Sam The Fireman

Yesterday started out slow, but got busy quick. We arrived home the night before after a long road trip- we spent the Spring Break week at the beach.

We woke up Sunday morning groggy and slow, and couldn’t get out the door for church. We decided to watch our service live over the internet, only to realize that our church doesn’t stream the service live- it comes on line the next day.

I jumped on the mower at 11AM to get a quick 90 minutes in before taking L to fast-pitch lessons, week 3 of 4 as she gets ready for her first season as a softball fast pitcher. After catching for her for an hour and a half, it was back home and back on the mower. After finishing the yard I cleaned the mower and then went on wasp patrol. Pulled out the 27-foot jet stream can of wasp killer and circled the house eliminating any red wasps that were unlucky enough to be seen by me.

After shower number 2, and a short nap, the family went out for Mexican. Michelle was at her sister’s house helping pick up and deliver a couple outdoor chairs Jackie purchased, and the two of them met us at the restaurant shortly after 7PM.

I got there with our 4 girls about 15 minutes before Michelle and Jackie did, and noticed 2 huge full-size fire engines in the parking lot. Interesting. We walked in, and sure enough, there was a table full of firemen- about 10-12 in all. They were all smartly dressed in identical black dress shirts, black pants, and big radios on their belts. I wasn't aware fireman took their big rigs out for dinner.

The fun started after Michelle and Jackie arrived. Jackie is Michelle's younger sister, unattached, and like Michelle she's a looker, and a few of the fireman were a lookin.

There was one in particular that kept eyeing Jackie, and smiled at her a few times. Michelle and the four girls were giggling and thought it was cute. I was a bit annoyed- why would he bother with all this cutesy stuff and not come over and talk to her? Chicken. I was waiting for him to pass a note that asked Jackie to check the YES box if she liked him too.

The firemen finished their meal and got up. I noticed that they took a LONG time to pay their checks and leave. They finally did, and two huge fire trucks loaded with firemen headed out of the parking lot. As the second one went by our window, the fireman that had been watching Jackie stuck his hand out of the truck and waved to her. Jackie waved back, along with my 5 and 8 year old daughters. I thought once again- chicken.

Michelle and I remarked that the fireman had lost his opportunity to meet Jackie. They would probably never see each other again...too bad.

We finished our meal and the whole family left the table and gathered around the front counter waiting for me to pay and picking out their preferred treat- a chocolate mint or a lollipop from the candy jar. As I was dolling out the appropriate cash for the cashier the phone at the front counter rang. One of the waitresses standing nearby answered it and a confused look came over her face. She looked around the restaurant while holding the phone to her ear and said "red sweater? No, I don’t see anyone wearing a red sweater."

Jackie, wearing a maroon sweater suggested to the waitress that perhaps she was the one she was looking for. The waitress handed the phone to Jackie, and Sam introduced himself.

His story was that he didn’t think it was appropriate to interrupt our family dinner and talk to Jackie to get her number. I knew better- No doubt he couldn’t get up the nerve to come over and talk to Jackie. I am guessing that the long delay in leaving was due to Sam's buddies egging him on to go over and introduce himself. He probably chickened out, left in his fire truck, and was unmercifully roasted by his buddies for his lack of bravery.

He must have finally come to his senses, realized his missed opportunity, and hurried to fix the mistake. He probably looked up the restaurants phone number on his mobile phone and called. He barely caught Jackie. The whole episode reminds me of the movie “Roxanne” starring Steve Martin.

Jackie and Sam chatted for a few minutes while the rest of the family waited patiently at the front counter. Jackie gave Sam her phone number and said goodbye.

Let's hope Sam's timing during a fire rescue is a bit better.






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