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Brown
From Page 1 :*s '•.-o
butter bean on her chin"; many in
* attendance recoiled as Brown
breathed vocal life into her.
The story's narrator related
the wretched condition in which
he found mis woman, her des¬
peration and weariness of caring
for a quartet of children and her
78-year-old mother. When de¬
ciding what to do about her, the
narrator "felt like I feel when I see
those commercials on TV, where
they show folks starvin' in Africa,
and I don't send any money."
After bringing "Samaritans"
to its surprise conclusion, Brown
told how he began keeping a jour¬
nal of his experiences from 17
k«a years in the Oxford, Miss. Fire
Department (OFD.) When the
journal exceeded 120 pages, he
took it tohiseditor, and "On Fire"
was bom.
Brown read a variety of ex¬
cerpts from "On Fire" during the
second half of his hour-plus lec¬
ture. The first focused on his gen-
eral impressions of the dangers of
fire fighting. "You leam early to
go in low, that heat and smoke
rise into the ceiling, that cooler air
-is near the floor. You leam to
button your collar tightly around
your neck, to pull the gauntlets of
your gloves up over me cuffs of
your coat, that embers can go any¬
where skin is exposed. Youlearn
v that you are only human flesh,
not Superman, and that you can
bum like a candle."
Another tale related the
unique kinds of guilt and regret
inherent in the job..
* "I never laid my life on the
line. That day when those two
little kids and their grandmother
burned up, I was out at the el¬
ementary school giving a fire ex¬
tinguisher class with the chief,
and somebody else had to drive
mypumpertothefire. Wegotthe
call during the class, and I rode
W///////^^^^
Ys/y/ys/rs/ys/skv/////?/^
'Only a firefighter or
a victim of fire can
tell you what a ter¬
rible thing fire can
be... I wondered
what my life would
evercomeito. .These
people had suffered
a terrible death. I
blamed it on
poverty, and
ignorance....'
—Larry Brown
with Uncle Chiefy out there and
we saw immediately that the
house was falling in with fire. I
was braking in a rookie, and no¬
body had even told him to put his
gloves on. He stood there in the
yard and did all he could and
blistered his handsjbadly while
using an inch arid a half hose.
Wedne
Then the house fell in and we
were told that mere were people
inside;.. 1><
"The badTdoor had been
nailed shut for some reason. We
couldn't have saved that house
unless we'd gotten there early,
long before it got So bad. Maybe
they didn't have a phone to call
us. Maybe they were taking a
nap. Sometimes you can never
save them..
"It wasi hard to tell, every-
thmgbemgsoburned,everything
looking so much alike. Only a
firefighter or a victim of fire can
tell you what a terrible ming fire
cart be.. I wondered what my life
would ever come to. These people
had suffered a terrible death. I
blamed it on poverty, and igno¬
rance, and my not being at the
station when the call came in, al¬
though the class the chief and I
were giving could pre vent tilings
likethis."
But fire fighting has its pri¬
vate triumphs as welL, Brown
concluded with a story abou t an
animal, for which he admits a
fondness. Two members of his
J
crew, determined to save a small
brown puppy who appears be¬
yond saving, "get the oxygen cyl¬
inder out and crack the valve Open
and slide the tube into the puppy's
mouth and leave it in for a little bit
and the glaze starts to come off his
eyes. Hey, check this, we say, and
gather around. His'ribs rise and
fall one time. Big Rick sits there
crime linoleum in the floor of the
van, cradling the puppy on his
lap,strokmghimauttle,stillwear-
ing his turnouts and his OFD cap,
and the puppy makessome noise
halfway between a bark and a
yelp, blows smoke out like he's
been enjoying a Marlboro, then
takes another breath. Dead,huh?
Rick says, and a little crowd starts
to form... You done comeback to
the world, boy, we tell him."
After the lecture, Brown
signed copies of "On Fire", as
well as his novels and collections
of short stories. Today he will
sign books at Barnes and Noble
from5^pjrLto7^a^therihe ■'.
will meet with Yarbrough's fic¬
tion, writing classes to discuss
<ome finer points of the craft
UNIVERSITY RESTAURAN
Enjoy Elegant Di/
- 2:H(l pm
Wo offor a large sclcctio
of flavorful Entrees for
your enjoyment!
* Seafood
* Pasta
* Poultry
* Steak
Try our soup and salad
combinations. Serve yourself
all-you-can-eat savory
fresh salads and delicious
soup dujour.
\
CLASSIFI
ANNOUNCEMENTS\
God and Michael Eagles #1
Rich successful leader. Bob
Dole for President U.S.A.
# - - mi
FREE FINANCIAL AID!
Over $6 Billion in private
sector grants & scholarships
is now available. All —
students are eligible
regardless of grates^
income, or parent's income.
Let us help. CaU Student
Financial Services:
1 -800-263-6495 ext. f60071
/M04
Paid positions
available at "
The Collegian
FOR SALE
TI 486 Notebook
computer
,120 meg HP; 4 meg Ram;
Software; $ 1300; Olcldata
printer S50; Image writer
printej.S 140. call
292-4430 evenings /F24
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Computer
' JN113L386,33 Mhz, 8 meg
Ram, 85 meg HD, Docking
Port, KeyboarcJ. Pen Based,
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Need to seO your stuff
try the Collegian classifieds.
278-5731
FOR RENT I
YOUR AD HERE!!!
s CALLTODAY
FOR INFO
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I
CLASSIFIEDS
WORK
Call 278-5731
The faculty/student
classified ad rate
is $.25
per word per day
AD LINE 278-5731
HELP WANTED
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possible mailing our
circulars! For info call
202^298:8935 /May02
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Earn rip to $2,000+ month.
World travel. Seasonal &
full-time positions. No exp
necessary. For info, call.
1-206-634-0468 >
ext.C60073 /M03
Japan, Taiwan, and S Korea. Many cmpkrycn
provide room ft board + other beacflt*. No
csJ.pWKM-lMtaat.JWtn
Social Events, Support Group,
Speakers Bureau.
For more information, call our
faculty co-advisor at 278-0328,
or members Zody 292-8672, .
or Jennifer 486-5114 (evenings).
TYPING
*
HOME TYPING
DIANA.
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Term Paper Typing
Fast, Cheap, A Right, by
college graduate, will pick
up and deliver. Sharon
431-6804 /M21
-f.
. \
A.-.
Object Description
| Title | 1995_02 The Daily Collegian February 1995 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1995 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | February 22, 1995, Page 3 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1995 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search |
Brown
From Page 1 :*s '•.-o
butter bean on her chin"; many in
* attendance recoiled as Brown
breathed vocal life into her.
The story's narrator related
the wretched condition in which
he found mis woman, her des¬
peration and weariness of caring
for a quartet of children and her
78-year-old mother. When de¬
ciding what to do about her, the
narrator "felt like I feel when I see
those commercials on TV, where
they show folks starvin' in Africa,
and I don't send any money."
After bringing "Samaritans"
to its surprise conclusion, Brown
told how he began keeping a jour¬
nal of his experiences from 17
k«a years in the Oxford, Miss. Fire
Department (OFD.) When the
journal exceeded 120 pages, he
took it tohiseditor, and "On Fire"
was bom.
Brown read a variety of ex¬
cerpts from "On Fire" during the
second half of his hour-plus lec¬
ture. The first focused on his gen-
eral impressions of the dangers of
fire fighting. "You leam early to
go in low, that heat and smoke
rise into the ceiling, that cooler air
-is near the floor. You leam to
button your collar tightly around
your neck, to pull the gauntlets of
your gloves up over me cuffs of
your coat, that embers can go any¬
where skin is exposed. Youlearn
v that you are only human flesh,
not Superman, and that you can
bum like a candle."
Another tale related the
unique kinds of guilt and regret
inherent in the job..
* "I never laid my life on the
line. That day when those two
little kids and their grandmother
burned up, I was out at the el¬
ementary school giving a fire ex¬
tinguisher class with the chief,
and somebody else had to drive
mypumpertothefire. Wegotthe
call during the class, and I rode
W///////^^^^
Ys/y/ys/rs/ys/skv/////?/^
'Only a firefighter or
a victim of fire can
tell you what a ter¬
rible thing fire can
be... I wondered
what my life would
evercomeito. .These
people had suffered
a terrible death. I
blamed it on
poverty, and
ignorance....'
—Larry Brown
with Uncle Chiefy out there and
we saw immediately that the
house was falling in with fire. I
was braking in a rookie, and no¬
body had even told him to put his
gloves on. He stood there in the
yard and did all he could and
blistered his handsjbadly while
using an inch arid a half hose.
Wedne
Then the house fell in and we
were told that mere were people
inside;.. 1><
"The badTdoor had been
nailed shut for some reason. We
couldn't have saved that house
unless we'd gotten there early,
long before it got So bad. Maybe
they didn't have a phone to call
us. Maybe they were taking a
nap. Sometimes you can never
save them..
"It wasi hard to tell, every-
thmgbemgsoburned,everything
looking so much alike. Only a
firefighter or a victim of fire can
tell you what a terrible ming fire
cart be.. I wondered what my life
would ever come to. These people
had suffered a terrible death. I
blamed it on poverty, and igno¬
rance, and my not being at the
station when the call came in, al¬
though the class the chief and I
were giving could pre vent tilings
likethis."
But fire fighting has its pri¬
vate triumphs as welL, Brown
concluded with a story abou t an
animal, for which he admits a
fondness. Two members of his
J
crew, determined to save a small
brown puppy who appears be¬
yond saving, "get the oxygen cyl¬
inder out and crack the valve Open
and slide the tube into the puppy's
mouth and leave it in for a little bit
and the glaze starts to come off his
eyes. Hey, check this, we say, and
gather around. His'ribs rise and
fall one time. Big Rick sits there
crime linoleum in the floor of the
van, cradling the puppy on his
lap,strokmghimauttle,stillwear-
ing his turnouts and his OFD cap,
and the puppy makessome noise
halfway between a bark and a
yelp, blows smoke out like he's
been enjoying a Marlboro, then
takes another breath. Dead,huh?
Rick says, and a little crowd starts
to form... You done comeback to
the world, boy, we tell him."
After the lecture, Brown
signed copies of "On Fire", as
well as his novels and collections
of short stories. Today he will
sign books at Barnes and Noble
from5^pjrLto7^a^therihe ■'.
will meet with Yarbrough's fic¬
tion, writing classes to discuss
|
