Heavy Lifting
The call came into the station that there was a large elderly man in a wheel chair tipped over and couldn’t get up. SOP in all emergencies was to send the large truck and the ambulance. Since it was within a half mile of the station, five men were sent on this rescue mission.
They arrived and as stated, a 300-pound gentlemen, Jim Ryland, had overturned his wheelchair and was resting among the bushes. Ryland had a variety of ailments that prevented him from moving much of his body so he was on the ground and helpless. When family discovered his predicament, they called 9-1-1.
Sam, Jessie, Turner, Adam, and Lionel were sent on the call. All were under 30 and in peak physical condition. With a workout room at the station, there was no reason to not be in shape.
Sam, Adam, and Lionel set Ryland upright, situated him in the wheel chair and lectured him on wearing his seat belt when on his property. When Ryland thought they were joking, Sam showed him the wheel chair’s seat belt. He hadn’t known a seat belt existed on the chair.
Off to the side, Turner said to Jessie, “Check out this hopscotch board.”
He began hopping through the lavender-colored chalk hopscotch board, turned at the top on one leg and went back down with both feet accenting his finish. Much like a gymnast dismounting from their equipment, Turner’s hands went up in the air too.
When he dismounted, Sam, Adam, Lionel, and Ryland clapped and cheered.
“It’s my granddaughter’s creation,” Ryland said. “She’ll get a kick that a fireman had fun on it.”
“Good. good. Brought me back a couple of years in time. Loved that game.”
Adam said, “And I bet you were the hopscotch champ among all the girls,”
“Funny. Very funny. Don’t you have some paperwork to fill out?”
Who can forget hopscotch! Fun for all.
In my experience, boys loved hopscotch just as much as girls did. Guess "macho" gets in the way of pleasant memories sometimes.