M&M Jonathan Monahemi

I’m not a piece of chocolate encased in a colorful shell, nor do I enjoy popping those suckers in my mouth, as I am more of a caramel guy. However, M&M stuck to me like Elmer’s extra strength glue and became a nickname that defined my presence among my colleagues. It all began when I approached the front of the immense brick building on Cuttermill Road for the first time. I removed my newly developed key-fob from my leather wallet, unlocked the glass door, and entered the downstairs lounge. “Who are you?” questioned a slightly balding man who peeled his eyes from his newspaper when he glanced at me. “Hiya. I’m Jonny Monahemi. I just swore in yesterday,” I replied excitedly. “Ahhhhhhh, you’re Matt’s brother. Welcome to the Vigilant Fire Company. I’m Steven Blocker. You’ll be seeing me on almost every call, so it’s great to meet you now. By the way, we can’t have two Monahemis in the Department; it’ll just get confusing. So, I’ll just call you “M&M” for “Mini Monahemi.” Oh, and by the way, you have a lot to live up to, my friend.” He was right.

As the brother of the Sergeant at Arms and youngest Paramedic in Department history, I had a legacy full of expectations thrown onto my shoulders. Instead of basking in the...