They Brought Food!

And lots of it. I got to work today at Station 1 and right as I walked in the door, "Eric, Station 5". Fine. Ive been there a lot lately, no biggie. So I packed up my gear and drove to 5s. No Engine 5 in the station = they're out on a call. I walked in, sat down, and was talking to the off going C-shift driver when a lady from HEB walks in. "Hi guys, I'm the first one to get here but the rest of the guys will be here shortly, ok?" I had totally forgotten. Every year around the anniversary of September 11th, the great people over at HEB grocery come out to the stations, take over our kitchen, prepare a great meal, sit and eat with us, clean up the kitchen afterward, and even leave our fridge full of food. Wow. And what's really great is that you can tell they really want to be there. As Engine 5 returned from their call i went outside, put my gear on the truck, and did my morning check of the equipment. When i walked back in i could already smell one of the best smells any guy will ever smell in his life: Bacon. "Would u like a bowl of fresh fruit while you wait? The eggs are almost ready." (Man, i could get used to this). We had a really good breakfast, good conversation, and they left us with a smile. The least we could do was give them a quick tour of the station, show them the trucks, and thank them for taking the time to do this. Breakfast was a lot of fun this morning. I can't believe in 2 days it'll be 10 years since 9/11. I was working at the sign shop glued to the tv like everyone else, calling my girlfriend, calling my dad, and telling them to turn on the tv. "What channel???" "Any channel." So much has happened in the last 10 years, and I've loved every bit of these last 9 1/2 with the CCFD. I hope the guys over at HEB know how much we appreciate their gesture. Its's made for a good shift. It's always fun being a firefighter, and mornings like this one are just the icing on the cake.