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Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.

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Speaker 1: And we continue now with part two of our conversation

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Speaker 1: with Nancy Carbone, right after these brief messages from our

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Speaker 1: general sponsors.

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Speaker 2: So you know, the bunting in the bugle of the

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Speaker 2: bugler was interesting because.

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Speaker 1: The mostly cheer up almost that he thought enough about that.

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Speaker 2: Guy John continued to amaze me at his ability to

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Speaker 2: project what the needs would be, as opposed to the

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Speaker 2: other houses that I did go to, they would say,

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Speaker 2: we need boots, we need socks, we need things for

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Speaker 2: the site.

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Speaker 1: So how did you present yourself? Hi, my husband's a

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Speaker 1: art professor and I'm here to help the fireman. No,

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine that went over.

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Speaker 2: I didn't say that. That wouldn't even come naturally to me.

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Speaker 2: And so what I did say.

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Speaker 1: Why would he open up and tell you what he needed?

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Speaker 2: To this day, both of us don't know why. It

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Speaker 2: just it worked it to this day. I don't think

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Speaker 2: he knew he was looking outside for help, and I

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Speaker 2: didn't know that I would be doing what I am now.

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Speaker 2: I just thought everybody wanted to help, right. I did say,

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Speaker 2: I don't have money, and if I cook the rest

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Speaker 2: of you, we're going to die, so right now. I

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Speaker 2: didn't offer that up yet. I said what do you need?

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Speaker 2: And I think that's the big thing is and that's

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Speaker 2: that's really been the cornerstone that Friends of Firefighters has

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Speaker 2: built on is ask them what they need. They may

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Speaker 2: not know and at this point you know this so

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Speaker 2: many years later, it's there's more clarity for me, of course,

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Speaker 2: but I'm not going to tell somebody what they need.

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Speaker 2: And so I asked him what he needed, and those

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Speaker 2: are the three things he said, Hell yes, So I

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Speaker 2: found the bunting? Was he see? And they had a

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Speaker 2: set of three for bunting for the entire firehouse prior

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Speaker 2: department rather and they lost three hundred and forty three men,

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Speaker 2: so you can imagine that you know they needed bunting.

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Speaker 2: I have to shout out to the pipes and drums.

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Speaker 2: They were amazing the fire department, Emerald Society pipes and drums.

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Speaker 2: They didn't miss a funeral and sometimes it was only

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Speaker 2: one or two piper out of arge r.

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Speaker 1: I talked to a guy who was a pipe guy

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Speaker 1: and he did almost two hundred funerals and he had

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Speaker 1: one day like out of two hundred one days, two

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Speaker 1: hundred days. That guy was blowing its bagpipes and he

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Speaker 1: admittedly said it had a devastating effect on psyche and

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Speaker 1: he needed help.

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Speaker 2: So you're saying he had one day off. What a

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Speaker 2: slacker he took a day geese.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. Maybe he had corns.

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Speaker 2: They were extraordinary and they But what I'm.

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Speaker 1: Saying is those guys suffered. I mean, how much pain

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Speaker 1: and sorrow and watered eyes can you take part in

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Speaker 1: and look at before it affects you.

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Speaker 2: And keep in mind that they were also going to

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Speaker 2: the pile in the pit, so they weren't just doing

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Speaker 2: the funerals. There was a day in New York where

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Speaker 2: I think we had five simultaneously going on and they

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Speaker 2: had to split up, you know, and they split up anyway,

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Speaker 2: you know, because there were just too many funerals and

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Speaker 2: there were only one hundred, which was always plenty, you know,

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Speaker 2: and they would usually show up as one hundred for

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Speaker 2: a fatal fire where there was a line of duty death.

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Speaker 2: But this was this was seeing them like super Superman.

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Speaker 2: You know, they really really were amazing. But back to

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Speaker 2: the beginning of it, the counseling part. I stick back

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Speaker 2: from and I think the reason why is I met

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Speaker 2: one or two counselors after nine to eleven that came

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Speaker 2: to the firehouse that I had. I disagreed with their approach.

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Speaker 2: One of them wanted to write a book and that

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Speaker 2: kind of made me sick.

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Speaker 1: That's disgusting.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so I was upset about that, and the other

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Speaker 2: one I thought had some wacky ideas. There was one

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Speaker 2: woman I met and I really liked her, and I

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Speaker 2: would have sat down with her, and that became my

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Speaker 2: later on that became during the interview. Is this somebody

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Speaker 2: I would want to was?

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Speaker 1: Would this New York gal sit down and hang out

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Speaker 1: and tell my things with this person?

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Speaker 2: I would never put it that way, but I mean,

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Speaker 2: I don't refer to myself as a New York gal.

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Speaker 1: What do you prefer to yourself as what I refer.

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Speaker 2: To myself as. I don't. I just I just know

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Speaker 2: bull I have a bush meeter, And if I sit

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Speaker 2: down with somebody who I think is full of and

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Speaker 2: a lot of counselors, I did not agree with their approach.

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Speaker 2: So they could be very good counselors in another area,

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Speaker 2: but I didn't think it would gel for the firefighters.

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Speaker 2: If they came in with all their degrees up and down,

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Speaker 2: their arms and a clipboard and ask them how they're feeling,

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Speaker 2: which I did see in a kitchen when the guys

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Speaker 2: were completely covered with ground zero and they're in a kitchen.

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Speaker 2: They got glass in their eyes. They're trying to get

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Speaker 2: And she came in and she didn't know enough. And

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Speaker 2: she's not terrible, she's probably a great counselor today, but

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Speaker 2: she into tears and left because they just said we're

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Speaker 2: having a prayer meeting right now, which was clearly not

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Speaker 2: the case. But they they didn't know how to get

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Speaker 2: her out of the kitchen. They're not going to share

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Speaker 2: something with a young girl just out of college, especially

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Speaker 2: what they're seeing. They're not going to hurt her psychologically

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Speaker 2: like that. So a lot of people jumped, and it

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Speaker 2: was all really good intention, except for the ones that

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Speaker 2: wanted to write books. They are on my list. But

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Speaker 2: the other people, you know, they meant well, They meant well,

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Speaker 2: they did, And so I left that till last and I.

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Speaker 1: What'd you get the bugler? Oh?

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Speaker 2: That was amazing. I was in Greenwood Cemetery at one

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Speaker 2: of the funerals and there was a bugler oh, bugler.

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Speaker 2: So I waited till he was done, and I actually

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Speaker 2: I kind of ambushed him behind a tree and I

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Speaker 2: wrote his name in a magic marker on my forearm

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Speaker 2: because I didn't have paper, so I wrote it on

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Speaker 2: my arm and I went straight over to the firehouse

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Speaker 2: at one eighteen two five and I just said, I

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Speaker 2: got it. I got it. And they used him. But

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Speaker 2: much later they didn't find the guys, and then they

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Speaker 2: had they found parts, and then they would have another

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Speaker 2: funeral for the guy that they found another part, and

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Speaker 2: that you know, there was one guy that had three.

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Speaker 2: And then finally the house that we just we can't

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Speaker 2: do this in addition to the three hundred and forty

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Speaker 2: three funerals there, you know, they would find another body part.

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Speaker 2: And it's cruesome. But the humor that is attached to

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Speaker 2: the fire department for survival reasons, it's not to be crass,

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Speaker 2: it's not to be disrespectful, and there is a line

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Speaker 2: you know that you don't cross. But the humor in

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Speaker 2: the firehouse keeps them I can't stay sane well like

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Speaker 2: half it's a big stretch. It keeps them bonded, right,

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Speaker 2: it's currency, right, humor is really important. It's it gets

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Speaker 2: them through the really bad times.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I gotta ask. I can't hear what you said,

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Speaker 1: and just gloss past it. These guys that we saw

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Speaker 1: on TV and we still see during the anniversary everybody

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Speaker 1: as an anniversary special and you see them crawling around

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Speaker 1: on the pile or in the pit, and I've seen

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Speaker 1: countless photos we all have, but they're not up close

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Speaker 1: and personal, so you just see a panoramic view of

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Speaker 1: the power of the pit and then working in it.

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Speaker 1: You just said parts, are you telling me these firefighters

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Speaker 1: are like, I guess somebody has to collect limbs and things. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they had it that have been out there for months.

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Speaker 2: They had a bucket brigade and they were collecting everything

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Speaker 2: they could, and then it went to the morgue and

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Speaker 2: they hoped to get identification and they had families meeting

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Speaker 2: them on the pier so that they could give the DNA.

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Speaker 2: It was a very gruesome and it wasn't months, it

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Speaker 2: was years. It was for years, and they finally moved

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Speaker 2: the morgue over to Staten Island, to Freshkill, where they

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Speaker 2: moved a lot of the debris, and then those firefighters

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Speaker 2: and police officers and other agencies sat and there's a

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Speaker 2: conveyor belt of debris and they had to go through it,

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Speaker 2: and yeah, they found body parts and private personal belongings

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Speaker 2: and things like that. So psychologically, I think fresh Kill

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Speaker 2: was a very It was a UB duty to have

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Speaker 2: to be there, to be there and finding parts and

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Speaker 2: finding people's personal effects.

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Speaker 1: Figure belt of crap for human body parts and personal

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Speaker 1: that's horrific.

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Speaker 2: It's horrific, But I think it was their honor to

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Speaker 2: try to bring everybody home, and I mean everybody. I'm

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Speaker 2: not just talking about the firefighters. So there was a

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Speaker 2: respect there that it was but it was a hell

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Speaker 2: of a gig and a lot of those firefighters got

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Speaker 2: sick and dyed the ones.

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Speaker 1: That means you might find three or four different parts

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Speaker 1: at different times that belong to the same body at once,

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Speaker 1: and the morgue was then having the match all this up.

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Speaker 2: Yes, for the ones that had to go through, and

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Speaker 2: this includes the morticians, and I apologize, I can't remember

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Speaker 2: the medical examiner.

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Speaker 1: Fro I'm seeing folks, all those guys.

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Speaker 2: They're getting sick too. It's not just firefighters, they're getting

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Speaker 2: sick too, civilians. A lot of civilians have died, and

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Speaker 2: I know of a woman. I'm close to her kids

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Speaker 2: because we sort of kind of took them in a

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Speaker 2: little bit when she passed away. She was on the

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Speaker 2: promenade and stayed there watching when the buildings came down.

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Speaker 2: So the New Yorkers are so affected by it. I

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Speaker 2: think that when jets go overhead, I still get little.

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Speaker 2: I don't like the sound of the F fifteens. I

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Speaker 2: don't like the sound, and I don't think I'm alone

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Speaker 2: with that. But the firefighters themselves, they were extraordinary. They

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Speaker 2: were just extraordinary, and they didn't quit. I mean, they

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Speaker 2: just I don't. I think that the last funeral for

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Speaker 2: the firefighter was Michael Ragusa out of one point thirty one.

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Speaker 2: I think he was one thirty one, not two seventy nine.

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Speaker 2: And they didn't have a body. They had some blood

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Speaker 2: that he had donated prior to nine to eleven. In

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Speaker 2: hopes all of them, just about all of them give

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Speaker 2: blood and then they will give platelets so they get

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Speaker 2: on the list. And they buried the vile of blood

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Speaker 2: in a full coffin. And that was I think either

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Speaker 2: three or five years out. It's a little bit of

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Speaker 2: a blurb, but it was a long time after nine

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Speaker 2: to eleven, a couple of years when they realized they

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Speaker 2: weren't going to find him. So right around August, our

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Speaker 2: numbers start to go up in phone calls because they

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Speaker 2: start showing the coming attractions of this this year's nine

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Speaker 2: to eleven coverage, and it's I can't imagine watching your

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Speaker 2: loved one die over and over and over again. I

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Speaker 2: just can't. And that's really what these families and firefighters

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Speaker 2: and police officers.

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Speaker 1: Are when they do the anniversary shows and stuff.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so our phone starts to ring in August, and

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Speaker 2: you know, it's pretty much quiet over the summer, but August,

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Speaker 2: and interestingly, right before Easter, our numbers start to spike.

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Speaker 1: We'll be right back, okay, So before we get to

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Speaker 1: the phone calls, let's go to why you even get

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Speaker 1: phone calls? Because this cat under the beginning of the

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Speaker 1: Brooklyn Bridge.

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Speaker 3: What was this, John Sarentino, Yeah, he said a mouthful, yes, bugles,

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Speaker 3: and what are the things? The people's bunting bunting, and

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Speaker 3: that's one thing, but the counselors.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that was almost prophetic.

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Speaker 2: It absolutely was.

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Speaker 1: So tell me, I know you didn't you dismissed the

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Speaker 1: young ones.

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Speaker 2: But no, I didn't dismiss them. I felt for them.

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Speaker 2: They were put in impossible situations. They were, but you

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Speaker 2: still they were not appropriate. They were not inappropriate fit so.

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Speaker 1: You and you're very highly trains psychological background. Yeah, I'm

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Speaker 1: a mom decided I want to do something better. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: tell me about it.

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Speaker 2: I had no idea. I had no idea this seed

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Speaker 2: of my pants.

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Speaker 1: But you are passionate.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I saw a need. Yes, So I I asked

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Speaker 2: a friend who owns a lot of property in Brooklyn

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Speaker 2: if she had an empty storefront. And this was in

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Speaker 2: February of o two, and she had an old plastic

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Speaker 2: flower shop that had almost as much dusted it as downtown.

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Speaker 2: And the firefighters came from the site to turn it

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Speaker 2: into a counseling center.

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Speaker 1: The firefighters helped you do it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they helped build it. So that to me said okay.

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Speaker 2: Then they they at the time, I think they just

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Speaker 2: thought it was crazy. But John was like, we got

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Speaker 2: to get the counseling out of the firehouse. People are coming,

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Speaker 2: we get a run. Guys can't be crying their eyes

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Speaker 2: out in the basement with a counselor. It's just we

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Speaker 2: don't want people in the house. It's we got to

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Speaker 2: start getting back to normal. And so I found.

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Speaker 1: There's something else there too, something Neil's taught me.

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Speaker 2: What's that.

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Speaker 1: Two things. One, these are guys guys, and there's a

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Speaker 1: little bit of a stigma, and even when you know

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Speaker 1: you need help, oftentimes you're unwilling to seek it, especially

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Speaker 1: when it's inside the fire department. Sure because you figure

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Speaker 1: world'll get around they might put a big scarlet letter

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Speaker 1: on your file. Not might they do? They don't now

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Speaker 1: apparently they did.

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Speaker 2: It was quite it was quite a difficult time for

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Speaker 2: the fire Department and Counseling Services unit to go from

257
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Speaker 2: I think they had eleven or fourteen counselors to over

258
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Speaker 2: one hundred overnight. Tough, tough place to be. I don't

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Speaker 2: criticize or judge them at all.

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Speaker 1: It's just it just was the culture. But the other

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Speaker 1: thing that I think is really important, something actually Alex said,

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Speaker 1: you know, Bill, don't forget, is that these guys, this

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Speaker 1: is what It's not only what they did for a living,

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Speaker 1: it's part of who they are. And if you're going

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Speaker 1: to counseling, you worried about are you going to fire me?

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Speaker 1: Are they going to reassign me. So between the cultural stigma,

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Speaker 1: especially in that environment, plus the fear of what that

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Speaker 1: scarlet letter on your file may do for your long

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Speaker 1: term employment and something that you love that is your life.

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Speaker 1: These guys knew they needed help, many of them, and

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Speaker 1: wanted help, but wouldn't seek it inside the department, which

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Speaker 1: made your flower shop convert outside of the apartment.

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Speaker 2: Less and less crazy as time went on. But in

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Speaker 2: beginning it was crazy, okay, and it's even something I

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Speaker 2: think that, yes, you hit the nail right there on

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Speaker 2: the head when you talked about the job, right They

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Speaker 2: wanted separation from the job if there was going to

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Speaker 2: be counseling, which I understood and still do to this day.

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Speaker 2: But what was more difficult is not being trusted by

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Speaker 2: your fellow firefighter because you have an anxiety attack, not

281
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Speaker 2: feeling comfortable going on the rig because you went on

282
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Speaker 2: the rig and everybody's dead and you were the chauffeur

283
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Speaker 2: and you don't want to drive anymore. So it was

284
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Speaker 2: like right there on the job. It was in the firehouse.

285
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Speaker 2: It was there so to have people come, Yeah, they

286
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,040
Speaker 2: didn't want to be seen, for sure, But there were

287
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Speaker 2: a lot of aspects to it. And I've heard firefighters

288
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Speaker 2: in the very beginning and the job has learned a

289
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Speaker 2: lot of lessons and it was all really good intention.

290
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Speaker 2: But in the very beginning they were taking light duty guys,

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Speaker 2: of which there were some. Nobody wanted to do light duty.

292
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Speaker 2: They wanted to be at the site. But the light

293
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Speaker 2: duty ones would sometimes answer the phone at Counseling Services

294
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Speaker 2: unit in the very beginning because they were shorthanded, and

295
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Speaker 2: so then it would get back to the firehouse. Right

296
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Speaker 2: after the phone call. The guy would call the house

297
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Speaker 2: and tell them, you know who, call these nuts, and

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Speaker 2: it would get back to the firehouse. And that's part

299
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Speaker 2: of their culture. And I can't judge what was done today.

300
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Speaker 2: I would today, I would smack them, but back then, yeah,

301
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,480
Speaker 2: that's bull. It's just bull. You don't do that. But

302
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,360
Speaker 2: back then nothing had been written. There was no there

303
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,640
Speaker 2: was no protocol, real absolutely none, And how could there be?

304
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,320
Speaker 2: They just lost three hundred and forty three firefighters, How

305
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,760
Speaker 2: could there be? And then the suicide started, So that

306
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,200
Speaker 2: was the other thing, and that resonated with yes, yes,

307
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:27,320
Speaker 2: and still are and that's still there are still suicide

308
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Speaker 2: day to this day, there are suicides from nine to eleven. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I will say, yes, there are.

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Speaker 1: How do you live with it for all this time

311
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Speaker 1: and then succumb to it? You would think time and

312
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Speaker 1: work would make it a little better over time.

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Speaker 2: I mean not if you have lost your family because

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Speaker 2: you didn't get help. And this is not putting it

315
00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:54,000
Speaker 2: on them. It's a really tough thing to ask a

316
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,080
Speaker 2: first responder to sit down and be vulnerable. They're they're

317
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,160
Speaker 2: not wired to be vulnerable. So if your spouse has

318
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Speaker 2: left and your children won't speak to you, and yeah,

319
00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,400
Speaker 2: twenty years goes by and you can't see your grandchildren

320
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Speaker 2: and all you do is drink or whatever, and sometimes

321
00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,480
Speaker 2: it seems to be and maybe they're dealing. Most likely

322
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Speaker 2: they're dealing with physical ailments as well. So yeah, that's

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Speaker 2: more O.

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Speaker 1: Their friends have died from nine to eleven related illnesses.

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Speaker 2: Countless friends have died. You know. I had a guy

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Speaker 2: say to me, the guy my left died, the guy

327
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Speaker 2: on my right is about to die any day. Now,

328
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Speaker 2: when's it my turn? And they and they go through

329
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Speaker 2: every day for years. I mean, that's a tremendous stressor

330
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Speaker 2: that I don't think any of us can really fathom

331
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Speaker 2: unless we were living that life. And it's a hard,

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Speaker 2: hard row. So again there's no judgment there. It's plus

333
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Speaker 2: my grandfather killed himself. So I'm like hyper sensitive to

334
00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,639
Speaker 2: how can we take that off the table as an option?

335
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Speaker 2: How do we give the firefighters that number that they'll

336
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Speaker 2: want to call? And that's where the peers come in.

337
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,239
Speaker 2: But I'm jumping ahead, so so go ahead. You told

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Speaker 2: me you'd keep me on t A.

339
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Speaker 1: I'm trying.

340
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Speaker 2: You're messing it up.

341
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,919
Speaker 1: I'm trying, and I'm kind of scared of you. So

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Speaker 1: so the flower shop.

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Speaker 2: Flower Shop. So what happened was I didn't I interviewed

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Speaker 2: two or three people, and as counselors, meaning you realers

345
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,320
Speaker 2: who wanted to donate their time, I say limited, and

346
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Speaker 2: I'm thinking you don't pull the lid off and then say, sorry,

347
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,600
Speaker 2: your time's up. I can't help you. Again. That's like,

348
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,399
Speaker 2: I don't think that's healthy. I didn't know, but I

349
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,439
Speaker 2: was right, you know, I just didn't feel right and.

350
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Speaker 1: So' the BS meter.

351
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Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah, by the way, with you, it's like

352
00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:38,960
Speaker 2: dead zero. So that's good. Yeah, you're in, You're in. Yeah,

353
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,000
Speaker 2: Well it's early in the day. So let's say where

354
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:48,680
Speaker 2: so I partnered health I know how with Safe Horizon,

355
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,560
Speaker 2: which was a counseling service that had already been established

356
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Speaker 2: I think twenty years prior for victims of crime in

357
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Speaker 2: New York City. And I had heard of them because

358
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:00,480
Speaker 2: I was a victim of a crime in New York

359
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,159
Speaker 2: City and I was beaten up. But I think that

360
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,080
Speaker 2: was in nineteen seventy nine or eighty, so I had

361
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,119
Speaker 2: heard of them and I wonder if they're still around,

362
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,520
Speaker 2: and they were, and they were desperately trying to get

363
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,960
Speaker 2: first responders in because they got a chunk of money

364
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:13,000
Speaker 2: to do just that.

365
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,600
Speaker 1: You say things like that and then you don't even

366
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:16,920
Speaker 1: let me. Were you mugged?

367
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,480
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, but that was like a lifetime ago. I

368
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,879
Speaker 2: wasn't mugged, No, I was just beaten up. There was

369
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,399
Speaker 2: an EDP who just went off and I had beat it.

370
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,439
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. There was an emotionally disturbed person that just

371
00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,879
Speaker 2: went off because I made eye contact with him and

372
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,560
Speaker 2: he beat me up. So but that was like, wow, yeah,

373
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,360
Speaker 2: a long time ago. The point is I was offered

374
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,760
Speaker 2: counseling with Safe Horizon and after that, after that as

375
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,600
Speaker 2: a victim, and I didn't take it. At the time

376
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,520
Speaker 2: because I'm as thick as the firefighters. I didn't take it.

377
00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,800
Speaker 2: I didn't think I needed it. I did, I could

378
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,840
Speaker 2: have used it. But anyway, I thought of them after

379
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,080
Speaker 2: nine to eleven and I thought, you know, maybe this

380
00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,000
Speaker 2: is a fit. And they were so happy because they

381
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 2: needed to They needed to be able to counsel firefighters

382
00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,520
Speaker 2: as part of their that was restricted money that they accepted.

383
00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,560
Speaker 2: They had to now get the numbers and they found

384
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,440
Speaker 2: that a lot of civilians came in, but not many

385
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,960
Speaker 2: first responders across all agencies. I will give a shout

386
00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,400
Speaker 2: out the steel workers. I'm sure you heard about how

387
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,440
Speaker 2: heroic they were. And we would have lost a lot

388
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,040
Speaker 2: more than the ones we did on that day if

389
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,240
Speaker 2: it wasn't for the steel workers. And they also suffer.

390
00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,400
Speaker 1: So this was a crisis, and you talk about people

391
00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,800
Speaker 1: who really aren't trained for any of it, and they're

392
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:31,400
Speaker 1: up there too.

393
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,439
Speaker 2: Well, they're skipping over these things like pickup sticks. I mean,

394
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:35,800
Speaker 2: they knew what they were doing, and.

395
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,720
Speaker 1: No, I mean trained for the human cornage, no underneath.

396
00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,720
Speaker 2: Not in the least now. And I think that having

397
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,720
Speaker 2: spoken to many of them, they were very honored to

398
00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,959
Speaker 2: be there with fire department, in the police department, very honored.

399
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,600
Speaker 1: I get that, Yeah, ohso lot, But you're still not

400
00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:54,560
Speaker 1: trained for that.

401
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,280
Speaker 2: They were not trained for the carnage, and the firefighters

402
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,520
Speaker 2: were not trained for the dismantling of that kind of

403
00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:02,320
Speaker 2: a mess.

404
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,440
Speaker 1: So they leaned on each other with their skill set.

405
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:09,920
Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, and together they cleaned it up. We'll

406
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:22,840
Speaker 2: be right back, getting back to the safe horizon. You know.

407
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,159
Speaker 2: I went through I think five or six interviews with

408
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: their counselors and here I am, Who the hell am I?

409
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,719
Speaker 2: And I'm just saying, no, no, no, no, no, no,

410
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,560
Speaker 2: I'm not going to sit down with these people. And

411
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:35,920
Speaker 2: my name is on this now and I'm not going

412
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,199
Speaker 2: to let the wrong person come in. All good people

413
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,600
Speaker 2: but maybe would have been good with children, or maybe

414
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,920
Speaker 2: the elderly or maybe whatever. But they were not going

415
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,959
Speaker 2: to no, because some of them would be judgmental. You

416
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,960
Speaker 2: can't judge these guys, you just I mean, look, their

417
00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:54,840
Speaker 2: families can on you. But that if you want them

418
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,080
Speaker 2: to talk, you have to shut the up and let

419
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,919
Speaker 2: them talk, and they will, they'll talk. But if you

420
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 2: judge anybody, you know, we all shut down if we're judged.

421
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,040
Speaker 2: But if you're judging a first responder because he's sharing

422
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,760
Speaker 2: a story or her story. A lot of times they

423
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,600
Speaker 2: throw things out there to test you to see if

424
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,520
Speaker 2: you can take it, and some of it is really

425
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,919
Speaker 2: raw stuff. If you're not able to take it and

426
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:20,080
Speaker 2: understand that this is possibly a test and not judge

427
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,160
Speaker 2: what they're saying, you don't belong there.

428
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,399
Speaker 1: Well, they tell you mediocre, bad stories to see if

429
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:27,680
Speaker 1: you can handle the ruins.

430
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 2: I've seen that happen.

431
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:29,480
Speaker 1: Wow.

432
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,480
Speaker 2: And sometimes they would type bullshit stories and sometimes they weren't.

433
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,119
Speaker 2: Sometimes they went right into something horrible and then the

434
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,960
Speaker 2: council would cry, you know, it's you know, that's not

435
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,239
Speaker 2: going to help because their DNA is to help others, right,

436
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 2: So now they've allowed themselves to be vulnerable, which is

437
00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:52,520
Speaker 2: really hard. And now they've upset somebody, and and they

438
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,439
Speaker 2: didn't mean to. If they mean to upset somebody, it's

439
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,200
Speaker 2: something different. They'll claim up. And you really don't get

440
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,360
Speaker 2: too many chances. So I'll give you a great example.

441
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:03,080
Speaker 2: The kitchen tough house, really tough house, and they were

442
00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 2: known for not letting outsiders in. And I'm an outsider

443
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 2: at this point, like totally. And the guy goes, what

444
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:09,960
Speaker 2: are you here for?

445
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:10,040
Speaker 1: You?

446
00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 2: What are you one of those counselors? And I said, well,

447
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,200
Speaker 2: actually no, And then one guy said, oh, she's she's

448
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,080
Speaker 2: got counseling. That's outside of the job. He said, counseling

449
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:19,720
Speaker 2: is bullsh and I started to I was on my

450
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,919
Speaker 2: way out, and I turned around and go tell me

451
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,399
Speaker 2: why it's bullshit. I really want to hear it. You know.

452
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,000
Speaker 2: They told me I had to go to counseling in

453
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 2: Staten Island, and I drove around for almost a half

454
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,720
Speaker 2: an hour and I couldn't find the room for them.

455
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,000
Speaker 2: I thought that was great. It was great because he

456
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:36,960
Speaker 2: never got in the room.

457
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,280
Speaker 1: Do you know what I do for a real living football?

458
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,520
Speaker 2: No coaching, No, No, that's a side gig.

459
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,240
Speaker 1: What I do for a real living is own a

460
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:49,880
Speaker 1: lumber company and we manufacture hard with lumber. Okay, big sALS.

461
00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,920
Speaker 1: Anybody in my business that has all ten.

462
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,680
Speaker 2: Digits, Yeah, that's just not a chill lumper.

463
00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:02,120
Speaker 1: All right, Big app forklifts fifty five acres metal buildings loud.

464
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 1: I mean all of it.

465
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:04,160
Speaker 2: Very cool.

466
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, what you just said is how pretty much everybody

467
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,919
Speaker 1: in my employee communicates. So I get those guys. I

468
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,639
Speaker 1: actually think they're hilarious, hilarious, and I loved dudes like

469
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:19,920
Speaker 1: that because you feel like, well, if I get stuck

470
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 1: in a fox hole, I want to be stuck in

471
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:22,080
Speaker 1: a hole.

472
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:23,399
Speaker 2: With that guy exactly.

473
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: And I love those guys. But it's the absolute truth. Yeah,

474
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,359
Speaker 1: they would just as soon cut off a finger and

475
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,679
Speaker 1: hurt you accidentally. They may tear your ass up if

476
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,840
Speaker 1: they do it on purpose, but not everybody is weakly,

477
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:39,879
Speaker 1: get what you're saying about these guys.

478
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,000
Speaker 2: Not everybody is respected enough to have their torn up.

479
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,840
Speaker 2: And if you understand where I'm going with this, if

480
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:46,399
Speaker 2: they don't make fun of you, they don't like you,

481
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 2: right right, that's right. But what happened out of that

482
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 2: was the kitchen fell out, right, They just they just

483
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,920
Speaker 2: fell out. Here's a senior guy, they all respect.

484
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:55,679
Speaker 1: He's a meathead.

485
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,560
Speaker 2: But that's came out. It's hilarious, but it's sort of

486
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,679
Speaker 2: set the tone for you know, the guys were like, well,

487
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 2: you didn't even go, so how can you say it sucks?

488
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,479
Speaker 2: And you know, they weren't saying we're going to go,

489
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 2: but they were saying.

490
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 1: You know, if you're freaking embo, so how do you know,

491
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: if it's so funny you didn't even find the parking

492
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,639
Speaker 1: lot jacket. Funny, maybe you don't need counseling, but you

493
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,359
Speaker 1: certainly need GPS.

494
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 2: Jack apt nobody had GPS then, But you know what

495
00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 2: I mean, I do know. Well, we all had our maps, right, yeah,

496
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,639
Speaker 2: we had our paper maps. But what it was And

497
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,520
Speaker 2: in his defense, because I had to save them a

498
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,320
Speaker 2: little bit from himself, they didn't put signs up to

499
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,120
Speaker 2: say where the counselor was. So I had to say,

500
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,800
Speaker 2: you know, I heard that they don't have a proper signage,

501
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 2: you know, just I had to give him a bone.

502
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,520
Speaker 2: You know, you can't just like leave the guy, but

503
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,040
Speaker 2: actually you could. But it taught me a lot right then,

504
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:46,200
Speaker 2: because the perception, their perception is reality, and it might

505
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 2: be wacky, but it's their perception. So when you want

506
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:51,919
Speaker 2: to match them up with counselors, you have to make

507
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,840
Speaker 2: sure you have counselors that aren't easily ruffled, that understand

508
00:25:55,920 --> 00:26:00,840
Speaker 2: that this is not your normal civilian. Geography matters, geography

509
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:06,000
Speaker 2: and merit and signs matter too. But this is a tribe.

510
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,639
Speaker 2: It's a tribe, and the different departments throughout the country,

511
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,680
Speaker 2: throughout the world. They're tribes, but they all come under

512
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 2: this heading and they're a subset of our society. And

513
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,600
Speaker 2: they are just crazy enough to come in and get

514
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,080
Speaker 2: us out of the stupid things we get ourselves into

515
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,399
Speaker 2: and the things that we don't deliberately. But disasters happen,

516
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 2: and they're the first ones there. So what's there for

517
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,719
Speaker 2: them when they need help? On their terms? Right? So

518
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:35,600
Speaker 2: that means not not banging them in the wallet. So

519
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,160
Speaker 2: our services are free to the members and their families

520
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:43,200
Speaker 2: and active and retired firefighters, making it possible to park.

521
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,360
Speaker 2: They don't take generally speaking, they don't like mass transit.

522
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,800
Speaker 2: They go to too many subway and incidents. They don't

523
00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:51,840
Speaker 2: want to go in the subway.

524
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 1: And the parking spots need to be wild because they're

525
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:55,399
Speaker 1: driving trucks.

526
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,120
Speaker 2: They do drive trucks. But it doesn't that be wide

527
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,840
Speaker 2: because they go on our sidewalk. I know, but no,

528
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,240
Speaker 2: it isn't a joke. It's true. They do, most of them.

529
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,520
Speaker 2: The guy that pulls up in Mercedes, please give me

530
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,000
Speaker 2: a give me a break. But we are in an

531
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,520
Speaker 2: old firehouse now. So we moved out of the flower.

532
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 1: Shop in two thousand and nine.

533
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,160
Speaker 2: That was awesome. The woman that owns the flower shop.

534
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:20,520
Speaker 2: I heard through a source rumors that they had a firehouse,

535
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:23,639
Speaker 2: the old firehouse in Red Hook that was one o

536
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 2: one quarters. That the tenant was going to skip out

537
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,359
Speaker 2: on the next day. So I waited till he cleared town,

538
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,320
Speaker 2: and then I called the landlord, who I've known for years,

539
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,240
Speaker 2: and said, we want to move in. Oh, we have

540
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,240
Speaker 2: a tenant there. No, you don't. He skipped out and

541
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,040
Speaker 2: he owed a lot of back rent, but he left things.

542
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 2: So he had a metal fabrication shop and the whole

543
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:48,679
Speaker 2: thing was machinery, and our guys had to make it

544
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,320
Speaker 2: a firehouse again. This time over four hundred firefighters showed

545
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,320
Speaker 2: up over a span of three years to turn it

546
00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,800
Speaker 2: back into a firehouse, which is what it looks like today.

547
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:04,439
Speaker 1: But it's actually Friends of Firefighters for counseling.

548
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:06,879
Speaker 2: Well not just counseling so downstairs. So I designed it

549
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,480
Speaker 2: so that when you walk in, well before we get there.

550
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,200
Speaker 1: Got all right, because this is the reveal. When did

551
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:17,960
Speaker 1: it go from looking for a bugler to an actual

552
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,920
Speaker 1: organization called Friends of Firefighters at.

553
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:25,000
Speaker 2: That's a great question. No, the flower shop came weeks

554
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,640
Speaker 2: after I got incorporated as Friends of Firefighters. What happened

555
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,199
Speaker 2: was my daughter is hearing a pairent and she was

556
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,399
Speaker 2: in a school that is a very expensive private school

557
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,000
Speaker 2: because she was on scholarship. That's not here nor there.

558
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:43,000
Speaker 2: But I always feel bits that's cool anyway, she'll listen

559
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 2: to it. Yeah, well with her hearing AIGs, yes she will.

560
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,920
Speaker 2: She'll listen to it. But where are we y pack her? Oh?

561
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,200
Speaker 2: Because there were wealthy families there and they were very

562
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,400
Speaker 2: generous and they wanted to help. So we decided to

563
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:56,880
Speaker 2: form a group that would help the firefighters. And I

564
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,440
Speaker 2: was the contact to the houses. And there was nurse

565
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,560
Speaker 2: in there and she had a friend who wanted to

566
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,000
Speaker 2: take over the whole thing. She was a counselor, and

567
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,160
Speaker 2: we didn't agree because I thought this woman was a

568
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,680
Speaker 2: little batty. To be honest, the nurse was lovely, she

569
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,840
Speaker 2: was really lovely. But this other woman had a degree

570
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 2: and I didn't in counseling. So she hedged her bets

571
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,440
Speaker 2: and said, I'm going to go with the moment the degree,

572
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 2: no hard feelings. I really don't feel bad. And they

573
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 2: took that organization. But once I removed myself because I

574
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,720
Speaker 2: didn't like the way she was moving forward. It was

575
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,200
Speaker 2: not going to work for the firefighters. The whole thing

576
00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 2: fell apart for them. And I went on with a

577
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,760
Speaker 2: couple of the like the woman that owned the property

578
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 2: and another woman whose husband was Silicon Valley guy, and

579
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,960
Speaker 2: they helped me to get incorporated and then start this thing.

580
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,840
Speaker 2: And she came up with the name Friends of Firefighters,

581
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 2: and the first time I heard I said, oh, for

582
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,680
Speaker 2: got say that. I hate that name. That's so stupid.

583
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,360
Speaker 2: The firefighters are not going to go to Friends of Firefighters.

584
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,960
Speaker 2: It sounds like, you know, and we're women, and we're like, no,

585
00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 2: my wife is going to say, yeah.

586
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,960
Speaker 4: It's cool, you got Arnie music in the dumb dumb dumb.

587
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,280
Speaker 4: But I couldn't come up with anything else. And then

588
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,440
Speaker 4: the lawyer needed a name. By the morning, I'm gonna

589
00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 4: choose this name. So I said, can we do fof

590
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 4: and I'll tell you later when we're not being taken

591
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:12,960
Speaker 4: to what I started to call out.

592
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,640
Speaker 1: I can only imagine.

593
00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,520
Speaker 2: I can't say, but I said, screw it, screw it,

594
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,120
Speaker 2: I'll do it. And I actually believe that some firefighters

595
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,560
Speaker 2: didn't come because of the name. But at this point,

596
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:24,680
Speaker 2: you know, Okay.

597
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,520
Speaker 1: So then you move to this thing leaves metal fabrication.

598
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,960
Speaker 1: Fourner firefighters donate their time to put turn it back

599
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 1: into a firehouse.

600
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,520
Speaker 2: Yes, but that was eight years after I started the organization.

601
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 2: I started in this flower shop and it got too

602
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 2: small real fast. It just got small. So it had

603
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 2: a small counseling room and a little kitchen in the

604
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,280
Speaker 2: back and a waiting room in the front, and it

605
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 2: just wasn't working. Whoever was there would see the other

606
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 2: one leave and it just wasn't working.

607
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 1: So when I offer, which lends to the same stigma

608
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,760
Speaker 1: as to why they're not going to the fire department

609
00:30:58,800 --> 00:30:59,240
Speaker 1: help in the.

610
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 2: First part of it, Yeah, yeah, for sure. So when

611
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,040
Speaker 2: we did get the new place, which is a firehouse

612
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 2: it was built in eighteen seventy four, I think, really, yeah,

613
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 2: it's pretty awesome. It's pretty awesome. So the guys came

614
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,960
Speaker 2: and they did the work, and I learned more about

615
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 2: construction than I ever wanted, and I could have used you.

616
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,600
Speaker 2: Then we were getting little grants here and there, but

617
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,960
Speaker 2: the American Red Cross ended up giving us like a

618
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,440
Speaker 2: four four to five year grand of nine to eleven money,

619
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 2: and that really helped launch it. That's when I went

620
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,800
Speaker 2: to school and I learned about nonprofit management and all

621
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 2: of that.

622
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 1: So how old were you when you went back to school?

623
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,440
Speaker 2: Forty five?

624
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,280
Speaker 1: See that's awesome. Yeah, that are forty five. This meant

625
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,840
Speaker 1: enough to you that you went back to school.

626
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, well to me, it wasn't a sacrifice. It was

627
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 2: really it was again sacrifice was so lucky. Yeah, it

628
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:49,200
Speaker 2: was cool.

629
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 1: I get that's not a sacrifice, and I get that's

630
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 1: like part of the deal. But yeah, it speaks to

631
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:57,760
Speaker 1: your commitment to it all.

632
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 2: I never thought of it that way, but okay, that

633
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:01,200
Speaker 2: does okay, And.

634
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,760
Speaker 1: Local Memphis tie in who also helped was Robin Hood Foundation.

635
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 2: I was just about to say, I was just about

636
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:13,160
Speaker 2: to see go get so before Robin Hood Foundation was

637
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,160
Speaker 2: was the first organization, the very first was the German

638
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 2: American Solidarity Foundation.

639
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,880
Speaker 1: The German American Solidarity Foundation. Everybody's heard of that.

640
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 2: They were actually very sweet, but I had no clue,

641
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,040
Speaker 2: Like this is when everybody the money was just like

642
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 2: showering down on New York and I was really more

643
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,880
Speaker 2: interested in building the trust because that was to be

644
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 2: more important at the time. By the time I built

645
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:41,840
Speaker 2: the trust, the money was pretty much gone. But one

646
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,120
Speaker 2: of the widows, Marion Fontana, who's a friend of mine,

647
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,200
Speaker 2: Her husband Dave was killed on that day that was

648
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 2: their anniversary, nine to eleven. She recommended us to the

649
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 2: Robin Hood Foundation, and when that grant went away, they

650
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,680
Speaker 2: recommended us to the American Red.

651
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:04,240
Speaker 1: Cross Jones Robin Hood Foundation. Sky was, haarted, you know

652
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:05,640
Speaker 1: where it's from.

653
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,320
Speaker 2: Memphis right here, you see, you led me into that.

654
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:12,400
Speaker 2: I'm not going to say mackwn Island. Oh right, cool,

655
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 2: that's cool.

656
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:14,960
Speaker 1: All right. So you make the firehouse.

657
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 2: The firefighters built the firehouse back into a firehouse, and

658
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 2: we did this thing where when you walk in, I

659
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,040
Speaker 2: wanted them to be able to go straight upstairs. So

660
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 2: the guys in the back with the doors closing, we

661
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,280
Speaker 2: had we we did things. So we changed it so

662
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,080
Speaker 2: that the doors closed and there was a kitchen downstairs,

663
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:34,320
Speaker 2: and if they went upstairs, the guys with the doors

664
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 2: closed would never see who was coming in and out.

665
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,560
Speaker 2: And so also what I do is stagger the room.

666
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 2: So one room was counseling, one room was acupunctured, the

667
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,560
Speaker 2: other one was biofeedback. So nobody knew who was where when.

668
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,680
Speaker 2: But they started telling each other and now like they'll

669
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 2: come in and they go, yeah, I'm here to see

670
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,640
Speaker 2: my therapist. And it's a world away from what it was.

671
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:57,040
Speaker 1: What do you mean come.

672
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 3: In or is there like a hangout area for downstairs?

673
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 2: There are two big tables which and there's a kitchen.

674
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,480
Speaker 2: So we have a breakfast every month the second Wednesday

675
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,279
Speaker 2: of every month, and we used to and we'll get

676
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 2: back to it. The last Wednesday of every month in

677
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:17,040
Speaker 2: the evening we'd have something called kitchen Talk and we

678
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:21,000
Speaker 2: would get at the request of a Chief of department,

679
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,359
Speaker 2: Ed Kilduff, he asked me to do something to bring

680
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,200
Speaker 2: the young new firefighters because a lot of the nine

681
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,319
Speaker 2: to eleven firefighters were retiring in huge numbers, and then

682
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 2: bring them into the culture a little more by having

683
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:36,440
Speaker 2: the older ones give presentations and seminars and whatnot. So

684
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,600
Speaker 2: that's what we did, and we had giants and Vigiano came.

685
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,319
Speaker 2: He lost his two sons, one police officer, one firefighter.

686
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,000
Speaker 2: Vinnie Dunn still comes in. Vinie's now working on his

687
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:50,320
Speaker 2: thirteenth book, I think now about firefighting. So these greats

688
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,839
Speaker 2: would come in and show the young, younger firefighters and

689
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,040
Speaker 2: what was really wonderful is when we'd have people come

690
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,359
Speaker 2: in and other people in the audience were at that job,

691
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 2: and they would tell different perspective about it, so there

692
00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:02,280
Speaker 2: was engagement.

693
00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:20,080
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. I got a question, just a

694
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,600
Speaker 1: reality check, and I'm grasping here, so this may be

695
00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:27,080
Speaker 1: a terrible question. If it is, we can edit it

696
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:27,400
Speaker 1: out up.

697
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:28,080
Speaker 2: Oh, I can't wait.

698
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 1: Go Well, I've coached, I've run my business everything, but

699
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,719
Speaker 1: I've coached in the city school system for thirty three

700
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,840
Speaker 1: years and the way I coach is much different than most.

701
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 1: I have a different approach okay to the way I

702
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:48,759
Speaker 1: believe kids should be nurtured. That accountable coach taught all

703
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:54,399
Speaker 1: of that, and oftentimes the bureaucracy of a government run

704
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:59,320
Speaker 1: organization doesn't like people like me at first at least.

705
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:04,320
Speaker 1: And I'm just curious. You're setting up a council center

706
00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 1: for city employees outside of the counseling center provided for

707
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:16,560
Speaker 1: city employees, because you thought the counseling center provided for

708
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,879
Speaker 1: city employees is quote bullsh I just wonder how you read.

709
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,560
Speaker 2: That's fascinating that that's what you got from me. I

710
00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:27,080
Speaker 2: just wanted to totally, no, totally no. I did not

711
00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:28,879
Speaker 2: think they were bullshit at all.

712
00:36:29,239 --> 00:36:33,720
Speaker 1: I don't know that their approach, I said approach was being.

713
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:36,399
Speaker 2: No, no, no, they're approaching no. I thought it was clear,

714
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:42,799
Speaker 2: So I'll be even more clear. They had fourteen councilors

715
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,800
Speaker 2: on stage prior to nine to eleven. They had to

716
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,640
Speaker 2: hire over one hundred. They lost three hundred and forty three.

717
00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 2: They had to send them out to the firehouses. It

718
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,799
Speaker 2: was unprecedented. There is no criticism as to how they

719
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,920
Speaker 2: did it. Okay, this is what I did. There was

720
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,000
Speaker 2: no judgment there at all.

721
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 1: There really wasn't. The fire none was fine with it.

722
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:05,200
Speaker 2: I wasn't part of that. You know. I'm not there

723
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:07,000
Speaker 2: to say, oh, this person could do a better job

724
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:08,719
Speaker 2: or that unless they wanted to work for us, and

725
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:14,040
Speaker 2: you know that was different. But they were CSU. You know,

726
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,279
Speaker 2: for me, Counseling Services Unit was an option for some

727
00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:20,680
Speaker 2: of the firefighters, and it wasn't for others. So rather

728
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:22,880
Speaker 2: than have anybody fall through the cracks, let them have

729
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,840
Speaker 2: another option that doesn't cost them money.

730
00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:26,440
Speaker 1: I candidly think that's awesome.

731
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,680
Speaker 2: I just I guess so you're saying I had balls

732
00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:32,440
Speaker 2: to say that the job had their They're set up

733
00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 2: already and who a might have come in? I like

734
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,279
Speaker 2: this question now, so who might have come in and

735
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,080
Speaker 2: do this? Yes, I didn't ask for permission. I just

736
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:40,799
Speaker 2: followed what the firefighters were asking for.

737
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:45,880
Speaker 1: See, that's what I found interesting and candidly. You know,

738
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,879
Speaker 1: people who think out of the box and don't say, well,

739
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,160
Speaker 1: this is the way things are done or whatever are

740
00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:56,000
Speaker 1: often ones that found all kinds of cool solutions, right,

741
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:59,880
Speaker 1: But oftentimes those type people also scare the folks that

742
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,879
Speaker 1: like to play within the lines, and they will try

743
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 1: to shut them out. And I just wondered if you

744
00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:08,759
Speaker 1: had any problems with that. But oh, I guess it

745
00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:11,880
Speaker 1: does speak to the fact that New York as a

746
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 1: whole was bombed. Everybody and it felt it, and so

747
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:21,239
Speaker 1: any positive momentum probably people convalesced around that maybe you

748
00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:24,120
Speaker 1: wouldn't get and other circumstances.

749
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,000
Speaker 2: I guess I think that, and that's also true. So

750
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:32,480
Speaker 2: but the then head of CSU did not lie. It

751
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 2: made it very clear he did not want us me

752
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 2: to have an organization that was helping me. No, it

753
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 2: was very clear, and I got a lot of pushback

754
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,200
Speaker 2: over the years, and there were a lot of rumors

755
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:45,160
Speaker 2: out there. No, you're not far off. I love your question.

756
00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,239
Speaker 2: I think it's great. I just take issue with you

757
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:49,880
Speaker 2: thinking that I thought that they weren't doing enough, because

758
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:52,680
Speaker 2: that's not it. Yeah, but yeah, no, that wasn't a

759
00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:54,920
Speaker 2: judgment on my part. It was just you know, I

760
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,839
Speaker 2: know some guys are not going for help. Where will

761
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:03,520
Speaker 2: they go? They trusted me over time, and then the

762
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,879
Speaker 2: firehouse helped a lot because when they came to work

763
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,040
Speaker 2: on it and everything, that said a lot that they

764
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:09,880
Speaker 2: wanted to come and work on it. That told me

765
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,840
Speaker 2: that they saw that there was a need because nobody charged.

766
00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:13,799
Speaker 2: I mean, they came and did it.

767
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,080
Speaker 1: The fact that you say firemen now come in and

768
00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:17,600
Speaker 1: say I'm going to see my therapist.

769
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,120
Speaker 2: You talk about it twenty four years later, Well I

770
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:20,520
Speaker 2: get it.

771
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,560
Speaker 1: What a ship alight? So when did you open? When

772
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:25,840
Speaker 1: did the firehouse become the place?

773
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:31,480
Speaker 2: After Sandy? Twenty twelve thirteen? After Sandy, because what happened

774
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,319
Speaker 2: with Sandy teen years ago, but Sandy took out so

775
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:37,359
Speaker 2: many houses and so many firefighters. So it was over

776
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,839
Speaker 2: seven hundred active firefighters and over twelve hundred retirees either

777
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,960
Speaker 2: lost their houses entirely or had such significant damage they

778
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:46,799
Speaker 2: had to move out, and my team and I were

779
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,840
Speaker 2: on boots on the ground. So our firehouse took on

780
00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:51,920
Speaker 2: four feet of water. So we lost the kitchen we

781
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:55,080
Speaker 2: had just put in, and two cars. I'm a car buff.

782
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,840
Speaker 2: I like to work on cars, and I had two cars. Luckily,

783
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:02,120
Speaker 2: howcome that unsurprised me at all. Luckily they were two

784
00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:07,000
Speaker 2: newer cars, because I now have four four two on

785
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,719
Speaker 2: the floor and I have a fifty seven Chevy. They

786
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,759
Speaker 2: if I hear this rain coming, they're they're out right there.

787
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:16,800
Speaker 2: There's what I don't own. The four I don't own that.

788
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:19,759
Speaker 2: It's a fire fighter. Sister owns that and she doesn't

789
00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:21,520
Speaker 2: know how to drive it. So I have it right now.

790
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,360
Speaker 2: I can't even and she doesn't want to learn because

791
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:27,280
Speaker 2: it scares her. You know, it's got her shifter and everything.

792
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:31,399
Speaker 2: It is a little scared. It's a power convertible. Really.

793
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 2: I'll show you pictures later, but anyway, for now, we

794
00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 2: were flooded, and so what we did was I was

795
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,200
Speaker 2: we hit the ground running. We had clipboards. We went out.

796
00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:43,879
Speaker 2: Those are clipboards that are okay. We went out into

797
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:46,879
Speaker 2: the affected area, mostly in the rockaways. Staten Island had

798
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:52,399
Speaker 2: thirty feet squalls, different areas that were Garrettson Beach. And

799
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,279
Speaker 2: because of my connection with Steve Buscemi, he was then

800
00:40:56,400 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 2: doing Boardwalk Empire and working with HBO. HBO gave us

801
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:05,400
Speaker 2: some trailers that we could work out of, and so Sandy,

802
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,520
Speaker 2: we were so present and we were going to people's

803
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,200
Speaker 2: homes and Steve Buscemi was in my car and we

804
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:12,920
Speaker 2: were going to homes and Steve would get out and

805
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:15,880
Speaker 2: he'd help us, like rip down walls and pump. So

806
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,279
Speaker 2: our name became, like you need something called Friends of

807
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,400
Speaker 2: Firefighters and that built trust. It was amazing and everybody

808
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:27,360
Speaker 2: came together, and the firefighters there's one in particular who

809
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:32,960
Speaker 2: just astounded me. He is He's a wonderful guy and

810
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 2: he was helping people for almost three weeks before we

811
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:38,560
Speaker 2: all found out that his house was in terrible shape,

812
00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 2: but he wasn't doing anything there. He was helping his

813
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,319
Speaker 2: family and he moved them upstairs. But we found out

814
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,719
Speaker 2: about it and then Liam Flaherty from Rescue two went

815
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:49,880
Speaker 2: over and that's Bobby for Manie, He's the one that

816
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,680
Speaker 2: was out there helping everybody else and that's who they are.

817
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,000
Speaker 2: So it makes my job so much easier because when

818
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,240
Speaker 2: there's an opportunity to help, and no, he and Liam

819
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,680
Speaker 2: both didn't accept help, But when there's an opportunity to help,

820
00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:02,600
Speaker 2: I'm going to help.

821
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,600
Speaker 1: You speak with reverence. When you speak about firefighters, your

822
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 1: eyes change.

823
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:10,839
Speaker 2: Oh that's weird. I mean, that's just the weird thing.

824
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:11,719
Speaker 1: You brighten up.

825
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:12,600
Speaker 2: I brighten up.

826
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,160
Speaker 1: You really do, And not that you're not bright, but

827
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:21,040
Speaker 1: you you can just tell the reverence you hold these

828
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:28,320
Speaker 1: people in the way that they will go completely off

829
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:31,720
Speaker 1: the hook to help someone else and then won't even

830
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,720
Speaker 1: get out of the street for themselves. Sometimes.

831
00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Did you ever see a firefighter run in

832
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,760
Speaker 2: when everybody's running out? That's like, that's a little crazy, right.

833
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:45,000
Speaker 2: But when they say they need help, I think it's

834
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,960
Speaker 2: incumbent upon all of us to make sure they have

835
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:48,480
Speaker 2: it in a way that's comfortable for them.

836
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,040
Speaker 1: But I think that reverence and empathy for them is

837
00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:53,319
Speaker 1: why they come to you. I think they feel that.

838
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:55,840
Speaker 2: Some of them don't know me, some of them just

839
00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 2: know their counselor they just know we have a good reputation.

840
00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:01,680
Speaker 2: Maybe originally I'm going to catch heat for that when

841
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:03,840
Speaker 2: I get home. Maybe maybe originally you know, there was

842
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:05,560
Speaker 2: a little bit of that, but really I think, Sandy is.

843
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:07,080
Speaker 1: You're going to catch it for that when you get home.

844
00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:07,560
Speaker 2: I don't care.

845
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:09,400
Speaker 1: Oh I don't either. I'm just glad you know it

846
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:09,919
Speaker 1: can help.

847
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, thank you, because I don't get enough.

848
00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:14,040
Speaker 1: Right.

849
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:18,600
Speaker 2: What happened though, is after our place was deconned, I

850
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 2: went out to Ikea, which was in Red Hook, and

851
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:25,200
Speaker 2: I bought fourteen bunk beds because I knew they were

852
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:28,040
Speaker 2: going to come. That movie by the Field of Dreams,

853
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 2: I knew they were going to come, and they did.

854
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:33,440
Speaker 2: So they came from all over the place, and New

855
00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:36,560
Speaker 2: Orleans sent thirty six firefighters and we did shifts. Oh

856
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,680
Speaker 2: my gosh, Michigan were the first ones to pull up.

857
00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:41,600
Speaker 2: They had an RV. We didn't have power till December,

858
00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,759
Speaker 2: so we kind of froze our eggs off. But they

859
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,040
Speaker 2: came and then they would go out at five in

860
00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:50,120
Speaker 2: the morning, and they work all day. New Orleans is

861
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,359
Speaker 2: a tough group. Boy. They don't turn it off. They

862
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,759
Speaker 2: work all day, drink all night, work all day, six

863
00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:00,640
Speaker 2: days running. You guys are going to die. And our

864
00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:03,200
Speaker 2: guys couldn't even keep up with them. And our guys

865
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,520
Speaker 2: are pretty tough, but they couldn't keep up with New Orleans.

866
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:16,360
Speaker 1: So curious twelve years later this girl who hung behind woman,

867
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:19,799
Speaker 1: thank you girl anymore behind a tree?

868
00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:22,960
Speaker 2: Well that was just to ambush somebody that was not

869
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:26,520
Speaker 2: like I wasn't shy. I needed the timing to be

870
00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:27,959
Speaker 2: right before I ambushed it.

871
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:28,759
Speaker 1: But you did it.

872
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:29,920
Speaker 2: I did it, well, yeah I did.

873
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:34,480
Speaker 1: Now has a degree.

874
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 2: In what nonprofit management?

875
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:40,800
Speaker 1: It's nonprofit management? And how many how many therapists or.

876
00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:43,800
Speaker 2: Party we actually need more? We were up to fourteen

877
00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:45,719
Speaker 2: and now we're down to nine, so I used to

878
00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:49,200
Speaker 2: hire more. Unbelieved if I had twenty therapists right now,

879
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:49,920
Speaker 2: they would.

880
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:53,440
Speaker 1: All have full How many firefighters have you served?

881
00:44:55,239 --> 00:44:58,280
Speaker 2: Firefighters active, retired in their families, well over one thousand,

882
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,640
Speaker 2: over one thousand and their families and their families. Oh yeah,

883
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,120
Speaker 2: you have to include families. You have to. You know,

884
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:08,200
Speaker 2: when you're helping somebody, and these families, you know, they

885
00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:10,800
Speaker 2: get beaten up by the schedule. The schedule is brutal,

886
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:13,560
Speaker 2: and you know the parent who was the first responder

887
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,160
Speaker 2: can't be at every game, sometimes can't be at a graduation.

888
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,560
Speaker 2: Although they help each other and they cover each other's shifts.

889
00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:21,920
Speaker 2: It's not always it's not always possible. So there's a

890
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,600
Speaker 2: you know, they get a great vacation, but otherwise they're

891
00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:26,640
Speaker 2: like back to back working crazy hours.

892
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:32,399
Speaker 1: But that's the thing is honestly, the truth is you

893
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:34,680
Speaker 1: showed up and said what can I get you? And

894
00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:37,880
Speaker 1: it was some purple and black ribbon of bugler and

895
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:41,880
Speaker 1: look for some counselors for our guys. And you became

896
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:44,399
Speaker 1: what they looked for.

897
00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:47,359
Speaker 2: Okay, but if your.

898
00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:50,880
Speaker 1: Organization became what they needed the most.

899
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:55,200
Speaker 2: The organization became what they dictated it should over time.

900
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:57,839
Speaker 1: Well, now that's interesting because you listen to what they

901
00:45:57,920 --> 00:45:59,800
Speaker 1: needed rather than what people told.

902
00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:07,799
Speaker 2: Right, And the approach is the same, but the needs change, right,

903
00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:10,960
Speaker 2: So there are different things, a whole different world from

904
00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:13,960
Speaker 2: nine to eleven to Sandy to COVID. Every single time

905
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,439
Speaker 2: they needed different things different ways. But by the time

906
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,880
Speaker 2: COVID hit, we were fairly established and we had gone

907
00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:23,440
Speaker 2: to online for guys that couldn't make it in. We

908
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,480
Speaker 2: went to online counseling the year before. So when COVID hit,

909
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:27,560
Speaker 2: we were ready to run.

910
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:31,200
Speaker 1: And you're ready for the next one. Whatever it is

911
00:46:31,239 --> 00:46:33,400
Speaker 1: got for me, Oh cheez, well, there will be a

912
00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:33,879
Speaker 1: next one.

913
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:39,239
Speaker 2: There will be, and we are ready to help the

914
00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:41,520
Speaker 2: firefighters in any way that they say they need.

915
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:49,279
Speaker 1: If someone said friends of Firefighters is, how would you

916
00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:51,919
Speaker 1: complete that sentence? Man?

917
00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:54,080
Speaker 2: You didn't give them any cliff notes before I came in,

918
00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:55,880
Speaker 2: or I'm sorry to sheet.

919
00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:00,600
Speaker 1: I just I thought you'd be able to answer, because

920
00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:02,520
Speaker 1: you just are never at a loss for words.

921
00:47:02,719 --> 00:47:04,680
Speaker 2: I know. So let me gather mine and I'll spit

922
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:07,200
Speaker 2: it right back out edible.

923
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:12,719
Speaker 1: This is a show fire friends of Firefighters. I want

924
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:16,160
Speaker 1: to know from you. You created it. Friends of Firefighters is.

925
00:47:17,520 --> 00:47:20,759
Speaker 2: I think that we could be considered to be not

926
00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:25,399
Speaker 2: the catcher and the rye, but we're maybe we want

927
00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:31,279
Speaker 2: to get the firefighters that are not comfortable. So that's

928
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:34,960
Speaker 2: not telling you who we are. I think what we

929
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:40,319
Speaker 2: are is what the firefighters envisioned and molded over the

930
00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:47,279
Speaker 2: years to the point where we're an extension of We

931
00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:53,200
Speaker 2: started out really really simple, bunting. It's you know, bugler

932
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:57,239
Speaker 2: bugles and counseling was a tough one. I thought it

933
00:47:57,239 --> 00:48:00,560
Speaker 2: would last a year or two count Friends of Firefighters

934
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:03,840
Speaker 2: is a highly respected organization today, and I want to

935
00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:06,080
Speaker 2: see it national. I want to see it go national,

936
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:08,759
Speaker 2: because there are fire departments. You know, we were in

937
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,600
Speaker 2: Biloxi and we set up a program down there, and

938
00:48:12,640 --> 00:48:14,960
Speaker 2: there are so many departments throughout the country that have

939
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:19,799
Speaker 2: no help. They have no counseling services unit. Sometimes they

940
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:21,680
Speaker 2: don't have a full department, they have a volley group.

941
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:25,319
Speaker 2: Then they do the best they can. I think when

942
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:27,279
Speaker 2: people put their lives on the line, they deserve to

943
00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:29,600
Speaker 2: have a place to go that speaks their language, that

944
00:48:29,719 --> 00:48:35,600
Speaker 2: understands them and doesn't profit off of it. So it

945
00:48:35,719 --> 00:48:36,680
Speaker 2: just comes down to trust.

946
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:41,280
Speaker 1: Does anybody ever pay anything for counseling and Friends of bark.

947
00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:43,160
Speaker 2: Friers No, And that kind of shoots me in the

948
00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:45,279
Speaker 2: foot because I'm always looking to raise money and that's

949
00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:48,760
Speaker 2: been a really tough thing. I was in the trenches

950
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:52,359
Speaker 2: while people were bringing in the money that they absolutely used.

951
00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:55,080
Speaker 2: And there are some other organizations that are excellent and

952
00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:58,800
Speaker 2: they have like a hundred people on their development team

953
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:02,200
Speaker 2: raising money. That's not us yet. I hope it will

954
00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:04,719
Speaker 2: be someday. But my goal right now is not just

955
00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:06,600
Speaker 2: to keep the doors open, but right now, my short

956
00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:10,040
Speaker 2: term is keep the doors open. Long term, make this

957
00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:14,280
Speaker 2: a national organization. You know, maybe one in every state,

958
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,600
Speaker 2: you know, but which would be really awesome, But right now,

959
00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:19,680
Speaker 2: I want to keep the doors open. We have a

960
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:22,319
Speaker 2: wait list. We were up to seventy seven and I

961
00:49:22,360 --> 00:49:25,160
Speaker 2: thank god just heard what's down to thirty four. That's

962
00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:27,279
Speaker 2: seventy seven may days. As far as I'm concerned, if

963
00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:29,239
Speaker 2: a firefighter's calling for help, it's already going to.

964
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:31,360
Speaker 1: Say they really. I was going to say it was

965
00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,200
Speaker 1: an SOS second thing, yeah, but that's secondly seven.

966
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,040
Speaker 2: Well, we'll take the ones that are like that need

967
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:38,880
Speaker 2: to be seen. And our counselors have been amazing and

968
00:49:38,920 --> 00:49:41,919
Speaker 2: stepping up and going over their limit to accommodate them.

969
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:44,239
Speaker 2: And we check in with those who haven't been seen

970
00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:47,040
Speaker 2: to make sure that they're okay. You know that, but

971
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:50,120
Speaker 2: they are. Some of them say no, I'll go to CSU, Great,

972
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,080
Speaker 2: no problem, But CSU doesn't take retiaries or they might

973
00:49:53,080 --> 00:49:56,799
Speaker 2: take me diaries now, but they don't take families. And

974
00:49:56,920 --> 00:49:59,880
Speaker 2: so we have a children's program, it's called the Bravest Children.

975
00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:02,880
Speaker 2: We have a peer program which we've expanded so in

976
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 2: order to meet the need, and that that's been really helpful.

977
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,120
Speaker 1: So your kid went off to some real high fallut

978
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:08,600
Speaker 1: in school.

979
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:15,880
Speaker 2: She did in first grade, high falutin high Falutin's that's impressive.

980
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,040
Speaker 1: And I know you're proud of her.

981
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:18,839
Speaker 2: I am proud of her. How did you know that?

982
00:50:19,520 --> 00:50:21,479
Speaker 2: How did you know? I wasn't like embarrassing my daughter?

983
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,000
Speaker 1: Oh, I just know.

984
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:25,359
Speaker 2: I listen, I have another one too.

985
00:50:25,640 --> 00:50:27,400
Speaker 1: It's like you, what's the other daughter? Day? Now?

986
00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:30,280
Speaker 2: My son? I had another child. My son's a musician.

987
00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:33,960
Speaker 1: Yep, not far from the tree, then, not far. I

988
00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:36,319
Speaker 1: just wondered if they are.

989
00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:39,120
Speaker 2: They impacted by all of this. They're proud of me,

990
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:41,960
Speaker 2: I should be well. I appreciate that. You know, it

991
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:43,799
Speaker 2: took a lot out of the family too, you know,

992
00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:46,600
Speaker 2: all of it does. Yeah, I mean I was in

993
00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:50,680
Speaker 2: I was in firehouses at two in the morning, helping

994
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,200
Speaker 2: them write eulogies. So the early years were particularly I

995
00:50:53,239 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 2: get it.

996
00:50:53,960 --> 00:50:57,359
Speaker 1: I do, I seriously do get it. And and it

997
00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:00,480
Speaker 1: does have to have buy in from people in your

998
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:04,200
Speaker 1: sphere to help you to be successful at what your

999
00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:08,719
Speaker 1: endeavors are. But like I said at the beginning, we'd

1000
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,879
Speaker 1: love to talk to tell stories of where passion, it's

1001
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:16,160
Speaker 1: opportunity and amazing things happen where normal folks who aren't

1002
00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:18,320
Speaker 1: rich or part of some big five O one C

1003
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:22,240
Speaker 1: three or tapped on the shoulder from a politician. Simply

1004
00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:26,160
Speaker 1: use that passion see an aery need fill it and

1005
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:32,400
Speaker 1: change people's lives. And holy crap, Nancy, that's exactly what

1006
00:51:32,440 --> 00:51:33,160
Speaker 1: your story is.

1007
00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:35,360
Speaker 2: We are five to one C three.

1008
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:37,799
Speaker 1: Now you are, but you created it.

1009
00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:41,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, No that was February of O two.

1010
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:44,360
Speaker 2: Are you going to ask me about the Ireland bike Ride?

1011
00:51:44,480 --> 00:51:46,480
Speaker 1: I was going to say one thing first, go ahead,

1012
00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:49,440
Speaker 1: how do people find out more about you? And is

1013
00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:50,600
Speaker 1: there a website or whatever?

1014
00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:54,520
Speaker 2: We forget me, but the organization is Friendsifirefighters dot org.

1015
00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:58,080
Speaker 1: Yeah. Can people reach out to you if they're interested

1016
00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:03,480
Speaker 1: in supporting you or be mimicking your thing in their neighborhoods.

1017
00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:07,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, when they talk about mimicking things or having like

1018
00:52:07,800 --> 00:52:12,520
Speaker 2: a scaling, Yeah, but I would be real interested in

1019
00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:15,400
Speaker 2: how they go about it, you know, especially if they

1020
00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:17,000
Speaker 2: want to use our name. Well they can't use our name,

1021
00:52:17,040 --> 00:52:20,040
Speaker 2: but if we're going to grow like that, that would

1022
00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:23,799
Speaker 2: be great. I love partnering with They found Nancy. They

1023
00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:26,680
Speaker 2: called the office or Nancy at Friends of Firefighters dot

1024
00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:33,120
Speaker 2: orger Nancy Friends Firefighters, Laurel yes, it's not one guy

1025
00:52:33,440 --> 00:52:38,520
Speaker 2: friends of the fireman. Oh my god, so at some

1026
00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:40,920
Speaker 2: point apparently not at some point.

1027
00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:42,360
Speaker 1: And now we're going to do it. Then I'm supposed

1028
00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:44,400
Speaker 1: to ask you about a bicycle in Ireland.

1029
00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:47,040
Speaker 2: Oh my god, that's just as bad as one fireman.

1030
00:52:47,120 --> 00:52:49,120
Speaker 2: It's not one bicycle in Ireland.

1031
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:51,320
Speaker 1: One fire about friends of the Fireman.

1032
00:52:52,239 --> 00:52:54,960
Speaker 2: We have a board member who I love dearly, and

1033
00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:58,280
Speaker 2: he came on right when we started. Danny Prince. Danny

1034
00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:00,799
Speaker 2: Prince is the Prince of Princess. He's an awesome guy.

1035
00:53:00,880 --> 00:53:04,000
Speaker 2: He was Coastguard Fire Department for over forty years. He

1036
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,520
Speaker 2: calls it to this day the friend of the Fireman.

1037
00:53:08,160 --> 00:53:12,320
Speaker 1: He just calls it that on the board. That's okay,

1038
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:16,320
Speaker 1: I say stuff all the time. That absolutely drops Alex.

1039
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:19,719
Speaker 1: Absolutely Baddie had to be perfectly candid. I say it

1040
00:53:19,760 --> 00:53:20,520
Speaker 1: wrong on purpose.

1041
00:53:20,560 --> 00:53:24,279
Speaker 2: Now I don't think Danny says it wrong on purpose. Yeah.

1042
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:28,040
Speaker 2: No's that's what it is. And he calls our place.

1043
00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:30,160
Speaker 2: He doesn't call it the firehouse. He calls it the store.

1044
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:33,480
Speaker 2: We don't sell stuff, but Danny is Danny, and and

1045
00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:36,600
Speaker 2: so you know, I accept that, and I'm glad he's on.

1046
00:53:36,560 --> 00:53:40,560
Speaker 1: Board I'm not surprising at all. You know, bicycle ride or.

1047
00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:45,319
Speaker 2: Something's a bicycle ride. Yes. So last year, two years ago,

1048
00:53:45,440 --> 00:53:48,920
Speaker 2: a chief came in Danny Sheridan, and Danny is the

1049
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,879
Speaker 2: pain in maya that Alex is in yours got it,

1050
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:54,640
Speaker 2: but he gets things done like Alex does. He picked up,

1051
00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:55,800
Speaker 2: he was on time and everything.

1052
00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:57,520
Speaker 1: That's why you put up with the pin in there.

1053
00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:00,000
Speaker 2: Danny had an idea that he had been batting around

1054
00:54:00,200 --> 00:54:03,080
Speaker 2: with his best friend thirty years ago, that they were

1055
00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:06,040
Speaker 2: going to ride for some charity, starting in Dublin going

1056
00:54:06,080 --> 00:54:09,200
Speaker 2: down to the Lower They didn't even know at the time,

1057
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:11,480
Speaker 2: but they wanted to ride around Ireland and raise money.

1058
00:54:12,280 --> 00:54:15,000
Speaker 2: His friend was killed on nine to eleven. He came

1059
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:16,719
Speaker 2: to us a year and a half ago and said,

1060
00:54:16,760 --> 00:54:18,560
Speaker 2: I'd like to do this and you'd be the charity.

1061
00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:21,919
Speaker 2: So he and my daughter worked together on it and

1062
00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:26,319
Speaker 2: I was in the support vehicle. But they rode every

1063
00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:28,839
Speaker 2: day from Dublin to Kinsale. I think it was three

1064
00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:30,880
Speaker 2: days of riding. One of the days, the last day,

1065
00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:33,000
Speaker 2: was one hundred miles that they rode. And these are

1066
00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:40,719
Speaker 2: Irish roads, single lane, brutal, brutal, and this year gorgeous,

1067
00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:43,719
Speaker 2: but this year I've been told by the Irish that

1068
00:54:43,760 --> 00:54:46,799
Speaker 2: it's even more beautiful. We're going from Newcastle West down

1069
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:48,759
Speaker 2: to Kinsale and in Kinsale they have a nine to

1070
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:51,799
Speaker 2: eleven garden where they've planted three hundred and forty three

1071
00:54:51,840 --> 00:54:55,240
Speaker 2: trees for firefighters and the equal amounts for port authority

1072
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:58,560
Speaker 2: and police officers to honor. So we're going to land

1073
00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:02,680
Speaker 2: there on nine to eleven and then next year over

1074
00:55:02,719 --> 00:55:05,719
Speaker 2: one hundred firefighters from Ireland are coming into us. We're

1075
00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:07,920
Speaker 2: going to meet in Boston where we're picking up a

1076
00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:11,400
Speaker 2: ton of Boston firefighters. I heard Chicago, and I know Toronto.

1077
00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:14,040
Speaker 2: We're joining US firefighters and we're going to ride down

1078
00:55:14,040 --> 00:55:16,239
Speaker 2: from Boston to ground zero.

1079
00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:17,640
Speaker 1: Wow.

1080
00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:19,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty cool? Right?

1081
00:55:19,400 --> 00:55:20,600
Speaker 1: How does that raise money?

1082
00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:23,319
Speaker 2: Well, we need sponsors and it's funny you should say

1083
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:25,520
Speaker 2: you have a big lumber company. I'm going to hit

1084
00:55:25,560 --> 00:55:29,200
Speaker 2: everybody up for sponsorships because they get to see it.

1085
00:55:29,600 --> 00:55:31,680
Speaker 2: We're going to have drones and you know, have what

1086
00:55:31,840 --> 00:55:34,080
Speaker 2: we Last year was a run through like what can

1087
00:55:34,120 --> 00:55:36,640
Speaker 2: we do and what are we missing? And this year,

1088
00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:38,440
Speaker 2: you know, we're ready. We're really ready.

1089
00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:41,400
Speaker 1: Certainly to goodness, Alex. That's got to get some press

1090
00:55:41,480 --> 00:55:45,360
Speaker 1: of some sort and that would encourage big sponsors that

1091
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:48,160
Speaker 1: could actually move the needle. You got a one hundred

1092
00:55:48,120 --> 00:55:49,560
Speaker 1: Irish ironment coming up.

1093
00:55:49,600 --> 00:55:51,480
Speaker 2: Pretty cool, although we'll left our heads off, I know

1094
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,799
Speaker 2: that's a given, and maybe drink a little bit, but

1095
00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:59,040
Speaker 2: but just a little beer here and there. Yeah, but yes,

1096
00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:03,040
Speaker 2: just so we right before actually we had closed registration

1097
00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:05,280
Speaker 2: last year. There was a firefighter last year who almost

1098
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:08,960
Speaker 2: died and it almost was a fatal fire and we

1099
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:10,359
Speaker 2: didn't think he was going to make it at first.

1100
00:56:10,400 --> 00:56:12,920
Speaker 2: It was that bad a flashover. He was very badly burned,

1101
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:15,560
Speaker 2: and we closed our registration for the ride. In about

1102
00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:17,680
Speaker 2: a week and a half before the ride, we get

1103
00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,400
Speaker 2: a call from this guy. He wants to go on

1104
00:56:19,440 --> 00:56:24,759
Speaker 2: the trip, and I was stunned, and I just thought, yes, absolutely,

1105
00:56:26,040 --> 00:56:28,000
Speaker 2: but I don't know how it's going to be for him.

1106
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:31,839
Speaker 2: I know that the fire was very impactful in his

1107
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:34,880
Speaker 2: life and his family's life, and he had decided you

1108
00:56:34,880 --> 00:56:37,759
Speaker 2: wanted to go. He went. It was life changing and

1109
00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:40,000
Speaker 2: now he speaks about that and he's on this ride too.

1110
00:56:40,040 --> 00:56:43,280
Speaker 2: He's actually on the committee this year. So cool, so cool.

1111
00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:45,960
Speaker 1: What's tons of stuff with us on your website.

1112
00:56:46,480 --> 00:56:49,200
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so there it is there,

1113
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:49,640
Speaker 2: it is.

1114
00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:54,839
Speaker 1: So friends are Fireman Jesus, Yeah, you didn't deliver the line.

1115
00:56:54,920 --> 00:56:57,840
Speaker 1: Your response? What was your response to Danny Fritz?

1116
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:04,839
Speaker 2: Oh, that's a big budget for one guy, right, the

1117
00:57:04,840 --> 00:57:07,000
Speaker 2: Friends of the Fireman?

1118
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:11,560
Speaker 1: Yeah? Sorry, yeah, Nacy Carbone all the way from New

1119
00:57:11,640 --> 00:57:13,920
Speaker 1: York City to Memphis to tell us about the Friends

1120
00:57:13,920 --> 00:57:17,360
Speaker 1: of Fireman. I'm kidding the Friends of Firefighters.

1121
00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:19,800
Speaker 2: Laurl please make sure you say that is col Peace.

1122
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:23,280
Speaker 1: You can look it up on our website. And more importantly,

1123
00:57:23,360 --> 00:57:26,400
Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed the story, because, my friend, you

1124
00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:29,600
Speaker 1: are exactly what we look for when we talk about

1125
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:32,480
Speaker 1: an army of normal folks. And I just I can't

1126
00:57:32,480 --> 00:57:35,120
Speaker 1: thank you enough for telling your story. I can't thank

1127
00:57:35,120 --> 00:57:41,000
Speaker 1: you enough for opening with although a little bit gut wrenching,

1128
00:57:41,680 --> 00:57:45,720
Speaker 1: I think important perspective for people to understand why folks

1129
00:57:46,640 --> 00:57:50,160
Speaker 1: might be so moved to do work that they've done

1130
00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:54,040
Speaker 1: for so long in New York. And the truth is

1131
00:57:54,840 --> 00:57:58,080
Speaker 1: nine to eleven has not quit killing, and there's still

1132
00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:01,920
Speaker 1: work today. Soldiers like you that carry on that work

1133
00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:05,600
Speaker 1: change lives. And so it's been awesome to meet you

1134
00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:07,200
Speaker 1: and you're same inspiring.

1135
00:58:07,760 --> 00:58:09,400
Speaker 2: I don't want to step on your last word, but

1136
00:58:09,440 --> 00:58:12,640
Speaker 2: I'm going to thank you for bringing me here and

1137
00:58:12,760 --> 00:58:16,280
Speaker 2: for recognizing the work that we do. But it's a

1138
00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:18,400
Speaker 2: little selfish what I do because I get a lot

1139
00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:21,760
Speaker 2: out of helping people, so I feel a little bit

1140
00:58:21,880 --> 00:58:24,920
Speaker 2: uncomfortable when you make it. So thanks for calling me normal.

1141
00:58:25,320 --> 00:58:27,120
Speaker 2: If my mom we're alive, you get a chuckle out

1142
00:58:27,120 --> 00:58:29,680
Speaker 2: of that. This has been nothing short of an honor

1143
00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:32,920
Speaker 2: all these years, and to be accepted by them by

1144
00:58:32,960 --> 00:58:36,080
Speaker 2: and large has been amazing. I will say Counseling Services

1145
00:58:36,160 --> 00:58:40,240
Speaker 2: Unit and Friends of Firefighters are on very friendly terms now.

1146
00:58:40,320 --> 00:58:43,240
Speaker 2: We see each other's strengths and while we don't share information,

1147
00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:44,880
Speaker 2: we help each other where we can.

1148
00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:49,480
Speaker 1: It's fantastic. And I will tell you, almost to a person,

1149
00:58:49,960 --> 00:58:52,200
Speaker 1: everybody that we interview, and we do one of these

1150
00:58:52,240 --> 00:58:53,960
Speaker 1: a week, and we have for over two years now,

1151
00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:57,240
Speaker 1: so we're talking seven hundred people so far, almost to

1152
00:58:57,280 --> 00:59:00,320
Speaker 1: a person, all say they get more out of it

1153
00:59:00,360 --> 00:59:03,560
Speaker 1: than they put into it. And they are also hide

1154
00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:10,280
Speaker 1: away from the light because of their humility. And I

1155
00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:12,600
Speaker 1: just got to tell you something I've learned from the

1156
00:59:12,600 --> 00:59:15,760
Speaker 1: collection of people I've talked to that humility is one

1157
00:59:15,760 --> 00:59:19,080
Speaker 1: of the reasons you've been so successful. So carry on

1158
00:59:19,160 --> 00:59:21,560
Speaker 1: and well done, Nancy, and thanks for chastening with us.

1159
00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:22,880
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you, thank you.

1160
00:59:23,480 --> 00:59:28,680
Speaker 1: I'm really honored to be here, and thank you for

1161
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:32,200
Speaker 1: joining us this week. If Nancy Carbone has inspired you

1162
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:36,120
Speaker 1: in general, or better yet, to take action by donating

1163
00:59:36,160 --> 00:59:40,600
Speaker 1: to friends of firefighters, which she desperately needs, or wanting

1164
00:59:40,640 --> 00:59:42,600
Speaker 1: to do something like it in your community which she

1165
00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:46,600
Speaker 1: would love to scale, or sharing the first responders that

1166
00:59:46,680 --> 00:59:49,960
Speaker 1: you know, or something else entirely, would you please let

1167
00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:52,400
Speaker 1: me know I want to hear about it. You can

1168
00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:56,200
Speaker 1: write me anytime at Bill at normal folks dot us

1169
00:59:56,240 --> 00:59:59,320
Speaker 1: and I will respond. And because of the lack of emails,

1170
00:59:59,360 --> 01:00:02,360
Speaker 1: recently starting to have a little bit of an inferiority complex,

1171
01:00:02,400 --> 01:00:05,360
Speaker 1: So please reach out and say hi. If you enjoyed

1172
01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:08,760
Speaker 1: this episode, share it with friends that on social subscribe

1173
01:00:08,840 --> 01:00:12,080
Speaker 1: to the podcast, rate and review it. Join the army

1174
01:00:12,120 --> 01:00:15,160
Speaker 1: at normal folks dot us, consider becoming a premium member

1175
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:17,640
Speaker 1: there any and all of these things that will help

1176
01:00:17,720 --> 01:00:20,680
Speaker 1: us grow an army at normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney.

1177
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:22,760
Speaker 1: Until next time, do what you can