9 1 1 I'm a New York City firefighter, as was my father and his father before him. Being Irish Catholic, most of my relatives were hard-nosed cops. It was always a verbal battle when the family got together. Who was tougher, braver and more active always came up during heated debates- especially after a few drinks. My grandfather always started off his argument with, "Well, I used to work in the Bronx. We didn't have all your …showed first 75 words of 1462 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1462 total…condition. You spend a day with me sometime soon and we'll visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I only took you there when you were very little and I think you need to go back to see the history of how our people and many others came to America. It didn't matter then where you came from. You were just grateful to be here." "All right dad, it's a date, but no promises."