I have nothing but respect for firemen, the ones I know in my area are real stand up people. While driving I saw, “KEEP BACK 343 FEET”, painted on the back of a fire truck in Wanamassa. I started thinking... I'm way too close to be taking this picture with my phone. 343 Feet... that's more than the length of a football field. Much to the chagrin of the cars behind me, I started to slow down.
I digress.
This blog is more about perspective than firemen. From 343 feet back, the truck looked small and unimpressive, but up close, it was mammoth. I thought about the trip the kids and I took to the beach several weeks ago. From the car, the waves looked smooth and friendly. The closer we got, the more turmoil reached out from the sea and wreaked havoc on the sand. Kind of like someones life, seeing it from a distance, everyone’s life looks different; better.
From 343 feet back there is no visible confrontation, no stress or no minute details to get in the way of a smooth existence. The closer you get, the more you realize the brown patches in the grass. Day to day life is filled with trials; challenges that don't immediately bubble up to the surface.
Maybe instead of worrying about others, we should pay attention to the road ahead and look at our own lives from 343 feet back.
Haha! Where did they get 343 feet?? I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteGREAT post though. I agree wholeheartedly.
The guy who painted it couldn't do 0's or maybe it's a metric thing... :)
ReplyDeleteThe number 343 is a reference to the 343 New York City firefighters killed in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. It is a number firefighters everywhere are determined never to forget. The 343 is also the name of a fireboat operated by F.D.N.Y. And buillt with steel recovered from the World Trade Center wreakage.
ReplyDeleteThe Keep Back signs on fire trucks have traditionally been posted as 200 feet, to provide a safety zone behind fire trucks back in the time when fire fighters rode on the back of their trucks. Many fire fighters were hurt and even killed when the fell from the back of fire trucks. The 200 feet signs have been replaced in many instances by 343 feet out of respect and remembrance to their fallen brothers in New York.