So, I have been an angry little one for the past few weeks. I have SO much to be grateful for, but I have let a bad situation get the best of me and I am working on it---I am a work in progress. So, after my super-angry blog regarding PTC, I thought I would share a blog of appreciation and gratitude.
I grew up in the thriving metropolis of Atlanta, GA- ATL, holla! I remember one day I was driving my mom's car home from the store with my sister (she is older so looking back I have no idea why I was driving and not her, but it adds to the story) and I hit a hole in the asphalt. I blew out the left front tire and came to rest in the turn lane of a somewhat busy intersection. Not that I am that much of a dinosaur, but teens didn't really have cellphones at their beck and call then- in fact, my dad gave me a CB radio for Christmas one year and said "hit channel 9 for emergency if you breakdown."- so calling dad to rescue us was not an option. As we are standing there lookin at the car- all while my sister is saying (and laughing at me) "thank God you were driving and not me...dad is going to kill you" -a local police officer pulls up behind us and hits the lights. I (I have been a smartass for as long as I can remember) said something to the effect of "thank the lord help is here!" and he replies with "um, yea...I am not AAA, junior, I am just here to make sure I do not have to work a wreck because you are in the road and someone will hit you." Since my dad taught me how to change tires I reply with "yes, sir" and head towards the trunk to get this party started. My sassy sister apparently worked her charm on the officer and he was kind enough to call my dad to let him know what was going on. The two of them inform me of dad being on the way and I reply (again, somewhat sassy) with "well, thank God you are here officer Jones as you can protect me from my dad as he is going to kick my ass." Officer Jones begins to laugh at this point (never once pointing out that I was totally jacking up the jack) and turns out to be the nicest man- but he did not budge from the front of his patrol car...nor did my sister. My dad showed up, thanked the officer, made me change the tire (helping of course) and then went and talked to Officer Jones for some time. I remember when we got home I asked my dad why the officer didn't offer to help me. He replied with the same thing the officer said "Kerri, they are not AAA, his job is not to work on people's cars." I knew he was right, I was never mad at the officer for not assisting, but this all leads up to what I witnessed in Thomasville (my 'now' hometown) and just how different things can be.
I was on my way to pick up Caroline the other day and there was a car stalled in a very busy intersection. A local sherrif's deputy had pulled up behind the driver and turned on his lights so people would know to pass and not bottleneck traffic. There was an exchange between the officer and the driver of the dead car and then, the officer (dressed in a suit as I am assuming he had court that day, or something) went around and pushed the car in 100* plus weather so the person could get safely out of the way. Easily this kind man could have pushed the car with his patrol car, but no, he did it himself. I was sitting there watching this and thinking of my ATL Officer Jones and the "we aren't AAA" story and just chuckled. If only people realize how amazingly kind and special this moment was. So, I would like to give a shout out to the local men and women who keep our fabulous city safe, watch for us, and are kind to the residents. From this case, to the time an officer took a break from writing a ticket (yes, he was writing the darn ticket) to run over and give Caroline a Halloween goodie bag as we were walking by, to the officers who have helped my family on more than one occasion, and to those who guided us through downed trees and flooded streets to get to our children when we had horrific weather. Thank you for all that you do. I will be the first to admit that I am too selfish and wimpy to do what they do, so please do not label me as a kiss-ass, but I am the first to admit that I respect the hell out of them and I wish more people did too.
No comments:
Post a Comment