| Bound By Courage -- the original cut of the controversial story from Ground Zero-- released for the first time on DVD |
| "When Does The Heart Stop Aching?"
by: Amy Steelman c.1997 Tonight there's a family with one less member at the dinner table. A little boy weeps alone in his room and his sister sobs uncontrollably, and desolately, in her grandmother's arms. Their mother stares vacantly straight ahead, as she rocks back and forth in a chair placed, ironically, next to the fireplace. Her grief is so consuming, that it casts a shadow over the entire room. A flag, neatly folded, lies in her lap and her fingers grasp the edges so tightly that her knuckles are white. She sheds no tears. She has no voice. She is but a shell of the woman she was just a few short days ago. She is the wife of a firefighter, who was killed in the line-of-duty. This is my family, or your family, or a beloved friend's family. It doesn't really matter. Each time a brother or sister firefighter is lost, we feel the gut-wrenching ache that echoes from our hearts. Our sympathy knows no bounds, but it seems a useless emotion. We can't make the family whole again, and the pain we feel is deep and lasting, eating away at our souls. And yet, we still carry on, proud to be members of our special fraternity. We hold back the tears that beg to be released and we lift up our spirits to be healed. And, we go on with the day-to-day duties that are elements of our profession. It is the greatest tribute we can offer to those who have given their lives in the act of serving their fellow man. So when does the heart stop aching? I don't know that it ever does. I lose a little more of myself with each LODD, but I do continue on.How else can I give honor and respect to those who have gone before me, and how else can I pay homage to their selflessness, bravery and dedication? My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in the line-of-duty. The greatest gift that we can offer them is the fact that we continue to perform in the profession that was so much a part of the loved one that they lost. We carry each of them with us in our hearts and memories, both on the job and off. -------------- The author, Amy Steelman, is a Fire Lieutenant with the Kennett Fire Co #1, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a neighboring company to the Lionville Fire Co. which lost one of its own this week. She is a television producer currently working on a documentary project entitled "Inferno". |
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