A tribute to my heroes: two young firemen.

It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that my lovely little van is determined to kill, maim or, if nothing else, frighten me beyond comprehension. I, being an excellent driver, have done nothing to deserve the grief that the vehicle gives me, yet it persists in its mission to murder me.

I was innocently driving down the road today, conversing with my mother on the phone, about to turn onto the freeway, when I felt the front right corner of my car fall to the ground, and proceed to clang and clatter as I drove forward. As God's grace would have it, I was right next to a fire station (which is also a water tower . . . I have always thought that that was ingenious), and was able to back into the parking lot of the fire station, where the old man behind me was already telling the very nice fireman that my tire had blown out. So, I got out of the car and talked to said fireman (who shall now be referred to as Mr. Gill), and he began to search for a spare tire. (Have you ever considered how awkward it would be for a fireman to open the back of your minivan to find a mattress? . . . yes, for the record, it is very awkward. I made an effort to consistently mention the harp . . . ) I, being someone who knows nothing about cars, was absolutely no help. He found the tire, and said that there had to be a jack somewhere in the car . . .

While Mr. Gill looked for a jack, I inspected the tire with the aforementioned Old Man. He said he had no idea how I'd managed to murder the tire so badly, since I hadn't hit the curb or anything of that nature . . .

Apparently, Mr. Gill found it necessary, while I was conversing with the Old Man, to recruit the assistance of one of his fellow firemen, one Mr. Hoss. The two of them managed to find the jack, and Mr. Hoss graciously changed the tire while I stood by thanking him profusely for being so kind.

When the tire was successfully replaced, the two walked back into the water tower, dirt caking on their hands and sweat pouring from their skin, and disappeared from my life forever.

However, I am inexpressibly grateful to two very nice young firemen who not only serve and protect me every day by eliminating the threat of fires, but don't hesitate for a moment to stop and change the tire of a helpless citizen.

Thank you, Mr. Gill and Mr. Hoss!