Who Is Your Lifesaver? …Hello Hump Day readers. Isn’t it amazing that March just seemed to start and now we are already in the middle of it? For all of you shoveling snow, ice and destruction from those high winds, you have my sympathy. Sometimes in Arizona when it gets this hot so early, I forget those days when I lived in the northern tundra of Wisconsin—we sure were sturdy folks! I remember those ‘lifesavers’ that helped us out of the ditch (many times) when my mom was taking us to school and we sled right off into tons of snow.

How many of us forget those wonderful ‘lifesavers? And were there times when you were someone’s ‘lifesaver’? No doubt, we all have, at least I sure would think we would be that person who would help! Here’s a story about Ed Pulaski—what an incredible man he was…

Tools—they’ve for millennia, but here’s one to remember. An axe cuts vertically with the blade vertical but an adze or mattock cuts horizontally Both tools had been used by humans for millennia, but no one had combined them in one until 1911 when Ed Pulaski changed it forever. Ed is a legend—associated with fire-fighting alongside military units—most notably the 25th Infantry Regiment—the “Buffalo Soldiers”, who were deployed by President William Howard Taft to help fight the catastrophic “Big Burn” of 1910. Pulaski himself was a civilian U.S. Forest Service ranger. In 1910, leading a crew of firefighters, he was trapped in the Great Fire of Idaho which he barely escaped by leading the men to an abandoned mine that he knew because he also was a miner! After this heroic but harrowing experience, Pulaski set himself to develop a device that would help confront wildfires. And today, we know that a ‘Pulaski’ (in honor of his device) can cut wood, roots and dig soil, which means we can easily carve a firebreak with one. Despite this life-saving invention, Ed never profited from it. His motto was “I’m just a Polish man who is here to help in any way I can. It’s not me—it’s the Lord who gives me the strength and knowledge to help. I don’t need money, I just want to help people and no money can do that.”

Idaho National Parks honored Ed’s bravery with the “Pulaski Trail” which is a two-mile course that brings hikers to an overlook across the creek from the Nicholson mine known as the Pulaski Tunnel where “Big Ed” Pulaski saved all but six of his 45-man fire-fighting crew in August of 1910. The site’s harsh history is now buffered by a thick green cloak of spruce and fir. Thousands walk that trail every year.

In Psalm 91:14-15 [NLT] we read: The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.”

Ed knew that his lifesaver was God—do you? Think about the many times you were stuck in something that you felt you just could never get out of, but then it happened, and you were OK. Who orchestrated that for you? Yes, it may have been a friend, family, etc., but behind the scenes, it was Jesus pushing for a person who needed help. One young boy at our resort plunged into the water even though he had never learned to swim! Because my dad insisted that we take classes to be a lifeguard, this young kid lived. I dove in without any hesitation—got him up on the dock and he was shivering like crazy but he was OK. I’ll always remember that time and I thank my dad for it, he was always my lifesaver as well.

You don’t have to have a class to be a lifesaver, Jesus is already your instructor 24/7. So, reach out when someone needs help. Don’t be afraid, your Savior is right beside you and together, you can help someone in need. Kind of like Ed—we all need a ‘Pulaski’! AMEN.