Past glory

Here I make coffees and sandwiches for a living.
At home I fight fires and help people when they're in need (not for a living, but I did it all the same).

I started fighting fire at the age of 14, and continued until I moved here at 22. As you might guess it means a great deal to me. Often when I'm feeling nostalgic I take it (my helmet) off the the shelf, look longingly at it, and sigh. (as one does) Today, however, I had it out as I called Chief to ask about the process of returning when we move back home in a couple months.

It's not usual to keep your helmet when you leave, but as I said it means a lot. It was brand new when I got it so every scratch, nick, scuff, smoke stain, burn, and glob of tar happened while it was on my head. It used to smell of smoke, but now it's just stale sweat. Its glory days are behind it, but they will soon return.