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(Fire) Family Movie Night: Firehouse Dog

Apr 192010

We borrowed the movie Firehouse Dog from our local library on Friday. We haven’t done family movie night before because LittleBrother is young and his attention span is that of a young child. It varies, at best. I also know that the boys don’t focus well on movies with real people, preferring the animated Space Ranger type people over human interaction. But they’ve been on a dog kick for awhile and it’s a movie about firefighters. So I went with it.

The movie itself was cute. The story revolves around a superstar dog who falls out of a plane and is believed to have died. He lived, of course, and adopts a failing firehouse as his new home. By helping rescue another firefighter and generally being a great dog, he catches the eyes of the local media. They end up not closing down the firehouse and everyone is happy! Except for the arsonist on the loose. And the dog’s real owner who eventually tracks him down. Drama ensues for the last twenty minutes while you wait and wonder if the firebug will be caught and the dog will get to stay with the right people. Obviously, being a child’s movie, the ending is happy. But there are some moments of tense anxiety!

BigBrother was mostly enthralled by the movie. He sat with his eyes glued to the screen for a majority of the movie. He got bored with any person-to-person conversation that didn’t involve the dog doing something in the background. He didn’t quite care about the conversations between the dad (the Captain of the fire station) and the son (the main character of the movie). But, man, he loved the dog. LittleBrother liked the dog enough but cared even less about conversation. Which is mostly okay because there were a few words and phrases that made me cringe. One, “I suck,” was repeated a few times followed by “suck” over and over. I think I may have coughed. There was no outright cussing but they did use some words that we simply don’t in this house.

The fire scenes were a little intense. They didn’t seem to bother either of the boys and, really, they were absolutely enthralled during the fire scenes. BigBrother, who understood the premise of the movie, didn’t seem overly concerned when the boy was trapped in the burning building. I don’t know if he thought the dog and/or the dad would save him but he didn’t get anxious. (You know, like I did.) Perhaps it’s because they’re so used to the concepts and discussions of fire. I don’t know but, as a warning, there are some tense moments with the fire scenes. As a side warning: the movie also deals with the concept of death though no characters in the movie actively die. The death issues are from the past and involve the child’s mother and uncle.

All in all, fire family movie night was a success. I don’t think we’ll be watching Backdraft with them for a few years (understatement) but it was nice to include a little bit of firefighting in a family evening. I should note that FireDad rolled his eyes many times at the movie but was a good sport about the whole thing. Sometimes that’s what being a family is all about!

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[Disclosure: The movie belongs to the library. The links are through Amazon Associates.]

Stalked by a Fire Truck

fire life 4 Responses »

Apr 062010

I’m regularly stalked by fire trucks.

I suppose it’s kind of like how when you buy a new car and, suddenly, you see that model everywhere. Or, how if you’re trying to get pregnant, you see pregnant women everywhere. Or, just like when you’re on a diet and people keep talking about food. That’s what it’s like to be a firefighter’s wife: the fire department follows you everywhere.

I’ll be eating dinner in a different city with a friend and our conversation will be interrupted by the squeal of a siren. Suddenly, lights flashing, a fire truck will pull up to the sidewalk just outside the window where we are eating. Or, like today, I stopped into my doctor’s office this afternoon because earlier today I forgot to take my insurance card with me. LittleBrother took up a conversation with the receptionist about Daddy being a firefighter. She then let us know that her son is a firefighter outside of Columbus.

Or, like this morning at the same doctor’s office, when I was trying to take pictures of the flowering tree in the parking lot only to realize that despite a focus problem due to a smudge on my lens (the HORROR!), I got some nice fire truck bokeh in the background. Lurking, waiting, always present.

This picture is much like my life. Kind of out of focus because I’m so crazy busy. Full of beauty and life and growth. With the fire life always in the background, part of who I am. Who we are.

Wordless Wednesday: It’s Good to be a Firefighter’s Kid

Photography, fire life 4 Responses »

Mar 242010

BB in a Fire Truck

LB in a Fire Truck

BB Cleans a Truck

Helping Daddy

Thumbs Up!

Nice Face

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For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

The Fire Life and Technology

Techie Talk, fire life 8 Responses »

Mar 162010

I’ve learned things over the years as a fire wife. I (mostly) keep the scanner turned off when FireDad is at work. I go back to sleep (most of the time) when he’s called out to a fire in the middle of the night. I generally try to focus on the kids and the stuff of life that needs to be done when he’s working his normal 24 hour shift.

Technology makes that a bit more difficult.

I was behaving yesterday. I had the scanner turned off. We were spending a lovely day at home. I hadn’t talked much to FireDad on the phone but I knew that he had been busy, just as we had been at home. I called at one point but there was no answer. I figured he was busy with some fire station work. After the boys settled down in bed, I sat down to catch up on a bit of Facebooking when I learned from someone at the newspaper that there had been a house fire that day.

Instant panic.

Suddenly the fact that I hadn’t talked to my husband all day became a scary thing, not a normal thing. Was he okay? Were the other firefighters okay? Before my mind had time to go over all of the scary questions, the phone rang. It was FireDad. Instant fear relief. They had just finished washing up the trucks and he had taken his shower which is why he hadn’t answered earlier. All was well at the fire department.

Later I thought about how my calm day had been ruined by technology. I knew to avoid the scanner. Had FireDad told me about the fire when he called that evening, I would have been fine as it was after the fact. But those few minutes in between were not fun. Prior to the immediacy of Facebook and twitter, I wouldn’t have known about the fire without the scanner on (or being at work). Now, of course, I can find out about just about anything, almost instantly.

On the one hand, that’s good. On the other hand, I have gotten used to learning about most fires after the fact. It’s in my nature to be anxious and worry and, as such, I prefer hearing that the fire was big but everyone came out just fine. Should I now avoid Facebook (and even twitter) on FireDad’s shift days? Do I keep the computer turned off when he’s at work? It’s an option, perhaps a valid one.

Today’s fire spouses are now inundated with ways to keep up with their firefighters. While that can be a great thing, I continue to learn that every Internet application can be a double-edged sword. Whatever the case, I am glad that FireDad came home this morning and gave me my normal hug and kiss. Worries instantly alleviated more quickly than the immediacy of twitter… until his next shift day, that is.