One of my sons, Alex, the oldest by a minute of identical twin boys, is fighting wildfires in Nevada. Along with 550 other young men and women he is working the Bull Run Complex and as they beat down one fire lightening sparks another. This is his first wildfire and so far he is loving every minute of the high desert, the rocks, the tents, the comraderie and even the food. His mother is glued to Inciweb and so grateful when his cell can grab a bar or two at the end of the day to get a call through to family.

They work these kids pretty hard, Sixteen hours a day, fourteen days straight, three days for rehab and another fourteen days. We probably will not see him for a month when he gets a mandatory two weeks off before starting all over again. Alex is perfectly suited for this type of endeavor because he loves nature, he loves exerting himself and he is a complete adrenalin junkie. (See below growing up in Mendocino. Alex is the daredevil smoking tires and doing one legged wheelies at 90 miles per hour on his crotch rocket and his twin Chris catches all the air on the dirt bike.)