To Fight the Fire

Yesterday, I spent about an hour with the President of Flint Firefighters (or I believe that's his title), Raul Garcia. We visited the firehouse in Flint, where, in the backyard, people were being tested to become firefighters.
After all, with all the fires going on, we need help fighting them.
The tests were strenuous and looked incredibly physically draining. In on I watched, a guy had to throw five 15-lb-soaked-sponge-things into the back of the fire engine. After that, he had to lift about 25 (or so) pounds over his shoulder and walk on the edges of what looked like a laying-down ladder.
In a different test, a guy had to put on his air tank & equipment, and then grab another one of those 25-poundish things over his shoulders and run up and down 3 flights of stairs, then pull a rope through a pulley up a certain height.
Point is: It was incredible to watch. And it gave me a real appreciation for how hard our everyday heroes work. A bunch of athletically inclined people (unlike myself) will be helping protect me. I thought that was awesome.
To fight the flame, we need them.
At recess today, we were called inside because there seemed to be a fight across the street. A case of domestic violence, I believe. A lady and a little girl (and their dog) were running down the sidewalk. It was a little frightening to listen to, though one of my best friends told me stuff like that happens in his neighborhood every day. I thought that was pretty sad.
People in cases like that are experiencing a different sort of fire. This kind of fire swallows you up from the inside out, hurting sometimes even more than a physical burn. And just like in a physical fire, people are needed to put it out.
People need people. It's a fact of life. In Flint right now, I guess I'll have to admit there's quite a bit of fire. I don't really like admitting that, it kind of feels like giving in. But it's important to understand that people need help. Fires do too much damage when they just burn out by themselves.
On a somewhat lighter note, graduation is approaching for Seniors & 8th graders everywhere. I know tomorrow is the farewell Mass for the 8th grade at my school. It's going to be interesting to see what I'll be like as an 8th grader. There's a lot of pressure, you know. To be good. Since we're "setting an example for the school" and everything. Those weren't hateful quotes, by the way. Just pressurized ones.
It'll be fine. It almost always is.
Time sure does go by quickly.  Days pass.. Oh, what can you do?
That's just it. Absolutely nothing.
Have an excellent Thursday, loves.
Let it Glee.