SUPERMAN IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

March 23, 2007

People only see the clean version of us—the badges, the gear, the confidence. But if they saw us five minutes earlier in the rig—belching Dr. Pepper, doing bad Michael Jackson impressions, cracking jokes until our stomachs hurt—they’d lock their doors and call the cops.

That’s the job. One minute you’re making fart noises, the next you’re standing in someone’s living room making life-and-death decisions.

Every medic has an alter ego. Sometimes you’re the grizzled burnout with stale coffee breath and paperwork exploding from your pocket. Sometimes you’re the inked-up ex-bouncer with a soft spot for kids. But when the call drops, that other version—the one who gets sh\*t done—steps up.

We might look like Clark Kent most of the time. But trust me—Superman’s always just around the corner.