It’s rare for us normal folk to ever see a moment of unguarded human reality in those far, far removed, whether that be the TV rich and famous, the A list Hollywood set or, my goodness, can you even imagine it, royalty. Tonight, for us, there was such a moment. Something which captured the essence of our emergency services, their dedication, their commitment, and showed how a member of our Royal Family is in essence no different to the rest of us in their natural human curiosity, nosiness, empathy and care.
When Mr M was a fireman, after 32yrs serving in Manchester city centre, the one thing he often felt sad about was the lack of a story’s end, the not knowing how the lives of people he’d saved or had a part in saving had turned out. Were they happy? Did they recover? What happened to them? More often than not the people he’d played a part in rescuing, whether it be a fire, a car accident, a bomb even, would become just part of a memory of an incident, people who somehow faded away from being real.
So during the news tonight, as we watched our king in waiting doing his royal duties around Anglesey, smiling dutifully, petting a hawk, shaking some hands, cracking a joke, we just expected him to play his part and certainly not say anything which resonated. But, bizarrely, he did and just a few words made him very very real. When faced with a young woman in whose rescue he’d played a part a few months ago, his natural and very honest reaction will have been recognised by anyone who’s worked in the emergency services – utter delight at meeting that person who’s now safe, living and breathing and no longer in danger. He said something along the lines of – It’s so rare to know what happens after an incident and so nice to meet the person afterwards – and that’s something Mr M said to me so many times. After all the adrenalin, the energy, the rush of the rescue, the speed and madness, it’s all over so quickly, then your shift is finished and when you next start work, it’s full speed ahead on the next job with no looking back,
People who work in our emergency services so very rarely get to meet those they save, those whose lives they have so affected and in turn have so affected theirs. It surely must be part of human nature to care about the people involved during such life changing experiences, even if those experiences are part of your every day job.
It was remarkable for such honesty to shine through from someone who is *supposed* to be much more guarded and private. So very genuine, the wanting to know how a tale has ended, that after all, all was well.
Still, I guess every Prince is destined to want a happy ending, isn’t he? 😉
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