Trail of the Firewriter…
2010 Road Trip: Day Fifteen

I rose early and headed for Tavares, about an hour and a half drive from Oviedo. Waiting on the lawn when I arrived were Greg Pearn, his lovely wife Nancy and a silver grey poodle named Jinx. I hugged them all and Jinx led me into the house, showed me a chair to sit on, than jumped in my lap to sit on me. Jinx seemed to conduct the conversation, looking from person to person as we spoke. He reminded me of "Boris the Talking Dog" who you can read about on my website at www.rjhaig.com. It was good to be with old friends once again.

Being with Greg Pearn is like being with Rambo, Soupy Sales and Bishop Tutu all wrapped in one person. He is a rough tough Firefighter, a mischievous guy who likes to laugh, has strong morals and has been known to drink a rum and coke now and then, my kind of person. We talked for a while then Nancy took us to the door and sent us outside to play.

We climbed into Pearn's  jet black Corvette and with a throaty roar hit the highway. We headed for New Smyrna Beach to visit Dennis Cannon and his wife Kay. We arrived to a beautiful setting, a large house with a grand view of the Atlantic Ocean. After hugs and kisses we went upstairs to drink beer and fight old fires. The room, we were in, faced a sliding glass door wall, where you could see almost all the way to Ireland. Above the picturesque view, written on the wall, were the words "It doesn't get much better than this". I agreed wholeheartedly and we drank a toast to our careers and the bounty of special friendships we acquired while working a hazardous occupation. We had another drink and a toast to the running mates we lost along the way. We talked about the many crazy things Firefighters do. Dennis told the story about a Firefighter who used to go to Mexico and pose as a doctor to win favor with the ladies. He was kidnapped and nearly lost his life when the bandits found out he was only a Firefighter. It tickled me because the previous day I had posted that story on my blog called "Fire Talk. None of us could remember the guys name but after a night's sleep, Pearn remembered and e-mailed it to me. I must add "memory like an elephant" to Pearn's description.

I do not remember more gracious hosts than Dennis and Kay. We left with our hearts warmed and that logo still in my head… "It doesn't get much better than this." To add to that logo was a great meal prepared by Nancy when we returned to Pearn's house.

Jinx again showed me to a chair and shared it with me. Nancy had prepared a beef roast that slow cooked all day and baked, a special, sour dough bread. We had a wonderful bowl of bean soup and Greg served the beef on the sour dough bread covered with a special sauce. If he keeps eating like that, I may have to add "Pillsbury Doughboy" to his description.  It was a fun time being with a special friend like Greg Pearn. I returned to Oviedo, sat on the couch, nodded off and was awakened to loud snoring and the glares of Kathy and Doug, who were trying to watch TV. I went to bed smiling. It was a great day fifteen.

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