 it, you know, it's just it was just. The grief was just. 1473 01:40:45.159 --> 01:40:47.920 And plus I knew other people. I work with Stan Smagala, he's 1474 01:40:47.920 --> 01:40:53.880 another friend of mine that it is provy time in latter one fifty two, 1475 01:40:54.520 --> 01:40:58.760 another one and you have them all, and the stories went on. I 1476 01:40:58.800 --> 01:41:01.560 mean, the grief that was just, it was just overwhelming for the entire 1477 01:41:01.640 --> 01:41:08.119 world. And again I don't like to say positive spin on it, but 1478 01:41:09.039 --> 01:41:11.800 and when people say, don't ever forget, and I'm like, you don't 1479 01:41:11.840 --> 01:41:15.520 have to say that to anybody. That event was unforgettable in anybody's mind. 1480 01:41:15.680 --> 01:41:21.760 What I think people forgot is the outpouring of love and honor and respect and 1481 01:41:21.840 --> 01:41:27.720 care and concern that went on, not only just for firefighters, for everybody. 1482 01:41:29.640 --> 01:41:31.359 Yeah, considering what's going on in the world now, the bringing together 1483 01:41:31.479 --> 01:41:36.760 of people on a world shattering event. And I mean every time I went 1484 01:41:36.800 --> 01:41:42.800 into the fire haves to get cleaned up, they'd be more and more pictures 1485 01:41:42.840 --> 01:41:45.039 of it. And the one that it still brings me to to me is 1486 01:41:45.079 --> 01:41:48.239 to this day is I remember going to lat Of five because I worked there 1487 01:41:48.239 --> 01:41:54.560 too with Captain Drenn and know the crazy story, but you know, going 1488 01:41:54.600 --> 01:41:56.960 to shower at Lata five or at Lata seven. And when I went to 1489 01:41:57.000 --> 01:42:00.399 lad of five, I knew a couple of firefighters there. Uh, and 1490 01:42:00.520 --> 01:42:03.000 that's a real local community. They were bringing food into us, the neighbors 1491 01:42:03.000 --> 01:42:08.119 who couldn't have been kinder and nicer. And I mean it was amazing the 1492 01:42:08.159 --> 01:42:11.520 amount of care and concern that the world brought to that. It brought the 1493 01:42:11.520 --> 01:42:14.720 world together on such a level. And I remember it brought me to teas. 1494 01:42:14.720 --> 01:42:18.640 I remember looking at the bulletin board, excuse me, and there was 1495 01:42:18.680 --> 01:42:27.479 a bunch of German German firefighters standing on the apron of their fire house someplace 1496 01:42:27.520 --> 01:42:30.920 in Germany with their helmets under their arms, salute, salute, saluting, 1497 01:42:32.199 --> 01:42:36.479 you know, and they were saluting us from Germany. That's the extent of 1498 01:42:36.520 --> 01:42:42.239 this. And then every day you'd see Russia and Poland and Czechoslovakia, or 1499 01:42:42.279 --> 01:42:46.960 and Cheyenne, Wyoming and for you we all experienced. So that's what people 1500 01:42:46.960 --> 01:42:49.279 say, don't forget. I'm like, listen, I don't need to remind 1501 01:42:49.279 --> 01:42:54.439 you. A horrible event. We'll never forget that. It's not don't forget 1502 01:42:54.439 --> 01:42:57.960 that. Why don't you just instead of the word forget, why don't you 1503 01:42:58.039 --> 01:43:01.239 remember how much care, concerned, love, respect he showed for the fire 1504 01:43:01.319 --> 01:43:06.760 service and for other people in general. It was a nicer It was a 1505 01:43:06.800 --> 01:43:11.439 weird thing, like everybody was pulling in the same direction. It seemed as 1506 01:43:11.439 --> 01:43:14.520 a country, right, I mean as even global, Like you said, 1507 01:43:15.720 --> 01:43:20.840 the planet, the planet you know, uh, fireman dies in in all 1508 01:43:20.960 --> 01:43:25.960 hands in Brooklyn, no disrespect to his laws. But you're not going to 1509 01:43:26.039 --> 01:43:29.319 hear about it in Germany. Yeah, and you're not going to have guys 1510 01:43:29.359 --> 01:43:33.319 standing on the apron saluted. So what it did to the world is brought 1511 01:43:33.319 --> 01:43:38.359 the world to a better place, I think, especially considering what's going on 1512 01:43:38.399 --> 01:43:42.039 in the world now, you know. Yeah, So that's what I look 1513 01:43:42.079 --> 01:43:45.119 at. So when some people say forget is a negative word, remember as 1514 01:43:45.119 --> 01:43:49.359 a positive words, I go, no, you will never forget where anybody 1515 01:43:49.399 --> 01:43:53.039 civilians included. You were, if you were at an office, or you 1516 01:43:53.079 --> 01:43:55.640 were at the gym, or you were a chiropractice, wherever you are in 1517 01:43:55.640 --> 01:43:59.159 the world when that was going on, you're gonna remember it. You're not 1518 01:43:59.159 --> 01:44:01.800 going to forget it. That you can. But how about remembering what you 1519 01:44:01.840 --> 01:44:08.159 felt after that, whether it was contributing money or time or personal help. 1520 01:44:08.560 --> 01:44:13.640 Uh uh, A sympathetic ear to somebody that was going through that. That's 1521 01:44:13.680 --> 01:44:15.199 that's what I want people to use. That word remember, not forget. 1522 01:44:21.880 --> 01:44:30.119 I didn't know that story. Joey. Yeah, Yeah, I remember stories 1523 01:44:30.119 --> 01:44:32.960 on this podcast broke because there are so many stories that are never told that 1524 01:44:33.039 --> 01:44:36.399 we need to get him down. Yeah. I got to meet Patrick Brown. 1525 01:44:36.960 --> 01:44:42.000 Yeah, under the worst of the best of circumstances early and the worst 1526 01:44:42.000 --> 01:44:47.159 of you know. But so yeah, between Loose and my mother like that 1527 01:44:47.359 --> 01:44:51.640 nine to eleven, and then a little fast forward with my brother Michael with 1528 01:44:51.720 --> 01:44:57.720 his disability, pension, back pain. He was having some personal struggles with 1529 01:44:57.760 --> 01:45:00.680 his marriage and you know, and and like I said, we had a 1530 01:45:00.800 --> 01:45:03.880 falling out with my father years before, and he was trying to make amends 1531 01:45:03.920 --> 01:45:09.479 and he really was struggling a lot and then but I never knew to the 1532 01:45:09.520 --> 01:45:15.600 extent that you know. I spoke with him in July of twenty twelve. 1533 01:45:15.680 --> 01:45:21.000 July thirty first, twenty twelve, dropped his daughter off at school. He 1534 01:45:21.079 --> 01:45:25.000 walked to the Valley View Bridge and he lived in Cleveland with his wife. 1535 01:45:25.560 --> 01:45:29.600 Walked to the Valley View Bridge, had his phone with him, walked eight 1536 01:45:29.640 --> 01:45:33.840 minutes to the highest part of the bridge, and jumped off onto hard ground. 1537 01:45:34.760 --> 01:45:40.479 Wow, yep. And you look at his pictures, handsome, well 1538 01:45:40.680 --> 01:45:46.560 liked, great fireman, great sense of humor, you know. But me 1539 01:45:46.760 --> 01:45:50.840 as a brother, and I was close with him. I mean, I 1540 01:45:50.960 --> 01:45:57.319 had no idea that this was on the table as a consideration. So earlier 1541 01:45:57.359 --> 01:45:59.680 on you were talking about mental health, and I hope we get to do 1542 01:45:59.720 --> 01:46:03.119 a show just based on that alone, just from my experiences with it. 1543 01:46:03.199 --> 01:46:10.039 Also trying to heal emotionally from that kind of a loss and my mother and 1544 01:46:10.159 --> 01:46:13.359 nine to eleven. And I'm not making that a poor me situation, but 1545 01:46:13.920 --> 01:46:18.239 and then to lose somebody to suicide, you know, a disease, an 1546 01:46:18.239 --> 01:46:23.319 accident, or even god for being killed in the line of duty. I 1547 01:46:23.359 --> 01:46:26.359 don't know if honor is the right word there's some honor in that. And 1548 01:46:26.399 --> 01:46:30.960 this is and I say this gingerly because I don't mean to disrespect your brother 1549 01:46:31.079 --> 01:46:34.720 I got it, or anybody that's taken their life, because at the moment 1550 01:46:34.760 --> 01:46:39.399 that that arrived, they had their struggles, but then they had a complete 1551 01:46:39.399 --> 01:46:44.039 and utter mental breakdown to act on it. So I don't mean it in 1552 01:46:44.119 --> 01:46:47.720 a way that it's disrespectful, but I think you can empathize with me. 1553 01:46:48.199 --> 01:46:50.880 Listen, if he died at nine to eleven, I would have been grief 1554 01:46:50.920 --> 01:46:56.760 stricken to the end. But you could find some solace. You can find 1555 01:46:56.800 --> 01:47:01.039 some you know, closure, right love. He didn't he loved. If 1556 01:47:01.079 --> 01:47:02.800 it was me, I would have been in it. I would have did 1557 01:47:02.840 --> 01:47:09.479 it willingly any event. Searching for the why, Yeah, And the why 1558 01:47:09.760 --> 01:47:13.159 is like, there's never a why, because you know, I've I've talked 1559 01:47:13.199 --> 01:47:15.760 to plenty of people and I did a few podcasts on this already. You 1560 01:47:15.800 --> 01:47:17.800 know, you can't say, well, he was in the middle of a 1561 01:47:17.800 --> 01:47:23.000 divorce or a financial crisis, or he screwed up on the job. Well, 1562 01:47:23.000 --> 01:47:26.560 that would mean everybody that gets divorced takes their life. Everybody that gets 1563 01:47:26.560 --> 01:47:30.920 foreclosed on the house takes their life. Everybody that has financial issues takes their 1564 01:47:30.920 --> 01:47:34.079 life. They don't, but some it's and that's where the bullying and then 1565 01:47:34.680 --> 01:47:39.680 the drawing the line of the senior meant to stop the ball breaking, because 1566 01:47:39.720 --> 01:47:45.119 you don't know where this guy's lying in the sands where he goes home and 1567 01:47:45.199 --> 01:47:48.079 says to himself, I've had it. Nobody likes me at work. I'm 1568 01:47:48.079 --> 01:47:51.439 a lousy fireman, a lousy father, I'm a lousy husband. Now I'm 1569 01:47:51.439 --> 01:47:59.159 getting full closed. I'm better off dead and and listen. After my mother 1570 01:47:59.159 --> 01:48:01.239 passed away, and it kicked around in my head a little bit too, 1571 01:48:01.279 --> 01:48:03.159 I go, how am I ever going to be happy? I'm a fireman 1572 01:48:03.359 --> 01:48:08.520 in New York City and I wasn't even able to save my mother and she 1573 01:48:08.600 --> 01:48:11.079 died in a burn center. Now I got to live with this the rest 1574 01:48:11.079 --> 01:48:15.840 of my life. But friends, help. I didn't get help right away. 1575 01:48:15.920 --> 01:48:18.439 I waited ten years to get help, you know. And I finally 1576 01:48:18.520 --> 01:48:24.279 said, listen. And that's the hardest thing for a firefighter to admit, 1577 01:48:26.079 --> 01:48:30.880 you know, I can't. We're never willing to. I don't know why 1578 01:48:31.359 --> 01:48:35.720 that is such a block for people, because it's again, yes, you 1579 01:48:35.720 --> 01:48:38.880 can get in trouble with the job, and you worry about your career and 1580 01:48:38.880 --> 01:48:42.720 stuff like that, But I don't know. When you're that screwed up, 1581 01:48:43.119 --> 01:48:45.680 you're going to take help wherever you can get it. But the can do 1582 01:48:45.800 --> 01:48:50.359 attitude of a firefighter is like, I can figure this out. You know, 1583 01:48:50.399 --> 01:48:53.920 all right. My wife left me, she's taken my kids. She 1584 01:48:53.920 --> 01:48:57.560 will let me tell you whatever the issue winds up being, I'll figure it 1585 01:48:57.560 --> 01:49:01.239 out. And sometimes you can't figure you're out, and sometimes you can. 1586 01:49:01.359 --> 01:49:05.119 And that's why we talk about the firears kitchen, which should be a ball 1587 01:49:05.159 --> 01:49:09.479 breaking place, good natured ball breaking place, but it also should be a 1588 01:49:09.520 --> 01:49:13.039 place for support. So any firefighter in the world, you know when they 1589 01:49:13.039 --> 01:49:15.680 say I got you back, Yeah, of course. You run into a 1590 01:49:15.800 --> 01:49:17.880 job and you know you got the I got the nozzle. You're my back 1591 01:49:17.960 --> 01:49:21.199 up. You ain't bailing out on me, no matter what, no matter 1592 01:49:21.199 --> 01:49:24.720 what shit goes down, You're not bailing on you. I know that. 1593 01:49:25.359 --> 01:49:29.720 But this is that's a given to me. I need your back when I'm 1594 01:49:29.720 --> 01:49:34.039 struggling with a divorce, I'm struggling with relationship issues. I'm struggling with this 1595 01:49:34.079 --> 01:49:39.960 guy breaking my balls day and night, every time I come to work, 1596 01:49:39.960 --> 01:49:43.000 I got a dread coming to work. And again, we don't know what 1597 01:49:43.039 --> 01:49:45.560 the line in the sand is for anybody, and all it takes is one 1598 01:49:45.640 --> 01:49:48.399 more thing. Now for my brother, I don't know what that one thing 1599 01:49:48.560 --> 01:49:53.119 was. I don't know that he planned it. I don't know that he 1600 01:49:54.159 --> 01:50:00.279 mentioned one thing to you ever, like what but truthfully, what f And 1601 01:50:00.439 --> 01:50:02.039 is gonna say to you? Yeah? No, I got you. You 1602 01:50:02.039 --> 01:50:05.039 know listen, if I and I hope I do get to do a seminar 1603 01:50:05.159 --> 01:50:09.159 someday, I'm getting back to doing that. And if I do a seminar, 1604 01:50:09.399 --> 01:50:12.000 listen, if there's a room of six hundred firemen, I'm sure they 1605 01:50:12.000 --> 01:50:16.319 got this struggles divorce, relationship, ball busting, financial Maybe one out of 1606 01:50:16.319 --> 01:50:19.680 the six hundred actually is toyed with the idea like things don't turn around. 1607 01:50:20.239 --> 01:50:23.920 I can always take my life. But if I announced it to the crowd, 1608 01:50:23.960 --> 01:50:25.760 I said, balance, listen, I'm on your side. I got 1609 01:50:25.800 --> 01:50:28.399 get back. I'm a firefighter just like you. I went through a loss 1610 01:50:28.479 --> 01:50:32.479 like this. Is anybody in the room ever contemplated taking their life? I 1611 01:50:32.760 --> 01:50:35.239 would bet not one of the six hundred, even if they were doing it, 1612 01:50:35.239 --> 01:50:40.000 would ever raise their hand because all the other five hundred and ninety nine 1613 01:50:40.079 --> 01:50:42.239 look at them like, what are you kidding me? We're in a suicide 1614 01:50:42.239 --> 01:50:45.199 prevention thing. You're raising your hand, You're talking about suicide. They're not 1615 01:50:45.239 --> 01:50:49.239 gonna until it's too late, until it's too late. So I again, 1616 01:50:49.279 --> 01:50:53.920 I don't know what I think. Joe, we talk about it, Joel. 1617 01:50:54.079 --> 01:50:57.680 You know we've had some conversations, a lot of conversations about this groom. 1618 01:50:57.720 --> 01:51:00.720 You know, I think that you know, even for me, that 1619 01:51:02.000 --> 01:51:04.840 maybe that was an older time, right, you know, even though it's 1620 01:51:04.840 --> 01:51:10.039 twenty twelve, your brother grew up later. Right now, the kids, 1621 01:51:10.880 --> 01:51:15.439 it's there. Right when you saw somebody dead in nineteen eighty five, you 1622 01:51:15.479 --> 01:51:17.399 know, when decapitated of the car accident, you went back and had chicken 1623 01:51:17.439 --> 01:51:20.000 palm. Right that, nobody talked about it. You didn't feel anything, 1624 01:51:20.039 --> 01:51:21.920 you didn't have to talk to anybody. You went home, you had to 1625 01:51:21.960 --> 01:51:25.760 be here. Whatever it was, you dealt with it right over and over 1626 01:51:25.800 --> 01:51:30.960 and over and over again. The kids today they know that there's a possibility 1627 01:51:31.439 --> 01:51:34.840 and there's a lot of options for them to talk to somebody and see somebody. 1628 01:51:34.880 --> 01:51:41.000 So it is changing. I think the persona or whatever, however you 1629 01:51:41.039 --> 01:51:45.079 want to word it, that the help is out there, not maybe you 1630 01:51:45.079 --> 01:51:47.359 know, like back in the day, you know, you know, talking 1631 01:51:47.399 --> 01:51:51.720 about your brother or you know that time, because when he grew up, 1632 01:51:51.720 --> 01:51:56.000 it was different, right, it was just I think that's changed a little 1633 01:51:56.000 --> 01:51:59.359 bit. That's at least what we're hoping that that's the case. Well, 1634 01:51:59.479 --> 01:52:03.279 we work on changing in ourselves by bringing this kind of awareness that this could 1635 01:52:03.279 --> 01:52:06.800 actually physically happen. You know, when I put a picture of him up 1636 01:52:06.800 --> 01:52:12.279 and if you ever know in his personality, he would say, no way, 1637 01:52:12.760 --> 01:52:15.920 no way, no way, how could you? And I have to 1638 01:52:15.960 --> 01:52:17.359 tell you my first reaction was, how could he do this to me? 1639 01:52:18.760 --> 01:52:23.319 Right? How could he do this to me? We went through the worst 1640 01:52:23.319 --> 01:52:29.279 thing in the world, going to ground zero together, and listen, I 1641 01:52:29.720 --> 01:52:32.560 could use his name. Tony Perella out of one twenty nine took his life 1642 01:52:33.600 --> 01:52:38.039 when I got the call, and he was a good friend of mine when 1643 01:52:38.039 --> 01:52:40.079 I got and he got in trouble with the job. He was working a 1644 01:52:40.079 --> 01:52:45.600 side job. Great guy, great guy, well built, handsome, well 1645 01:52:45.760 --> 01:52:53.000 liked, funny, no sign of depression at all. He got divorced, 1646 01:52:53.319 --> 01:52:56.840 cost him thirty eight thousand dollars. He was complaining about it but not finding 1647 01:52:56.880 --> 01:52:59.960 a way in the corner. And then he would work in a second job 1648 01:53:00.079 --> 01:53:03.439 as an X ray tech and they were on strike and he went into work 1649 01:53:03.479 --> 01:53:08.680 anyway side job. So one of the x ray techs didn't like the idea, 1650 01:53:08.720 --> 01:53:10.680 like this guy's got a full time job. This is off full time 1651 01:53:10.760 --> 01:53:13.760 job. We're on strike. He's coursing the picket line. They turned him 1652 01:53:13.760 --> 01:53:16.840 in and he got trouble. So the job got him down there and they 1653 01:53:16.840 --> 01:53:19.920 wanted to make an example of him. They sat him down and said, 1654 01:53:19.920 --> 01:53:23.600 we're gonna fiore you. You're gonna be in the daily news. You're gonna 1655 01:53:23.600 --> 01:53:29.319 be oh my. We took it so personal. But like my brother, 1656 01:53:29.359 --> 01:53:33.439 I never thought this was a possibility. He called me the night before, 1657 01:53:33.640 --> 01:53:36.359 the night that he did it. He called me his Joe. Come on, 1658 01:53:36.439 --> 01:53:39.840 I can't take this, not at wits end, because I would have 1659 01:53:39.840 --> 01:53:42.399 been there in a second. He's like, I can't believe this shit. 1660 01:53:42.520 --> 01:53:45.359 Now we're you know, we're working tomorrow and then Monday, I gotta go 1661 01:53:45.399 --> 01:53:48.760 down to the legal office and they're talking about Tony. You're not gonna lose 1662 01:53:48.800 --> 01:53:53.720 your job. I mean they might give you a thirty day rip, maybe 1663 01:53:53.720 --> 01:53:55.880 to take your vacation away from you, and something like that. You're not 1664 01:53:55.880 --> 01:53:58.600 gonna lose your job, you know, big deal, you worked the second 1665 01:53:58.680 --> 01:54:00.560 job. It's not the end of the world, you know. But when 1666 01:54:00.600 --> 01:54:02.800 I say the end of the world to somebody else might be the end of 1667 01:54:02.840 --> 01:54:10.079 the world. If I knew that night, after I said Tony, we'll 1668 01:54:10.079 --> 01:54:13.880 working tomorrow morning, I'll see you in the morning, I go hang in 1669 01:54:13.920 --> 01:54:18.119 there, but I know nothing about The phone call was an alert. And 1670 01:54:18.520 --> 01:54:21.760 later that night he drank a half a batle of vodka. You know, 1671 01:54:23.000 --> 01:54:25.359 the way my brother did it, and the way most of the people do 1672 01:54:25.399 --> 01:54:29.000 it. It. It just sickens me to somebody to go to that extent 1673 01:54:30.439 --> 01:54:36.039 mechanically, even to He went into his garage, took the time to duct 1674 01:54:36.039 --> 01:54:41.760 tape all the scenes of the garage, and started the car and sat in 1675 01:54:41.760 --> 01:54:45.840 the cart and and went to sleep. And the next morning we're all smell. 1676 01:54:45.960 --> 01:54:48.800 I wars Tony. Somebody stopped by his house on the way home. 1677 01:54:49.720 --> 01:54:56.600 I never thought like the and sure enough. So my point is, you 1678 01:54:56.640 --> 01:55:00.399 don't know how far along your mental state is. When I at the call, 1679 01:55:00.439 --> 01:55:01.359 I was standing in the living room my house, my brother Michael's right 1680 01:55:01.359 --> 01:55:05.000 of course from me. He met him and I turned white. He goes, 1681 01:55:05.199 --> 01:55:09.399 what's the matter, and I said, Tony Perela killed himself last night 1682 01:55:10.520 --> 01:55:14.800 and I collapsed crying in his arms. So he had that information. So 1683 01:55:14.920 --> 01:55:18.600 ten years later you do the same thing, knowing what it. Howard personally 1684 01:55:18.640 --> 01:55:23.319 affected me, and you know, listen to ed Nieces he had so only 1685 01:55:23.800 --> 01:55:27.760 I know what you're saying. It was a little less. Mental health is 1686 01:55:27.760 --> 01:55:30.159 a little less not important, but in your face as it is now and 1687 01:55:30.239 --> 01:55:34.760 available, it was a little bit even looked down upon, you know, 1688 01:55:35.119 --> 01:55:38.760 even people that have alcohol problems. You know, Ah, he's going to 1689 01:55:38.800 --> 01:55:41.479 the what did they used to call it, not the rock, the bomb, 1690 01:55:42.039 --> 01:55:46.000 the farm? Yeah, right right, So yes, it's a little 1691 01:55:46.039 --> 01:55:48.279 more I don't want to use the word accepted, but it's a little more. 1692 01:55:49.000 --> 01:55:53.079 Maybe that is the word. It's a little more acceptable right now to 1693 01:55:53.119 --> 01:55:58.720 say I'm struggling or but more. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, 1694 01:55:58.720 --> 01:56:01.239 there's no doubt the mental health is available. But when somebody says that, 1695 01:56:01.359 --> 01:56:04.960 it's almost like the nine to eleven thing to me, where they say remember 1696 01:56:05.079 --> 01:56:09.359 not forget, I go listen. He had his phone is in his hand. 1697 01:56:09.399 --> 01:56:12.479 He could have called me right, say, Joey, I'm thinking of 1698 01:56:12.479 --> 01:56:15.119 walking up this bridge and jumping on. But just like I said, if 1699 01:56:15.159 --> 01:56:17.000 you do a presentation, they're not going to tell you what they can tell 1700 01:56:17.039 --> 01:56:23.039 you. And this is what they say look for, and just my personal 1701 01:56:23.079 --> 01:56:27.159 experience from it is number one I look for is when the sense of humor 1702 01:56:27.199 --> 01:56:31.840 goes out the window. Listen, there's divorce, this foreclosure, there's physical 1703 01:56:32.000 --> 01:56:36.840 anomalies. There's people with two pays that get made fun of. I mean, 1704 01:56:36.840 --> 01:56:40.840 there's all things that go on that you're taking and you kind of let 1705 01:56:40.880 --> 01:56:45.359 it roll off your back a little bit. But it's when you personally lose. 1706 01:56:45.399 --> 01:56:47.000 And what we've all had is a little bit of what they call Gallows 1707 01:56:47.079 --> 01:56:51.560 humor with something rib like nine to eleven. You couldn't make Gallows humor out 1708 01:56:51.560 --> 01:56:54.960 of that took years. I don't even think it ever was going to be 1709 01:56:55.000 --> 01:56:57.640 Gallows humber about it. But you know, like a guy's getting divorced, 1710 01:56:57.800 --> 01:56:59.680 and there's a time and a place for like, hey, listen, I 1711 01:56:59.720 --> 01:57:02.760 unders saying you're crazy about or your court a cheating with your best friend and 1712 01:57:02.840 --> 01:57:06.039 it's horrible, and you know, we'll get through this, don't worry about 1713 01:57:06.039 --> 01:57:09.479 it. And there's other women out there, You'll probably mean, somebody else 1714 01:57:09.479 --> 01:57:15.520 he has to come. And but to relentlessly go after the guy to the 1715 01:57:15.560 --> 01:57:19.319 point of where now he's like, these guys don't have my back. And 1716 01:57:19.520 --> 01:57:25.840 and one thing I say is like, and I think of his situation too, 1717 01:57:28.359 --> 01:57:32.640 is that not every situation that happens you can humor your way out of, 1718 01:57:33.119 --> 01:57:38.680 get out of whatever. Sometimes and that's where they can do and the 1719 01:57:38.680 --> 01:57:42.600 toughness of being a firefighter comes in sometimes. You know what, buddy, 1720 01:57:43.159 --> 01:57:45.039 we're gonna have to lay it down and you're gonna have to gut it out. 1721 01:57:46.359 --> 01:57:48.119 It might take a day, it might take a week, but you're 1722 01:57:48.119 --> 01:57:51.399 gonna have to gut it out. I don't have the solution for it. 1723 01:57:53.279 --> 01:57:56.880 You know, if we can help you out financially, physically, emotionally, 1724 01:57:56.920 --> 01:57:59.079 but this one, you're gonna have to take the time and gut it out. 1725 01:57:59.119 --> 01:58:00.399 It's gonna take time, and you're gonna have to have some patience. 1726 01:58:00.680 --> 01:58:04.439 And that patience is going to be a little gut wrenching, so you know, 1727 01:58:04.479 --> 01:58:06.439 and that's where you put it to them. As they can do. 1728 01:58:06.840 --> 01:58:11.000 Can you do this, because I'm this is where I got you back. 1729 01:58:11.439 --> 01:58:14.439 If I have to lay down on a bunk with you and put you in 1730 01:58:14.439 --> 01:58:17.920 a headlock until this passes, then that's what we're going to do. And 1731 01:58:17.960 --> 01:58:20.680 if you've got to get in a boxing ring with me and beat the shit 1732 01:58:20.680 --> 01:58:24.560 out of me to get that anger out of you, because that's really what 1733 01:58:24.600 --> 01:58:29.960 they say suicide ideas, it's a little bit of self murder. You're angry, 1734 01:58:30.479 --> 01:58:34.119 disappointed, frustrated, and now you turn to self murder. So we 1735 01:58:34.199 --> 01:58:36.439 got to get you past the point. And you know't listen, I've seen 1736 01:58:36.439 --> 01:58:39.600 it, like you said, when a guy loses his temper in the fireouse. 1737 01:58:40.720 --> 01:58:44.159 He's got rage in his eyes. He can kill somebody until you calm 1738 01:58:44.239 --> 01:58:45.800 him down. And then all of a sudden, you know, like, 1739 01:58:45.800 --> 01:58:48.319 what are you're thinking at that moment in time? You aren't thinking? And 1740 01:58:48.359 --> 01:58:51.880 that's really what happens then, not thinking. Because I went to the spot 1741 01:58:51.880 --> 01:58:56.520 where my brother took his life. The police officer took me there. I 1742 01:58:56.520 --> 01:59:00.479 couldn't even walk me a defence, that's how dizzying the height was. And 1743 01:59:00.520 --> 01:59:03.520 I'm like, he willingly walked to this fence and climbed over and just like 1744 01:59:03.560 --> 01:59:10.520 get him back to what you said, Joe, Like the method is boggles 1745 01:59:10.680 --> 01:59:13.119 the mind, right, I mean like you said, like the guy sat 1746 01:59:13.159 --> 01:59:14.920 in the car and went to sleep, you know what I mean, put 1747 01:59:14.920 --> 01:59:18.359 some you know whatever, had a scotch and but to go to that length, 1748 01:59:18.720 --> 01:59:21.560 right to do that. Or we had a guy in two eighty eight 1749 01:59:21.800 --> 01:59:26.760 after nine to eleven who went home, you know, he was coming. 1750 01:59:26.960 --> 01:59:30.479 We worked with him that night. He got off in the morning, uh, 1751 01:59:30.960 --> 01:59:33.279 Gary Salmtani, Yeah, it was the other way around. He was 1752 01:59:33.279 --> 01:59:38.800 getting off in the day and he said he actually said I'm coming in tonight, 1753 01:59:39.119 --> 01:59:41.800 I'll pick up the meal, let me know what you want, and 1754 01:59:41.920 --> 01:59:45.239 never came in. And then he went home and put a rifle in his 1755 01:59:45.319 --> 01:59:48.039 mouth. You know, Like so we you know we again we knew that, 1756 01:59:48.359 --> 01:59:50.479 you know, similar thing, you know, and that guy was a 1757 01:59:50.520 --> 01:59:55.520 funny guy, like yeah, there was like nothing. He was an anger. 1758 01:59:55.600 --> 01:59:58.439 I mean he was having issues with his girlfriend if I remember right, 1759 01:59:59.000 --> 02:00:03.880 But it was but to do those methods, just like you said, when 1760 02:00:03.880 --> 02:00:08.840 you're saying you're not thinking, like holy not when I see people throw themselves 1761 02:00:08.840 --> 02:00:11.600 in front of the train, because we go to a lot of them like 1762 02:00:11.960 --> 02:00:17.720 there had to be another way than this. I mean, like, I 1763 02:00:17.760 --> 02:00:23.479 know, but you're of sound mind right now, and they're not salmon but 1764 02:00:23.560 --> 02:00:26.600 not thinking rationally. It's what it is. Well that's what I said. 1765 02:00:26.640 --> 02:00:29.960 I go listen. Yeah, and you had to do it in a demonstrably 1766 02:00:30.039 --> 02:00:31.720 horrible way. Why don't you just take a bunch of sleeping pills and go 1767 02:00:31.760 --> 02:00:35.640 to sleep. But I'm thinking, I have clarity of thought right now, 1768 02:00:35.840 --> 02:00:38.760 So I said, listen, if I was going to take my life, 1769 02:00:39.239 --> 02:00:41.199 I don't want to put a bullet in my head. I don't want to 1770 02:00:41.279 --> 02:00:44.560 jump off a bridge. I don't want to hang myself. I'll just take 1771 02:00:44.560 --> 02:00:46.840 a bunch of sleeping pills. I'll go to sleep easy. But I have 1772 02:00:46.920 --> 02:00:49.399 clarity of thought now. When they get like that, like I have to 1773 02:00:49.439 --> 02:00:53.079 act on this. I have to act on this right now. They're not 1774 02:00:53.119 --> 02:00:56.479 looking to make a statement. They're just like this is the quickest way, 1775 02:00:56.479 --> 02:01:00.760 in the fastest way. And they get to a place where they say their 1776 02:01:00.760 --> 02:01:04.720 families. I don't think they think who they're going to hurt, or they're 1777 02:01:04.720 --> 02:01:09.520 gone. Their mind is completely gone for that brief period of time. I 1778 02:01:09.680 --> 02:01:15.840 just watched a PBS special on the Golden gate Bridge, and I think there 1779 02:01:15.920 --> 02:01:20.560 was three thousand people that jump from the Golden gate Bridge to take their life. 1780 02:01:20.960 --> 02:01:27.039 Thirty nine people lived just miraculously, somehow hit the water and wound up 1781 02:01:27.039 --> 02:01:30.800 lived. And they interviewed them, and every one of them, and I'll 1782 02:01:30.840 --> 02:01:34.920 say this about my brother or anybody else, every one of them said, 1783 02:01:35.079 --> 02:01:40.239 the minute I let go to jump, I said, what did I just 1784 02:01:40.279 --> 02:01:45.159 do? I made the stupid Really, the minute they let go, another 1785 02:01:45.199 --> 02:01:47.199 guy said, I'm walking. And this is why when I think of my 1786 02:01:47.239 --> 02:01:53.239 brother or anybody well him, because I know personally. One of the guys 1787 02:01:53.279 --> 02:01:56.880 said, I was walking to the Golden gate Bridge to jump, hell bent 1788 02:01:57.000 --> 02:02:00.680 on jumping. Calm, calm, look on my face. I'm ending my 1789 02:02:00.680 --> 02:02:02.600 life today. I'm going to jump off the bridge, but if one person 1790 02:02:02.640 --> 02:02:08.199 smiles at me on my way, I'm not going to do it. And 1791 02:02:08.600 --> 02:02:11.079 he passed people and looked at them. Nobody smiled at him, and he 1792 02:02:11.119 --> 02:02:14.279 goes, excuse the language effort, I'm jumping. And he jumped, but 1793 02:02:14.319 --> 02:02:18.000 he lived. Miracle by miracle, he lived. But his thinking was all 1794 02:02:18.000 --> 02:02:23.880 I need is one person to smile it and and I'm not going to do 1795 02:02:23.920 --> 02:02:26.920 it, and he went didn't and nobody smiled at him, and he went 1796 02:02:26.920 --> 02:02:30.079 and jumped, but miraculously lived. But almost every one of them. That's 1797 02:02:30.119 --> 02:02:33.920 an incredible thing, Joe like to say, Like in that in that one 1798 02:02:34.000 --> 02:02:40.520 second after it's they're releasing there, it's crystal clear again, right, like 1799 02:02:40.720 --> 02:02:43.479 what the hell did I just do? I can't come back from this. 1800 02:02:43.560 --> 02:02:48.520 That's it, you know, like I made a decision and I'm But the 1801 02:02:48.640 --> 02:02:51.800 mind is a tricky you know. It can go, it can go to 1802 02:02:51.880 --> 02:02:57.199 terrible places, whether it's a relationship. Listen, I've had relationships go south 1803 02:02:57.239 --> 02:03:01.680 and been devastated and I feel like it's never gonna get any different. But 1804 02:03:01.760 --> 02:03:05.600 again, and the other thing I read that really spooks me about it, 1805 02:03:05.640 --> 02:03:09.600 And if I ever give a seminar like this, which I'd love to, 1806 02:03:09.760 --> 02:03:15.319 is that they didn't think of it that morning. This has been in their 1807 02:03:15.359 --> 02:03:18.880 mind a little bit, sometimes months ahead of time. And the way I 1808 02:03:19.000 --> 02:03:25.760 kind of worded it is it Listen, We've all had our struggles in life, 1809 02:03:27.239 --> 02:03:30.239 whether it's relationships of financial, getting on the job, getting off the 1810 02:03:30.319 --> 02:03:32.920 job, retirement, all the things that life can bring up. Disassociation, 1811 02:03:33.039 --> 02:03:40.439 with family, friends, whatever. But what happens, I believe is it 1812 02:03:40.479 --> 02:03:45.279 becomes an It becomes an option. It might be option fifty. Like listen, 1813 02:03:45.319 --> 02:03:47.079 if my wife divorces me, I'd always bounce back, and you know, 1814 02:03:47.159 --> 02:03:50.279 I'll meet somebody else, and if the house forecloses, I could work 1815 02:03:50.279 --> 02:03:53.800 a second job and I'll figure out to get another house. You know, 1816 02:03:54.039 --> 02:03:57.119 you always have a way of figuring it out. But then they say, 1817 02:03:57.520 --> 02:04:00.720 if the divorce goes through and that lose the house, and my kids don't 1818 02:04:00.760 --> 02:04:04.319 talk to me anymore, and I'm disrespected at my job and I can't seem 1819 02:04:04.359 --> 02:04:09.520 to lose weight and whatever the things are, then they go, you know 1820 02:04:09.600 --> 02:04:15.640 what, I could always just end my life. So now it's option fifty. 1821 02:04:15.760 --> 02:04:20.560 So the divorce goes through another guy at work terrorizing you. You get 1822 02:04:20.600 --> 02:04:24.399 maybe screw up at a job or something, or now all of a sudden, 1823 02:04:24.760 --> 02:04:28.520 now it's all of a sudden's option twenty five. And it starts moving 1824 02:04:28.600 --> 02:04:30.880 up the ladder. And now all you need is a few other things to 1825 02:04:30.920 --> 02:04:34.000 not go right. And that's where we said about the ball breaking, and 1826 02:04:34.079 --> 02:04:36.840 no one went to stop. Is all you need to do is get to 1827 02:04:36.840 --> 02:04:41.000 work one day and well, this guy. He said, if one person 1828 02:04:41.000 --> 02:04:43.399 smiles at me, I'm not going to do this, and he goes to 1829 02:04:43.399 --> 02:04:45.960 the world's an evil place. Nobody smiled at me. I'm out at you. 1830 02:04:46.199 --> 02:04:49.079 So again, I don't know what. My brother had his phone in 1831 02:04:49.119 --> 02:04:53.640 his hand, maybe at the point he was at say listen, if somebody 1832 02:04:53.640 --> 02:04:57.560 calls me that morning, I won't do it. Yeah. I've talked to 1833 02:04:57.600 --> 02:05:00.119 a bunch of psychologists and psychiatrists, and it is a difference. Like you 1834 02:05:00.199 --> 02:05:05.359 had said before, people sometimes say, you know, rashly, I'm gonna 1835 02:05:05.399 --> 02:05:10.760 kill myself. I feel like killing myself. The next question if somebody ever 1836 02:05:10.800 --> 02:05:14.439 said that to you is have you ever thought about it? You have you 1837 02:05:14.520 --> 02:05:17.520 picked away that you're going to do it? And that is the real red 1838 02:05:17.600 --> 02:05:23.119 light. When somebody's thought about it and they have already gone over in their 1839 02:05:23.159 --> 02:05:26.239 head how they're exactly going to do it, that's when you have to really 1840 02:05:26.239 --> 02:05:30.880 step it up, because that's like life and sirens right there. And I've 1841 02:05:30.039 --> 02:05:33.840 talked to many doctors who said the same thing, you know, as they 1842 02:05:34.680 --> 02:05:39.640 and I alluded to before about the humor part, because that's I distinctly remember 1843 02:05:39.680 --> 02:05:42.439 saying to him in the months previous. I go, when did you lose 1844 02:05:42.439 --> 02:05:46.119 your fire house sense of humor? You know? Really? And because he 1845 02:05:46.239 --> 02:05:49.479 wasn't, you know, sooner or later in the conversation you get around to 1846 02:05:49.520 --> 02:05:53.840 saying something funny. Mm hmm. You know what, I got a funny 1847 02:05:53.880 --> 02:05:56.920 story about that? His friend Bob Crowe, who worked with him at last 1848 02:05:56.960 --> 02:06:06.159 of seven. I know, Bobby Crow topic wrestler or whatever. Yeah, 1849 02:06:06.239 --> 02:06:09.479 yeah, yeah, Bob Crow. He was good friends with Bob Crow, 1850 02:06:09.640 --> 02:06:13.239 sweetheart. What a great guy, What a great guy. But I remember, 1851 02:06:13.439 --> 02:06:16.079 and he's pretty funny too. Uh My brother called him up one time 1852 02:06:16.800 --> 02:06:21.560 and he said to him, and you guys will appreciate this from the firehouse 1853 02:06:21.640 --> 02:06:28.479 humor and and marriage part of it. He's complaining to Bob Crow and he's 1854 02:06:28.479 --> 02:06:30.359 like, Bob, you know, I I can't believe it. I've been 1855 02:06:30.359 --> 02:06:34.199 married, like, you know, seven eight years already, and you know, 1856 02:06:34.239 --> 02:06:38.079 she doesn't want to do anything, she doesn't want to work, and 1857 02:06:38.079 --> 02:06:41.960 since we had the kid, you know, you know, I'm not having 1858 02:06:42.119 --> 02:06:49.720 sex anymore. And Bob goes, what makes you special? Why why did 1859 02:06:49.760 --> 02:06:54.319 you think none of this was going to happen to you? It makes you 1860 02:06:54.399 --> 02:06:58.239 special? So but he but Bob was laughing about it. My brother wasn't. 1861 02:06:59.199 --> 02:07:00.960 And I do remember in some of our conversations that's what I was saying 1862 02:07:00.960 --> 02:07:05.720 to him or you know, whatever it was, you know, even marriage. 1863 02:07:05.880 --> 02:07:09.800 You know, I'm like, yeah, but you're not married, and 1864 02:07:09.920 --> 02:07:14.279 uh, you know it's different for you and I listen, I've had disappointments 1865 02:07:14.279 --> 02:07:18.159 to it, women, I've had disappointments with finances. I have disappointments are 1866 02:07:18.319 --> 02:07:21.439 housing. And but he started to chip away at the humor, which just 1867 02:07:21.560 --> 02:07:27.600 would never go right back to Yeah. But you know, and then the 1868 02:07:27.680 --> 02:07:32.199 basic attitude of life is to be positive. And that's where we talked about 1869 02:07:32.239 --> 02:07:36.079 the fire's kitchen. They either solved the problem, helped you gut it out, 1870 02:07:36.359 --> 02:07:39.800 or figure out how you were going to fix it, you know, 1871 02:07:39.840 --> 02:07:42.760 and that's that can do. Attitude is very helpful, but not in the 1872 02:07:42.800 --> 02:07:46.159 mental health area because that area you got to say what's going on? Like 1873 02:07:46.279 --> 02:07:48.920 Bob Crowchrit did laugh it off, like what makes you specially you think it 1874 02:07:49.159 --> 02:07:53.880 was going to be different for you? You know, And he's still he 1875 02:07:53.920 --> 02:07:56.720 didn't. He didn't almost didn't get the humor of it. Yeah, but 1876 02:07:56.880 --> 02:08:01.000 it's happening to me and what it is. Yeah, you got to you 1877 02:08:01.079 --> 02:08:03.760 gotta go to I had some relationship issues earlier in my career. At one 1878 02:08:03.840 --> 02:08:07.359 twenty nine. I figured they laid off for me. I have to give 1879 02:08:07.399 --> 02:08:09.680 him that. And one of the guys said, Joe on the thing is, 1880 02:08:09.680 --> 02:08:13.880 you got to put the time in. He'll bounce back from this, 1881 02:08:13.920 --> 02:08:16.039 but you gotta put the time. It's gonna suck for a while. Yeah, 1882 02:08:16.159 --> 02:08:18.720 got to embrace the suck. Thank you. I was just gonna say 1883 02:08:18.760 --> 02:08:22.359 that Maybee guys. So yeah, if you're getting divorced, you're losing your 1884 02:08:22.359 --> 02:08:28.079 house, job, whatever it is, it's it's you know, it's gonna 1885 02:08:28.119 --> 02:08:33.720 suck. And again things that happened to you in life that are bad, 1886 02:08:35.840 --> 02:08:39.800 you know, you lose your perspective. I mean I remember that. You 1887 02:08:39.840 --> 02:08:41.600 guys will remember it. You're around long enough. Remember the guy that blew 1888 02:08:41.600 --> 02:08:46.760 away the medical doctor because he didn't get three quarters and they gave him half 1889 02:08:46.840 --> 02:08:52.439 pay. But when you break that down that situation, I'm just gonna use 1890 02:08:52.520 --> 02:08:56.560 round numbers. Let's say medical disability. He was going to get thirty thousand 1891 02:08:56.600 --> 02:09:01.920 a year three quarter disability forty So for fifteen thousand dollars a year, you 1892 02:09:01.960 --> 02:09:05.279 went to jail for murder for the rest of your life and kill the human 1893 02:09:05.279 --> 02:09:09.119 being. That's no different than Tuesday. He lost his mind. Somebody should 1894 02:09:09.119 --> 02:09:13.840 have tackled him. What are you doing so you're gonna get fifteen thousand dollars 1895 02:09:13.920 --> 02:09:16.920 left every year? Right now, You're gonna get no money and you're gonna 1896 02:09:16.920 --> 02:09:20.000 spend the rest of your life in prison, get chased around by you know, 1897 02:09:20.159 --> 02:09:24.800 some big man. Exactly, you're gonna be somebody's boys. I just 1898 02:09:24.840 --> 02:09:28.000 wanted it before we've tried this up. I just wanted to respond to this 1899 02:09:28.119 --> 02:09:31.800 to my body. He's been a lot of good comments for him tonight. 1900 02:09:33.199 --> 02:09:37.039 You know, everyone doesn't talk about it everyone, but on the odd chance 1901 02:09:37.119 --> 02:09:41.159 sometimes they do. Like Joe was saying, that guy was just waiting for 1902 02:09:41.199 --> 02:09:43.159 one person to smile at them. So there might be an instance where this 1903 02:09:43.239 --> 02:09:48.720 guy or whoever girl might try at least once to throw it out there. 1904 02:09:48.399 --> 02:09:52.319 And if they do, when you happen to be the person, that's when 1905 02:09:52.359 --> 02:09:54.279 you ask the next question, which is, well, have you really thought 1906 02:09:54.319 --> 02:09:56.880 about this? You know, do you have you planned it out? How 1907 02:09:56.920 --> 02:10:00.800 are you going to do it? So I agree with the fact that not 1908 02:10:00.920 --> 02:10:03.960 everybody is gonna say it, you know, but there are people who are 1909 02:10:03.960 --> 02:10:07.960 looking for that last grasp of somebody to tell them, you know, maybe 1910 02:10:07.960 --> 02:10:11.720 they shouldn't do it. Yes, And and even though the characters galore in 1911 02:10:11.720 --> 02:10:16.239 the fires, you can find listen, I found guys that were funny. 1912 02:10:16.279 --> 02:10:20.079 I found guys that were sensitive. I found guys that were talented. There's 1913 02:10:20.479 --> 02:10:24.600 guaranteed any fires, USA, there's a guy that you know that you can 1914 02:10:24.079 --> 02:10:28.800 talk to that's on kind of on the same level as you. So go 1915 02:10:28.840 --> 02:10:33.920 to that, right, he may maybe the chance, Yeah, go to 1916 02:10:33.960 --> 02:10:39.079 that guy, right you know, yeah, maybe the other knit with or 1917 02:10:39.159 --> 02:10:41.399 bit from back from the future. That's not the guy that you can go 1918 02:10:41.439 --> 02:10:45.359 to. But I'm sure and there were guys know the guy you'll know the 1919 02:10:45.399 --> 02:10:48.079 guy that you'll know that you'll know the guy and you say, that's the 1920 02:10:48.079 --> 02:10:50.520 guy, say listen, I got to talk to you, and he may. 1921 02:10:50.760 --> 02:10:54.720 You know. That's the judgment call on the on the other party is 1922 02:10:54.760 --> 02:10:58.479 to know. And we're not professionals at it, so that'd be the first 1923 02:10:58.479 --> 02:11:01.640 thing I say, Okay, what's going on? You know, my wife 1924 02:11:01.279 --> 02:11:05.199 leave me, she's the kids. I go, this is going to have 1925 02:11:05.239 --> 02:11:09.359 a solution. Uh, let's look at all this. One of the solutions 1926 02:11:09.399 --> 02:11:13.199 is in suicide. That's the thing you got to get in your head. 1927 02:11:15.079 --> 02:11:16.560 I don't care what's going on. I don't care if you lose every time 1928 02:11:16.680 --> 02:11:22.079 you have. I don't care if your leg gets blown off. The solution 1929 02:11:22.359 --> 02:11:26.000 is never suicide. We'll get a solution to it. We'll get your new 1930 02:11:26.039 --> 02:11:28.880 leg, we'll get your new woman. There's a solution, and that's not 1931 02:11:28.920 --> 02:11:31.800 one of them. So please tell me that that's not on your list. 1932 02:11:33.680 --> 02:11:37.159 And we'll go from there. And there may not be a viable solution to 1933 02:11:37.199 --> 02:11:41.359 this, so you know, then we're going to embrace the suck and we're 1934 02:11:41.359 --> 02:11:45.279 not going to make it last forever because it won't, and but we'll I 1935 02:11:45.359 --> 02:11:48.960 got you back for the entire time. You're going to need this, whether 1936 02:11:48.000 --> 02:11:52.680 it's a week, a month, or a year. Good old school tip 1937 02:11:52.720 --> 02:11:56.039 there. We got to get to that. It's about it. So you 1938 02:11:56.119 --> 02:11:58.239 know what, Joe, we're actually thinking about doing another. We will definitely 1939 02:12:00.279 --> 02:12:03.880 tag you in when we're doing next mental health. That's great. I got 1940 02:12:05.239 --> 02:12:09.199 what's her name from friends of firefighters calling me Nancy Nancy Carbone, So we're 1941 02:12:09.199 --> 02:12:13.880 gonna do something. So we'll get you in it. But before we do, 1942 02:12:15.079 --> 02:12:24.079 I think it's that time. Guns. It is time four of the 1943 02:12:24.760 --> 02:12:28.439 of the day. You're gonna get better at that. We're like all over 1944 02:12:28.439 --> 02:12:35.840 the place. Yeah, my old school tip of the day is I'm gonna 1945 02:12:35.920 --> 02:12:43.399 ask all the younger firefighters to listen to a song by Kenny Chesney called Don't 1946 02:12:43.439 --> 02:12:48.760 Blink, Oh my favorite. Yeah, And he's talking to an older man 1947 02:12:48.760 --> 02:12:52.399 who's like one hundred years old, and he's saying to the like, what's 1948 02:12:52.439 --> 02:12:54.720 the secret of life and stuff like that, and he said, yes, 1949 02:12:54.800 --> 02:12:58.760 care for the people you care about, especially your mother and father and people 1950 02:12:58.840 --> 02:13:00.600 you work with and stuff. But he goes, you know what, one 1951 02:13:00.680 --> 02:13:05.720 hundred years goes faster than you think, and don't blink because that's how fast 1952 02:13:05.720 --> 02:13:11.640 it goes. So my old school advice is to these younger firefighters when you 1953 02:13:11.720 --> 02:13:18.000 walk in the firehouse and you smell that sweat and leather and smoke inhale deeply 1954 02:13:18.239 --> 02:13:22.119 because it's a very brief period. You don't see it. When you're twenty 1955 02:13:22.119 --> 02:13:24.920 five and you're thirty, you don't see it. You're gonna be like us 1956 02:13:24.079 --> 02:13:35.840 now at night, sniffing, sniff in the air, for some yes, 1957 02:13:37.279 --> 02:13:41.520 and even the kitchen and the food and all of that. I just say, 1958 02:13:43.359 --> 02:13:46.520 you're gonna blink. It doesn't seem like you're gonna blink, and it's 1959 02:13:46.520 --> 02:13:50.439 gonna be gone, and you're gonna be wanna be wallowing it and brace you 1960 02:13:50.479 --> 02:13:54.520 said, Embrace the suck. Embrace the joy that you have right now, 1961 02:13:54.520 --> 02:13:58.000 which is being a firefighter in whatever city you are in the world and the 1962 02:13:58.039 --> 02:14:01.159 planet. Greatest job on the world. Embrace the people you work with. 1963 02:14:03.079 --> 02:14:07.319 You know, always keep care, love, concern and respect forefront, have 1964 02:14:07.439 --> 02:14:11.920 your fun, break balls, no one to end when it and and no 1965 02:14:11.960 --> 02:14:16.239 one to have somebody's back when they're going overboard on that. So just embrace 1966 02:14:16.279 --> 02:14:20.560 it while it's here. Be here, because it's gonna be. It's gonna 1967 02:14:20.560 --> 02:14:22.039 be, it's gonna be gone, and you're gonna be reflecting. Listen, 1968 02:14:22.239 --> 02:14:24.600 any one of us, I give my right on to be back in the 1969 02:14:24.640 --> 02:14:30.800 kitchen making chicken cut with parmesan with a piece of sheet rock whatzerella on it. 1970 02:14:33.399 --> 02:14:37.399 They had so many nuggets in that bro that will fall all over the 1971 02:14:37.439 --> 02:14:41.199 place, right, And to just sit there and just I would just my 1972 02:14:41.279 --> 02:14:46.039 ears would be ring listening to all the nonsense and the craziness and and for 1973 02:14:46.119 --> 02:14:50.640 all of us. You know, if we could do that one with the 1974 02:14:50.840 --> 02:14:54.119 in the middle of the a piece of goo witzarella hanging out of my mouth 1975 02:14:54.199 --> 02:14:58.520 and say that a one two nine, respond you got a ten seventy five 1976 02:14:58.640 --> 02:15:03.119 at Flushing Air you and jump on the rig and out out you go, 1977 02:15:03.399 --> 02:15:05.920 any one of us who give all right on to do that one more time. 1978 02:15:05.159 --> 02:15:09.640 So you that are still listening, that are involved in it, embrace 1979 02:15:09.720 --> 02:15:11.960 it. It goes faster than you think. Nice. That's good. And 1980 02:15:13.000 --> 02:15:15.720 you know what, now you have to take the second best thing, which 1981 02:15:15.720 --> 02:15:18.680 is Getting Salty Experienced podcast. It's the only one that brings the fire house. 1982 02:15:18.720 --> 02:15:22.520 Get your table, do you? Joe got to be an avid listener. 1983 02:15:22.800 --> 02:15:24.560 I forget how the line goes in there, Joe, but he says 1984 02:15:26.199 --> 02:15:28.560 he's talking about like the you know, like the what's the thing that you 1985 02:15:28.560 --> 02:15:33.880 flip over with the sand our glass? He says, you can't flip it 1986 02:15:33.920 --> 02:15:37.319 over and start again, That's what he says, Like, as you stand 1987 02:15:37.399 --> 02:15:39.920 is running out, you can't flip it over and start again. That's like 1988 02:15:39.960 --> 02:15:43.399 the best line. Well, this this is gonna be your no brain to 1989 02:15:43.479 --> 02:15:46.880 gon so play the old school health and safety tip. Okay, here we 1990 02:15:46.920 --> 02:15:52.880 go. The First Responder Center for Excellence is a not for profit organization dedicated 1991 02:15:52.920 --> 02:15:56.960 to protecting the lives and livelihoods of first responders. Their education and research initiatives 1992 02:15:58.000 --> 02:16:03.239 aim to bring greater awareness and unders standing the challenges to help safety and well 1993 02:16:03.239 --> 02:16:07.439 being of firefighters, EMS personnel, and other first responders too. They are 1994 02:16:07.479 --> 02:16:13.960 an affiliate of the National Falling Firefighter Foundation. So this is an easy one. 1995 02:16:13.359 --> 02:16:16.920 We said it in the show. I don't know how many times. 1996 02:16:16.319 --> 02:16:22.239 It doesn't take a lot to modify your diet. Just a little right, 1997 02:16:22.760 --> 02:16:26.439 add a little caudio, just a couple of tweaks, and get hit. 1998 02:16:26.960 --> 02:16:31.720 And not only to do the job the correct way, but also, like 1999 02:16:31.760 --> 02:16:33.079 we were saying before, you want to collect for one hundred years. You 2000 02:16:33.120 --> 02:16:35.920 want to be there for your family and your kids and your grandkids and everything 2001 02:16:35.920 --> 02:16:39.319 that comes with it. So to me favor, take the sheet rock off 2002 02:16:39.360 --> 02:16:43.120 the chicken palm, maybe a couple of sprinkles, you know what I mean. 2003 02:16:46.280 --> 02:16:54.840 I was clean in that tray after man, because the bread and spoke 2004 02:16:54.920 --> 02:16:58.959 up less with the bread, you don't have to clean it up. This 2005 02:17:00.040 --> 02:17:03.639 egos got it. Yeah, so Monday, we're off for the holiday, 2006 02:17:03.719 --> 02:17:09.440 right roof. I believe you're back on Thursday. Joe, great stories, 2007 02:17:09.479 --> 02:17:11.479 man, I really appreciate it. Talking about doing a little cooking segment. 2008 02:17:11.600 --> 02:17:15.079 I mean he might be doing a cooking segment for us, all right, 2009 02:17:15.120 --> 02:17:16.200 good man, you know I might come down for that one. Man. 2010 02:17:16.239 --> 02:17:18.639 I'm to give him a couple of those, you know what I mean? 2011 02:17:20.040 --> 02:17:22.719 Figure it out now, you guys are you? Guys are terrific and thank 2012 02:17:22.719 --> 02:17:26.559 you to let me relate the stories and I hopefully we reached somebody in the 2013 02:17:26.600 --> 02:17:33.680 mental health department and the hopefully there's an older firefight out there that's opening his 2014 02:17:33.719 --> 02:17:41.319 nostrils and leather and what are you dealing with? Sweat? The leather and 2015 02:17:41.399 --> 02:17:48.239 the sweat? Yep, so I changed his diet. God fads chopped and 2016 02:17:48.319 --> 02:17:50.760 I man, a lot of people saying up the game. Maybe you need 2017 02:17:50.799 --> 02:17:52.959 a little rest in Italy or something. I don't know what it was, 2018 02:17:52.000 --> 02:17:58.319 but you come back maybe okay, I've been doing okay. You just guys 2019 02:17:58.319 --> 02:18:01.399 are losing touch, you know, maybe it was long good And when do 2020 02:18:01.399 --> 02:18:05.079 you have a chat line of people that like respond and say stuff you didn't 2021 02:18:05.079 --> 02:18:09.280 see him on the side because that's when you when you go back if you 2022 02:18:09.319 --> 02:18:11.920 want to watch it again. Yeah, there's a couple ones. I was 2023 02:18:11.920 --> 02:18:15.760 trying to a lot of people talking about the mental health. But a great 2024 02:18:15.760 --> 02:18:18.799 show it was, Joe so oh good. Want to go back and watch 2025 02:18:18.840 --> 02:18:22.000 it. You can see it and check it out. Yeah, excellent. 2026 02:18:22.319 --> 02:18:26.719 I was waiting for someone twenty nine guys saying they still got tomaine poisoning. 2027 02:18:30.840 --> 02:18:35.040 Have a great stay holiday, you know, don't eat too much and I'll 2028 02:18:35.040 --> 02:18:41.319 see you on Thursday. Until then, stayabone, all right, everybody will 2029 02:18:41.319 --> 02:18:43.639 see it the big one. Thanks again, Joe, all right, thank 2030 02:18:43.680 --> 02:18:46.159 you. All right, guys see the top floor. Maybe have a good 2031 02:18:46.159 --> 02:18:46.000 weekend. Yep.