As I was driving to work today I came to the intersection of Roselle and Higgins. The light was red so I just coasted to a stop and idled for a few minutes. I noticed somebody walking between the cars with what appeared to be a heavy jacket on. This didn't surprise me -- it was about 45 degrees Farenheit outside this morning, and it's only about 53 or so right now. What I was surprised to see was that there was reflective backing on the jacket. The explanation for this oddity was pretty clear to me when the person wearing the coat reemerged from between the two vans ahead of me. It was one of the Hoffman Estates firefighters, wearing a sign around his neck that said "Please help us support the families of our fallen brothers." He was carrying one of the heavy-duty rubber boots that firefighters wear, and asking for contributions to "feed the boot." I've seen drives like this before, and I never fail to be moved by them, given my father's profession. I dug through my wallet -- no cash. Suddenly I remembered the spare four dollars or so I had stuffed in my pickup's visor, which I quickly tossed in the boot -- at this point the light had been green for almost 30 seconds and I was holding up traffic. But I felt very glad that I'd taken that route to work today, and been able to contribute to the fund. Yes, I'm a sentimental twit, but I think about how my father risks his life every day that he's at work.. the several close calls he has had in his career and how much he means to me. I think about those things, and just how easily he could be taken from my family, and I feel a certain compulsion to recognize and help those who weren't lucky enough to be able to walk away.
- Mood:
grateful
Wargh...
As I was driving to work today I came to the intersection of Roselle and Higgins. The light was red so I just coasted to a stop and idled for a few minutes. I noticed somebody walking between the cars with what appeared to be a heavy jacket on. This didn't surprise me -- it was about 45 degrees Farenheit outside this morning, and it's only about 53 or so right now. What I was surprised to see was that there was reflective backing on the jacket. The explanation for this oddity was pretty clear to me when the person wearing the coat reemerged from between the two vans ahead of me. It was one of the Hoffman Estates firefighters, wearing a sign around his neck that said "Please help us support the families of our fallen brothers." He was carrying one of the heavy-duty rubber boots that firefighters wear, and asking for contributions to "feed the boot." I've seen drives like this before, and I never fail to be moved by them, given my father's profession. I dug through my wallet -- no cash. Suddenly I remembered the spare four dollars or so I had stuffed in my pickup's visor, which I quickly tossed in the boot -- at this point the light had been green for almost 30 seconds and I was holding up traffic. But I felt very glad that I'd taken that route to work today, and been able to contribute to the fund. Yes, I'm a sentimental twit, but I think about how my father risks his life every day that he's at work.. the several close calls he has had in his career and how much he means to me. I think about those things, and just how easily he could be taken from my family, and I feel a certain compulsion to recognize and help those who weren't lucky enough to be able to walk away.
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