The Story Behind Johnny's Green Pen

by Marty P
 

Johnny came into the rec room at the beginning of the shift.  "Hey, has anybody seen my green pen?  It was sitting on the bench in the locker room this morning."  He looked around the room at the other members of the shift.  The last person he spotted was Chet. He sat on the leather sofa, working a crossword puzzle with Johnny's green pen.

"Chet!  Gimme my pen," Johnny told him adamantly.  

"Gage, here's your pen.  Sheesh!  What's the big deal?"  He flung the writing instrument at Johnny and slapped down the newspaper.

Johnny caught the pen and tucked it in his pocket.  As he started to speak, the claxons sounded.  "Station 127, Station 110, Engine 51.  Structure fire at 4900 Limbaugh Street."

The firemen dashed to the engine and sped out to the location.  After they left, Roy turned to his partner.  "Johnny, what gives?  What's so important about your pen?"

"My green pen has significance to me."  He pulled it out and clicked it several times for emphasis.

"Would you like to share?"  Roy pulled out two chairs at the kitchen table and dropped into one.

"You see, when I was in school I was interested in athletics.  I loved to run, jump, throw, hit, and catch.  Anything that had to do with sports I latched onto."

"You still enjoy those, Johnny."  Roy watched his friend pace.

"I know.  But I didn't care about reading or writing or science or math.  I felt so cooped up in the classroom and all I could do was dream about being outside."

"What happened?"  Johnny came back to the table and sank into the chair next to Roy.

Johnny stuck his elbow on the table and propped his chin on his open fist.  He gazed at the wall in front of him and began to tell Roy his story.  "One day when I was a freshman in high school we had a fire in the building.  It was lunchtime and all of a sudden the kitchen caught fire.  One of the teachers hit the fire alarm and another one darted into the kitchen to see if he could put out the fire.  I wanted to stand there and watch but the track coach made me leave." 

Roy sat there in silence waiting for Johnny to continue.

"A few minutes later the firemen pulled up.  They pulled their hoses and started attacking the flames.  Several of them dashed into the kitchen and rescued the lunch lady and the teacher.  Both of them had stopped breathing.  They put oxygen on them and I heard the teacher start coughing."  He paused in his storytelling replaying the scene in his mind.

"The kids all liked the lunch lady.  She always joked around with us and she knew us by name.  We all stood around, willing her to take a breath.  After what seemed like forever we heard her gasp for air."  He smiled in relief.

"They took her to the hospital in an ambulance.   Then they sent everyone home for the day.  I decided I wanted to be a firefighter after that." 

Roy shifted in his chair, waiting patiently for his partner to continue.

"About a week after that our school had career day.  They took over the gym and had tables and pamphlets and some of them had equipment they used on the job.  When I spotted the fireman I boldly approached him and told him that's what I wanted to do."

The claxons sounded and the dispatcher's voice announced over the loudspeaker, "Squad 51, woman down.  285 Lake Drive.  Cross street Westside."  After acknowledging the call Roy leapt into the driver's seat, handed the address to Johnny and pulled out of the station.

A few seconds later a voice crackled over the radio, "Cancel your response, 51.  Return to quarters."

"10-4. Squad 51 available." Johnny responded.

Roy drove back to the station and the two men hung their helmets in the squad.  They walked out of the apparatus bay and returned to the kitchen.  "Want some coffee, Johnny?"  Roy asked as he poured himself a cup.

"No, I'd like a glass of milk.  Seen any cookies around here?  I'm starving!"  Johnny took the lid off the empty cookie jar and peered in.  He took a glass to the refrigerator and filled it with milk.

"You were telling me about your green pen, Johnny."   Roy prompted.

"Yeah, I was."  His mind flashed back to the event.

"So, you want to be a fireman, do you young man?"  The burly firefighter eyed him.  "You look kinda skinny there.  It takes stamina and endurance to be in the fire service."

Johnny rose to his full height.  "I may be skinny but I am tough," he spoke with vehemence. 

The fireman stuck his hands in his pockets.  "I see you have spunk.  That's good.  But there's much more to firemen than brawn.  Skills in writing, science and mathematics are required also."

"Really?  I thought you just put on your equipment and darted into buildings to save people and property."  Johnny's face was incredulous.

"We spend a great deal of time away from actual fires and saves.  We write reports and determine the best way to battle a blaze by learning physics and chemistry.  Mathematics comes into determining which hoses to use and how much water is needed to fight a fire.  I'm just scratching the surface here, son."  He noticed Johnny's shoulders sagging and the dismayed look on his face.

"I didn't realize there was so much to being a fireman."  Johnny gave a look of resignation and started to walk away.

"Hold it there, son.  You appeared to be real gung ho to be a fireman, what happened?"  The man's voice was soft.

"I did.  But I've never been real strong in learning stuff outta books."  Johnny picked up a brochure and left the man.

After circling the gym he returned to the fireman.  No other careers interested him.  He wanted to be in the fire service.  He stood there, not saying a word.

"Son?  One of the most important attributes a fireman needs is tenacity.  You work real hard and then you come see me in a few years."  He scribbled his name on a piece of paper and handed it to Johnny.

"Maybe…" Johnny hesitated to say more.  It seemed all his dreams evaporated.

Johnny heard Roy slide his chair away from the table and came out of his reverie.  "We had a career day at our school.  I visited with the fireman.  He told me I needed to learn math, and science and English.  I almost gave up.  I always struggled with everything in school except for sports."

"Well, obviously something happened."  Roy gave his partner a discerning look.

"Actually, it was someone who made a difference."  Johnny reminisced.

"After I left the gym I was really discouraged.  I wasn't looking where I was going and I bumped into Mr. Kim, my math teacher."

"Sorry, Mr. Kim.  You okay?"  Johnny helped the small man to his feet.

"Mr. Gage?  Why do you look so crestfallen?" He brushed off his black suit and looked at his student.

"I thought I wanted to be a fireman.  But I found out I need skills I will probably never have."  Johnny's disappointment was still evident.

"Mr. Gage, you consider yourself an athlete, no?"  Mr. Kim pursued.

"Yeah, I do." 

"How do you become a better athlete?" 

"I keep practicing.  I try to improve."  Johnny told him.

"Mr. Gage, have you ever considered practicing or trying to improve in the classroom?"

Johnny thought for a moment.  "No, I guess not."

"You would like to be a fireman?"  Mr. Kim continued.

"Yes!" 

Mr. Kim heard the hopefulness and determination in his voice.  "Mr. Gage, let's see if you can follow your dream." 

"You would help me?"  Johnny was amazed.

"Yes, Mr. Gage.  But you will have to work very, very hard."  Mr. Kim said realistically. 

"I began to go in early to school.  Oh, it was hard work.  Mr. Kim made me study.  But slowly, I started to improve.  My Ds became Bs.  I realized I could learn things I thought I never could.  Mr. Kim found other people to help me if he couldn't."

"Sounds like he was quite a teacher."  Roy said, impressed.

"He was quite a person.  I found out later he fought in World War II for the Americans.  He joined the military in 1940 and they put his wife and children in an internment camp but he never told me about it." 

"At the end of my freshman year I went into his classroom just before the final.  We were the only ones in the room and he called me up to his desk."

"Mr. Gage," he told me, "you have shown you can work hard and improve.  I would like you to have this."

"He handed me this green pen and said 'go forward and follow your dreams.'"

Johnny stopped as he remembered the gift Mr. Kim gave him.  "I know it sounds kinda corny but it really stuck with me.  I put that green pen in my bedroom.  I would look at it when I wanted to stop working in high school."

"From time to time I would run into Mr. Kim in the hall.  He would smile and ask how my green pen was."

"After I graduated I moved to Los Angeles and became a fireman.  Then I took additional training and became a rescue man."

Roy put his empty cup in the sink and then walked back to the table.

"Not too long after I started working as a rescue man I got a newsletter from my high school.  There was an article on Mr. Kim.  He had a heart attack and died."  Johnny paused. 

"I put away the green pen.  I thought really hard about throwing it away but I couldn't.  Here was a man who made such a difference in my life and he was gone."  Johnny pounded his fist on the table. 

Roy put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Then my partner and I rescued the electrocution victim.  I was sure he was alive when we were at the scene.  But Brackett said we rescued a corpse."

"Yeah, I remember that.  Then you came to talk to me about the paramedic course."  Roy sat down across from his co-worker.

"Yeah, I did.  We talked for awhile and then I asked…"

"Use your pen?"  Roy filled in for him.

"I didn't think a lot about it at the time but I realized when I got home I forgot to return it to you." 

"That's where it went.  I looked around after you left."  Roy remembered.

"When I pulled it out of my pocket I remembered the green pen.  I could almost see Mr. Kim telling me to go forward and follow your dreams."  Johnny looked unseeingly at the green pen in his hand.

"I kept that pen in sight at home during that paramedic course.  There were many times I didn't know if I could learn everything we needed to know.  I considered giving up more than once." 

"But you stuck with it."  Roy finished for him.

"Yeah, I did.  And we became partners."  Johnny looked up at his friend.

"After we were finally certified I came home one day and saw the green pen.  It struck me that Mr. Kim died of a heart attack but now I had skills that could save others.  That's when I decided to start using the pen at work."

"Yeah, this pen represents dreams and a man who believed in them."  He tucked it back into his pocket.  "Sometimes when we have a really tough rescue or lose a victim I pull out my pen.  I think about Mr. Kim and all he did for me and it helps me to keep going forward."

"You're right Johnny, that green pen is special …" Roy began.

The claxons interrupted Roy.  The two paramedics responded to the call and rushed out to the squad.  Johnny smiled as he patted the pen in his pocket.

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