RETIRED FIRE CAPTAIN BIDS A LOT OF GOODBYES AFTER 33-YEAR CAREER.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer A well-orchestrated conspiracy was in place when recently retired Ventura County fire Capt. Bill Young awoke a·woke v. A past tense of awake. awoke Verb a past tense and (now rare or dialectal) past participle of awake early Saturday morning. At the request of his wife, Linda, he was packing the van with the belief that the family would spend the day at their daughters' dance recital A dance recital is a performance of art where dancers performed cheoregraphed maneuvers in front of a silent audience. Dance recitals are usually done in opera houses or places of performing art and people usually dress up in either dress clothes or formal clothes, depending on the . So when a 1964 fire engine pulled into his Canoga Park driveway and he was offered a ride, Bill said he'd have to check with Linda first. ``She just got this big smile on her face that didn't fit the question,'' said Bill, 57. ``That's when I knew something was going on.'' For two months, the family has been planning this day, when Bill would be chauffeured around to six fire stations in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Wood Ranch and Oak Park to say goodbye to firefighters he worked alongside for 33 years. It was the culmination of a career that included battling countless fires, nearly getting fired for having long hair during the late 1960s and weaving together a part-time acting career on the side. ``I just wanted him to be able to see the guys and say goodbye,'' Linda said of her husband, who retired in March. ``It's been very emotional. I thought it would be neat bringing back the memories of the fire houses he worked at.'' The fire engine, put into operation two years before his career began, is owned by Matt Slaven, an aspiring as·pire intr.v. as·pired, as·pir·ing, as·pires 1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom. 2. firefighter who is best friend to Bill's son, Drew. ``I appreciate how special (Linda's) love is for me that she would take the time to do this for me,'' Bill said. ``It warms my heart to the cockles cockles saponariaofficinalis. . I'm actually a shy person. Guest of honor is very uncomfortable for me.'' Firefighters date back generations in the Young family. Bill's father, Dick, now 82, worked for a St. Louis engine company for a dozen years before completing his career with the on-site crew at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
Bill's grandfather Robert Anton, a St. Louis fire captain, died on a St. Patrick's St. Patrick's or Saint Patrick's may refer to:
Bill never suffered any serious injuries, but in recent years he knew retirement was approaching when routine calls were causing back aches and knee and joint injuries. ``You reach a point where you realize physically it becomes too dangerous to do the job,'' he said. ``I wasn't interested in doing clerical work for the department. I wanted to fight fires. It breaks my heart but I had to let it go.'' Back in the late 1960s, firefighters were losing their jobs for growing their hair long, said Bill, who had an Afro jutting jut v. jut·ted, jut·ting, juts v.intr. To extend outward or upward beyond the limits of the main body; project: out to the tips of his shoulders. He said he promised then-Ventura County Fire Chief Stan Masson that he would tie his hair back and wear a short wig during on-duty hours until the policy changed, which it did three years later. ``I kept my job and the hair and the women that loved the hair,'' Bill said. Over the past decade, he has earned roles on television shows such as ``General Hospital,'' ``Port Charles For the fictional city, see . Port Charles is a soap opera which aired on ABC from July 11, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the popular soap opera General Hospital ,'' ``Days of Our Lives,'' ``The Bold and the Beautiful'' and, most recently, ``The Practice.'' As with his firefighting 1. firefighting - What sysadmins have to do to correct sudden operational problems. An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new newsreader?" "No, a power glitch hosed the network and I spent the whole afternoon fighting fires." 2. career, Bill only plays characters who are heavily involved in the scene. ``It has to be a pertinent role,'' he said. ``If you do extra work, you're not perceived in the same light as an actor.'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Retired fire Capt. Bill Young, 57, talks about his 33-year-long firefighting career Saturday as his daughter Katie tries on the helmet he wore on the job. Young is also a sometime television actor. (2--Color) Bill Young, also known as ``Wild Bill'' gets into a 1964 fire truck his family arranged to have pick him up and chaffeur him on a farewell tour of Ventura County fire stations. (3--Color in Conejo Edition only) His captain's helmet is a symbol for Bill Young of a career fighting fires. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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