Tragic Loss

MWP: Larry Brown (1951-2004)

This is a tragic loss. I have been following Brown's writing over the years and enjoyed it immensely. I was first attracted to his firefighting memoir, On Fire, a collection of essays based on his experiences as a firefighter in Oxford Mississippi. That he died of a heart attack at 53 is perhaps not surprising given his predilection for alcohol and cigarettes, but it's a loss nevertheless.

The essays have less to do with firefighting than the camaraderie and good-'ole boy daily routines of the firemen who spend a lot of time just screwing around in between prying accident victims out of car crashes.

Read him; you won't be disappointed.