Thomas Butler: Fire and
Water
Thomas
Butler liked to say that in a former life, he must have
been a pirate. You could not keep him off the water.
His life basically was fire and water. He was a
firefighter with Squad 1 in Brooklyn, and he had a
part-time job as the bay constable in Smithtown, N.Y.
The bay constable job allowed him to be out on the
water a lot, and he was entranced by water and its
calming effect.
Not that he needed calming down. He was the epitome of
the laid-back man. "He was my rock," said his wife,
Martha. "We'd get bills and they would give me ulcers,
and he'd say, 'Don't worry about it, the bills will be
there tomorrow.'"
In some respects, he could be too laid back. "The
grass could grow six feet, and it didn't bother him,"
Mrs. Butler said. "I'd try to get him to do it, and he'd
say, 'The grass'll be there tomorrow.'"
Firefighter Butler, 37, lived in Kings Park, N.Y.,
with his wife and three children, Kelly, 4, Shawn, 6, and
Patrick, 8 months.
Patrick was christened on Sept. 9, and Firefighter
Butler wanted to have a big party. Mrs. Butler was
getting her usual ulcers about the cost. He insisted. He
wanted to buy a suit for the occasion. Her reaction was,
"Tom, do you really need a suit?" He got the suit. They
had the party.
"I'm so glad we did it," Mrs. Butler said, "because
everyone was there and everyone got to see Tom that last
time."
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