At one point, we were told by Fire and Rescue that we had about two minutes or this gentleman was going to die.

I thought the fire works were spectacular.

[Many executives, particularly those of Pottruck's age and tax bracket, would simply have retired, using that competitive fire to improve their handicaps. But for Pottruck, the best coping strategy was simply to charge ahead, to believe that what came next was just as important as what had come before. By September, he had settled into luxurious new offices (paid for by Schwab as part of his severance agreement) that overlooked San Francisco's Embarcadero, just 10 blocks from Schwab's offices.] There is going to be mourning, ... but successful people let go of the past as quickly as they can. You can't mourn at the same time you have a new beginning because it drags the new beginning down.

I've gone to school and classes since I have been on the fire department for the past five years and finally get a chance to utilize my skills and help other people. I am trying to give back I guess.

If the tank had caught on fire, it would have acted like a bomb.

It doesn't make sense to go back and forth (to the hotel). I'll just fire up my computer.