I was afraid of fire... I had barely passed my basic emergency duties exams when I was commissioned. The examiner looked gravely on me. Time will tell he said. The night of the fire I had been tossing restlessly in my bunk. Anxious thoughts of the days to come had denied me the peace of mind I needed to fall asleep. The alarm sounded. I jumped to my feet. We mustered at our stations.. all save one... fire is not what you imagine it to be.. black poisonous smoke fills the air... your only source of life is your respirator and the heavily insulated clothes protecting your skin from the filthy scalding air... suddenly as you scuff gently through the corridor the flash of fire comes full in view. Face to face in the inferno you press forward... feings of panic begin to surge inside you as the insanity of claustrophobia grips your heart .. the chaos of the silence in those moments in the inferno when the world burns all around you and fire reigns in all directions and your heart beats hard with fear. The first mate lead the rescue as I stood outiside the portal door calmly relaying messages in the chaos of infernos storm... he faltered.. collapsed on the corridor floor. I called to the master... I'm going in to find him. I will not leave him nor fail him for duty has called. Courage filled my heart as fear hit me like a wave in the ocean soaring far above the sky. I felt my foot steps thunder as I marched into the corridor. I carried them both to safety first the lost crewman and then the mate. As I emerged from the smoke and death the other crewmen cheered. I'm am not a champion. I have not always won. I am a warrior... my heart does not give in.

Breaking out of the friendzone.

Fighting to live. I won that fight.

Surviving

fighting the urge to drive 90 mph into a brick wall?
any brick wall. and no seat belt.

Finally telling of a secret that friggin ate me up for 40 yrs.

That one time I beat Bear in the big blue house.

my wife.