01/01/12

I guess some people never understand that they give. Most people never see what kinds of things they contribute to the community through simple acts every day.

Today I went and had a talk with a local businessman.

Most of you wouldn't think of him as a "businessman" if you laid eyes on him for the first time. He owns a towing company. Yes, he's a tow truck driver, and looks every inch the part. He's big first of all, big and ugly. I'm not saying that in detriment of him, just in statement of fact. I can say it because I'm big and ugly too, no shame in that. Don is big and tattooed, a biker like me, so we speak the same language. He still sports his beard and earrings, though he's getting a little gray in places and thin in others. To most people he's kinda scary, but his trucks are spotless and always kept in first-class condition.

"By his tools will you know the workman"

Don does his best. He's in a business that is permeated with fly-by-night businesses known for their ruthlessness and criminality. Near as I can tell, Don is an anomaly, he's an honest tow truck driver. Before I get a flurry of hate mail let me qualify that by saying he's the first honest tow truck driver that I've met.

But I digress...

As I've said before, My full-time job is training Firefighters, and responding to firecalls as need be, but I'm the training officer, and work hard to ensure that the Firefighters in Klambucket Falls are the best that can be called upon.

Auto Extrication is a very specialized discipline. We have three firehalls that run rescue rigs and have specially trained teams who, on top of their regular fire suppression duties are also specially trained to remove the injured. They work inside twisted pieces of wreckage that were once automobiles. we have a great deal of pride that high speed and physics can throw any challenge in front of us and we can pull living bodies from it.

If you're alive when we get there, then by christ, we'll get you out alive.

Where is all this going? and how does Don fit in?

Our knowledge and skill isn't just the result of books and training videos, it's not trial and error either, it's the result of hours and hours spent packing the jaws around tearing up derelict cars, it's training afternoons and weekends lying in grotesque positions with reciprocating saws howling slicing roofs off Hyundais, hydraulic rams crumpling the steel of Fords. It's old Chevrolet pickups being systematically torn to bits by big, ugly men (and three women, smaller, and less ugly)

Thursday afternoon Rescue unit 6 rolled up and saw this:

That's a fully loaded gravel truck with a full trailer behind it. In that ground-up weckage, under the front bumper of the truck, in fact, is an eighteen-year-old girl. The feet sticking out the back window belong to one of my men. He's stretched out inside doing what he can to stabilize her. The car ran a stop sign and the truck broadsided her, the whole fused mess travelled across the road, through the ditch and into the bushes. Through knowledge, skill, ability and cosummate professionalism these men brought out a living, breathing girl who will eventually mend and continue to live, because of these men a pair of terrified parents were told "Your daughter is still alive" when they got to the hospital instead of "We're so terribly sorry..."

It was because of these men, and the ambulance paramedics, and the doctors, nurses, and uncounted health professionals.

And because of Don the tow truck driver and his employees at Don's Towing.

Four years ago I went to Don and introduced myself, I said "We can't pay you for your time or anything, but our rescue crews really need some old cars to practice on, can you give us some?"

Don didn't hesitate or say he'd "Get back to me" He reached out, shook my hand, smiled and said

"You bet"

For the last four years Don and his guys have brought us as many cars as we wanted, whenever we asked for them. It costs Don money, he has to pay his drivers to bring them to us, and take them away, he gets very little money for the scrap cars afterward, nowhere near what it costs him to supply them. Don has never mentioned it, nor has he ever asked for a dime. All I have to do is call and as many cars as I want show up where I ask for them, and are removed immediately afterward. Don always looks embarassed when I give him cards of thanks. He always says "Hell, it's no trouble"

Because of Don we practice in the most realistic way possible.

Because of Don we're really goddamn good at what we do.

Because of Don we looked at that wreckage and said to ourselves "Let's get to work" instead of "How the hell...?"

Today I went and bought Don a cup of coffee and gave him a copy of that picture.
I tried to explain all this to him, but he just smiled the way he always does, and laughed when I told him that he was as much responsible for saving her life as anyone. He said he couldn't see it.

"I just drive a tow truck"

Email me