Job Talk: April's Story

Submitted by Chester Payne, Retired Sr. Captain

It started when I was about 12 years old around 1972. Rode and raced our bikes at a park behind Houston (Texas) Fire Station 68. Went into the station to get 10 cent Cokes from their machine, then upstairs to hang out and talk to the firefighters there.

Same year, I “graduated” from elementary school 6th grade and we wrote out our hopes and dreams for our future. Mine: 1-professional football player, 2- football coach, 3- firefighter. Having forgotten about that list, fast forward to college years, reality set in and no pro football for me. Studying to be a high school teacher and football coach but ran out of money. By advice from a friend, I joined the Houston Fire Dept only as a means to finish college to coach football.

But after a year of the brotherhood and family of firefighters, station life, the intensity of fighting fires, I decided this is what God intended for me. It was a couple years later that I remembered my list of hopes and dreams and realized it became my reality. I also found out that 68 was my magic number. 68 was the station where we rode bikes. 68 was my first station after the fire academy. ‘68 was the year my grandfather died. 68 was the age my grandmother died while I was still assigned to station 68. I had been blessed to be guided into the fire career, rising to the rank of Senior Captain and putting in 37+ years till retirement.

Ret. Sr. Capt. Chester Payne- 64 years old, married to Ellen, living in Tomball, Texas