07/19/2026
"The Joy of Riding Tailboard"
We rode the tailboard back in the day,
Before someone important said, “No way”.
Show up to scene, with your eyebrows half gone, Smelling like barbecue, nobody ordered at dawn.
The driver took corners like he had a score,
To settle with physics, and then maybe one more. You leaned with the engine, you trusted your grip, And prayed there’s coffee, at the end of this trip.
Winter was brisk, by which I mean pain,
Your face getting sandblasted sideways by rain. Summer was better, if better means fried, Diesel exhaust, marinated with pride.
No airbags, no sensors, no helpful device,
Just experience, balance, and questionable advice. No seatbelts, no doors, just boots and a rail, And a firm understanding: if you slip, major fail.
They say it was reckless. They’re probably right. We laugh about it now, mostly when drinking at night. ’Cause nothing quite matches that wind in your face, Or the look, when you nearly got launched into space.
So here’s to the tailboard, the grip and the ride, To the stories we tell, now with more pride. We made it through somehow, don’t ask us how, I heard OSHA’s still looking for us, even now.
Jonathan Lusk
Publisher - Brotherhood of 🔥
Photo: Does anyone know these fellas?
(Other Firefighter pages... it would be nice if you gave BoF credit sometimes instead of swiping, cutting my logo off and posting as your own... you know who you are.)
