Bobbing for Assistance
By Nancy F. Thysell (the Nifty Lady)
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It was an idyllic day for Southern California. Not too hot. Not too cool. It was just right. Johnny Gage steered his Land Rover into the gas station on the wobbling wheel of the tire that was quickly losing air. He made it almost close enough to reach the air dispenser. He jumped out and ran around to check the tire as the station’s attendant came out to see what was up. The name Bob was embroidered boldly over the coverall’s pocket.
"Hey!" Bob called out congenially as he approached. Johnny bent over to remove the cap on the tire valve.
"Hi," Johnny responded distractedly. Bob gave the car a good once over.
"What happened? Tire go flat?" he asked as he wiped at a smudge of grease from his hand with a rag. Johnny stared over his shoulder at the inane questioner. He raised up and leaned his arm on the fender.
"Nope! I was just driving along, minding my own business when...WHAM!!...All of a sudden, three of my tires just plumped up!" Johnny responded with an exaggerated gesture of his hands and rolling his eyes. Bob stared at the dark-haired man, not comprehending but nodding his head in understanding.
"Oh. You need any help?"
"Nah. I think I’ve got it. But thanks anyway," Johnny told him. Bob shook his rag in Gage’s direction and grinned.
"Okay. Well, my name’s Bob if you need anything."
"Thanks Bob. I think I’ll just put air in this tire to match the others."
"Well, okay." With that Bob turned and resumed his seat inside the air-conditioned office of the station. Johnny shook his head and proceeded to force air into the deflated tire. He glanced at his watch and saw the time and groaned. No way was he going to make to work on time now. He finished pumping air into the tire and jogged over to the office.
"Uh, Bob. Can I use your phone?" he asked, pointing to the phone on the cluttered desk.
"You gonna call someone?" Bob asked. Johnny sighed and placed his knuckles on the desk and drew in a breath.
"Yes Bob. I need to call my boss and let him know why I’m late," Johnny explained. Bob considered this a moment. He looked at the phone and then back at Johnny.
"So, can I use your phone?" Johnny asked again, beginning to lose his patience.
"Oh. You mean right now?"
"Yes. Bob. Right now."
"Okay." Bob turned the phone toward Johnny. Quickly he dialed the station. Marco picked up the phone.
"Hey Marco. It’s Johnny! Look. I’ve had a flat tire and I’m over at the ARCO station on Pico and National. Let Cap know I’m on my way, okay...Great. Thanks pal. I’ll be there as soon as I can." Johnny replaced the receiver in its cradle. "Thanks Bob. I appreciate that."
"No problem man," the attendant assured Johnny.
"Well, I’ve got to run..."
"You can’t leave your car there," Bob interjected quickly. Johnny stared at the man.
"What?"
"I said you can’t leave your car there. It’s blocking the air pump. You’ll have to move it."
"What...?" Johnny repeated, confused.
"Your car. You know. The one over there," Bob explained slowly.
"I wasn’t going to leave my car there."
"But you said you were going to run..."
"I meant, I have to leave. I’m taking my car with me," Johnny replied. He was beginning to feel exasperated.
"Oh. I get it," Bob started chuckling. "That’s funny."
"Yeah, well, I’ll see ya later," Johnny said as he turned to leave.
"Really? When?"
Johnny turned back to look into the expectant eyes of the gas station attendant, confused.
"What?"
"What time are you coming back?" Bob insisted.
"Bob. I’m not coming back."
Bob looked disappointed.
"But you said you’d see me later," he pouted.
Johnny rolled his eyes. "That’s just an expression, Bob!"
"But you said..."
"Never mind what I said. I’m going now. Goodbye!" Johnny bolted through the door and over to the Land Rover. He barely heard Bob’s "Bye" as he did. He checked the tire to see if it was holding air. So far, so good. He jumped in the Land Rover, gunned the engine and kicked it into gear. Hopefully, Captain Stanley wouldn’t be too upset with him.
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Within thirty minutes, Johnny had made it to the station and quickly changed into his uniform. The tire was losing air again. If it turned out to be a quiet shift, he’d take the time out and replace it with the spare. The cap assigned him to clean the latrine since his was late. He tried to tackle the job without grousing too much. Later he met up with Roy in the day room. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from his partner.
"Man, Roy! You wouldn’t believe this guy," Johnny exclaimed as he informed his friend about his encounter with Bob that morning. Roy just chuckled.
"Sounds like he’s one brick shy of a load," Roy commented.
"I’ll say," Johnny agreed. The klaxtons rang out.
"Station 51. Man trapped. ARCO station. Corner of Pico and National. Time out 10:14."
"10-4 Station 51. KMG365," Stanley responded into the mic. He passed the address off to Roy and hurried around to take his place on the engine. Johnny noted the address and turned to Roy as they left the station.
"That’s the station I stopped at this morning," he informed Roy. He began to worry just what kind of trouble Bob had gotten into.
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The two emergency vehicles made their way to the ARCO station, coming to a stop in front of the office. Roy and Johnny leapt from the squad and grabbed their equipment. A young man rushed up to him.
"I don’t know what happened!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I was pumping my gas when I heard this scream. He’s over here. I didn’t know what to do!"
The paramedics followed the young man to one of the vehicle bays where an Oldsmobile sat tilted to one side. Bob’s legs protruded from beneath the frame. The paramedics set down their equipment and began to assess the scene. Captain Stanley came up behind them and asked the young man to move out of the way. Johnny had knelt down and peered under the front of the car. He lifted his head.
"Cap, we’re gonna have to move this off him. The frame has him pinned down. It’s crossing his chest like this," Johnny explained as he gestured with his hands. Roy rose from checking for a pulse.
"His pulse is weak and rapid."
"Okay. Chet. Marco. Get the Port-a-Power. Johnny. Roy. Let’s see what kind of equipment there is here that we can use." The men disbursed to their tasks. Quickly they shored up the car and jacked it up. Slowly, they were able to raise the vehicle sufficiently to pull Bob out from under. He rolled out easily on the creeper.
Roy contacted Rampart. Their assessment showed Bob had a concussion and cracked ribs. All in all, he was very fortunate to have survived the accident. As they loaded Bob into the ambulance, he came to. He stared up at his confusing surroundings.
"Hey Bob! How ya feeling?" Johnny asked the injured man.
"Don’t feel so good. What’s happening?"
"A car fell on you and we’re taking you to the hospital," Johnny informed him.
"Did I get hurt?" Bob asked fearfully.
"Yes Bob. The doctor’s will take good care of you."
"Okay." Bob closed his eyes. Johnny just shook his head. He figured poor Bob was going to need all the help he could get.
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end
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