Boot Drive

Have you ever been driving along and come to an intersection to find a firefighter walking up and down the rows of cars, holding his boot or helmet out for donations? That's the boot drive, and here we do it every September. Today was our day to do the boot drive, so we situated ourselves at a very crowded intersection (a Wal-Mart, two grocery stores, two gas stations, and about six fast food places at the corners). We donned our reflective vests and grabbed our boots, heading for traffic. We each took a leg of the intersection and began walking up and down the yellow lines. People were very generous and I sincerely thank each and every one of you who dug into your wallets, pockets, and ashtrays to help fill my boot. Some people asked "I pay my taxes, why are you out here asking for more money?" Well, let me explain. The money doesn't go to us. It goes to pay for burned children to go to a summer camp. That doesn't sound like much, but if you are reading this, chances are you survived elementary, middle, and maybe high school. Do you remember being picked on? Seriously- think back to that one bully- the one who made you want to cry or kick his teeth in. Kids can be really cruel. Now imagine being a kid who has been burned, and is disfigured. Every day is torture for them. Summer camp is a place for all of them to go, where they forget that they may look "different". It gives them a chance to be around other kids who have had similar experiences, look similar, and lets them just be a kid for a week. It is expensive, and the parents have paid for massive medical bills (or haven't paid because they can't afford it.) The county in which I work had the top amount of funds raised last year, and that made me damn proud. The summer camp is staffed by firefighters, nurses, and other volunteers and I really want to go next summer. Our firefighters that go to work the camp, do it for free- actually they lose money because they miss work to go do it. Most find someone to work for them and just pay them back with a shift in turn, but the point is this is a labor of love. I got hot and sweaty, my feet hurt, and my boot got heavy with all the change. It felt good. Some people put a small handful of change into my boot, and looked at me apologetically, explaining that it was all they had. I smiled, thanked them, and made sure they knew that it all made a big difference to the children. Then I had an older guy- probably 70- come through. He was in a mid-life-crisis-mobile with the top down. He wore a visor, some golf shorts and a polo shirt. He handed me two shiny quarters, and licked his teeth and gave me a wink. I threw up in my mouth. Sorry creepy guy- you keep the quarters, I will throw in a dollar on my own if you will just go away! The light wouldn't change fast enough.