Point of Personal Privilege

Today was just one of those days where I had to sit back and say, “wow that was cool.” At the same time it was deeply moving. Our organization celebrates retirees. There is solidarity and camaraderie amongst us. We look out for each other. That is what we do. For basically all of us LEOFF 1 retirees, retirement was a long time ago. But no matter how long ago, retiring from the fire service is a momentous day that is never forgotten.

Today was one of those days, not for me but for my nephew Brian Danskin. I started the fire service in 1977 and not long after that, as a young man, he decided he wanted to be a firefighter too. So he did it, and boy did he do it well. After decades of being a firefighter and a union leader, today he retired from Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue. I came first, he came second, and yes his son came third, as his son starts his firefighting career with CKF&R just next month. Three firefighter generations in the family is definitely “cool.”

Brian is a fireman’s fireman. His list of accomplishments are too long to list, but accomplishments aside, what matters most is the brother and sisterhood we all share, and now we both share it as retirees. Welcome to the club Brian. Today we celebrate you.

Uncle Mike.