‘May you live in interesting times” is an ancient Chinese proverb that many believe also to be a curse to bring upheaval and trouble. I'm not sure they're cursed, but these times certainly are interesting.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is closing 11 libraries, 62 swimming pools, cutting 1,660 seasonal part-time jobs and 570 contractual jobs and taking a 10% pay cut himself to fix a $108 million shortfall in his budget. Trenton, N.J., reduced its work force by 10%. This reduction includes cutting 16 police officers and 13 firefighters and demoting 13 fire captains. Chicago faces a $469 million budget shortfall, and Mayor Richard M. Daley has proposed cutting 929 city workers. Similar stories are being reported across the nation.

Some also believe that curse to be a blessing in disguise. Difficult times have a way of toughening people and showing them to be either lumps of coal or uncut diamonds. Perhaps that belief stems from stories of my widowed grandmother raising four children during the Depression. I prefer to focus on that as 2008 wraps up.

Recently I spoke with Dennis Smith, who is CEO of First Responders Financial. A former firefighter, writer and philanthropist, among others, Smith is fascinating to spend time with because of his varied interests and his passion for life.

Smith believes the economy will recover sooner rather than later, as Wall Street predicted. He also “believes in the resilience of the American people.” So do I.

I believe in cooperation. Take the Sugar Grove, (Ill.) Fire Protection District, for example. It was struggling to meet response times in its rural southeastern area. At the same time, neighboring Oswego Fire Protection District couldn't afford to bring on another ambulance for increasing EMS calls. Oswego Deputy Chief Tom Brady offered Sugar Grove Chief Martin Kunkel space in their new fire station to house a three-person medic and engine crew, 24/7.

“People could make it work if they have an open mind,” said Brady.

Each department controls it's own personnel but receives the bonus of inter-department training. Sugar Grove has shaved three minutes off its response time, while Oswego has additional medic support.

“People don't care whose name is on the truck,” Kunkel said.

I believe in creativity. The Bentonville (Ark.) Fire Department lacked funding in 2002 to build a new station. Chief Dan White and his team spent time researching a new station. Wal-Mart donated the 2 acres of land White needed and the research showed how to value-engineer the station to fit the budget.

I believe in gratitude. This month, FIRE CHIEF bids farewell to In Service Senior Editor Chris Cavette. For 10 years, Cavette covered the highs and lows of emergency vehicle apparatus, bumper to bumper. He covered these topics objectively and won the respect of not only chiefs and officers, but apparatus and equipment manufacturers and dealers. The staff wishes him the best in his retirement.

I believe in passion. U.S. Fire Administration Training Specialist Burt Clark is passionate about firefighters wearing seatbelts when responding to and returning from incidents. His goal is to have every fire department sign the National Seatbelt Pledge. The pledge has 70,000 firefighter and 300 department signatures so far, along with the support of six fire service organizations. However, one major fire organization that supports the use of seatbelts is missing from the logos on the pledge's Web page. Where is the International Association of Fire Fighters?

I believe it's time to speak up. Write to President-elect Barack Obama and stress that it is critical that the positions of FEMA director and U.S. fire administrator be filled by individuals with experience in fire and emergency services, said Sean Carroll, Congressional Fire Services Institute's director of government affairs. Comments can be sent to the transition team's Web site, http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople.

An economic upheaval is ravaging our homeland, but I believe in the American fire service.