Friday, February 17, 2012

To the Rescue cont.


The first impact was too soft, I was worried that some portion of her might get in the way so I went easy. She giggled more and her towel fell down obstructing my view, I reapplied the towel and lined up another shot.

I nailed it a good one and I could see the vibrations from the impact translated across her flesh like the ripples of a stone tossed in a lake. The giggling continued with every hit, it was annoying her giggling, just the squelly tone and rise and fall of it like a roller coaster, grated on me.

I had to get the damn toilet off, sweat was now pouring from my forehead and getting in my eyes. My lieutenant asked if maybe one of the other guys should give it a shot. I said no as I once again moved her towel back into position and out of my face.

After too many delicate swings of the hammer I decided to whack the hell out of that damn bolt. It worked and the bolt went flying. “Got it.” I scrambled to my feet and helped the others pull the bowl.

Now you see firefighters have sneaky ways about them. My partners knew that once Mrs. Sthuck was freed, she going to have to be reexamined  medically, and none of them wanted to do it. That meant who ever carried the toilet away would be exempt from the task.

A slight tug of war over the prized piece of porcelain ensued, I lost and the two other firefighters got possession of the bowl. “We’ll just carry this to the garage Lou.” “Yeah.” Was all the Lou said. I turned to address Mrs. Sthuck.

“Okay Mrs. Sthuck let me check you out before you get to moving around too much.” The towel had to be reapplied again. “Are you hurting anywhere?” I asked. She gave kind of a whole body shrug in an attempt to elicit any pain. “Well my back hurts, but it always hurts, and my legs have the pins and needles thing going on.”

I did a quick head to toe survey and found nothing out of the ordinary. “Let’s see if you can stand.” The Lou and I got in position to assist her to her feet. Good thing she had mostly dried out by now and we hadn’t put any lube on her arms or torso.

“Okay you ready Mrs. Sthuck?” I asked, “Yeah I think so.” “On three” the Lou said. He counted down and with all our collective efforts we restored Mrs. Sthuck to her feet.

She stood there nude, her hands out to her sides’ palms open just getting a feel for standing again. I grabbed the towel and tried to cover her. The children cheered their mother’s rescue and they squeezed past me to hug their mother.

“Oh thank you guys so much.” “No problem mama, that’s what we do.” Said the Lou, “If you’re sure you are alright we will be getting back in service now. Have a better day.” Said the Lou.

“What about my toilet” she asked. “I’m sorry.” The Lou turned back to her. “You have to put my toilet back.” “Oh sorry Mrs. Sthuck but we can’t do that. You need to contact a plumber for that.” He smiled at her.

“You took it off, now put it back.” Her tone changed abruptly and took on a very nasty edge. “I’m sorry but there is a liability if we put it back, if it were to leak and damage your house the city would be liable, so you’ll need to get a plumber or maybe a friend could help.”

“So you are refusing to put it back?” she took an aggressive and naked stance, it was unnerving to say the least. “I’m not refusing I’m trying to explain to you how this needs to be taken care of.”

“What is your badge number?” she asked. “We don’t have badge numbers, but I can give you one of my cards.” The Lou dug in his pocket and retrieved one of his cards and offered it to her. “I need you to write down all of your names on the back.” “Okay.”

The Lou began writing down the names as the other guys returned. “What’s going on?” asked one. “I’ll tell you what’s going on, your boss here won’t put my toilet back, so I’m going to file a complaint on all of you.”

The boys gave each other a look, “We’ll be with the truck Lou.” And poof they were gone. “I’m sorry you like that Mrs. Sthuck, my hands are tied on this it is a department policy. Is there anything else we can do for you before we leave?”

“If you aren’t putting the toilet back then it is time for you leave.” She kind of hissed this one. I was moving I didn’t need to hear or see any more of Mrs. Sthuck.

Sure enough she was good to her word and a few days later our district chief stopped by to discuss the call with us. The Lou explained it in detail and the chief took notes. None of us received any discipline over the matter but the department did pay the plumber’s charges.

Some days you are hero others you’re an ass.

14 comments:

Jenn said...

Those first few paragraphs were pretty funny--but disappointing that she got bitter on you and your team after all that effort went into setting her free. How awful in that regard. At least you were a hero there for a moment--especially since her kids seemed appreciative--but still, she didn't have to be so ugly about it after.

Enjoyed this post Tim, keep them coming :) Jenn

Unknown said...

Thanks Jenn and I cleaned up her language she got pretty nasty even with the kids there, I felt bad for them. Some days are just like that.

Jenn said...

I can imagine it can be a thankless job at times. That is too bad. I had a small stint in June where an urgent care doctor would not let me leave the urgent care without going with the paramedics. They were super people. They told me that Urgent Care doctor was whack--because they picked me up--but the doc refused to turn anything over to them on my condition--and they were a bit frustrated. They treated me like a gem though and I surely thanked them. I called down to the station and found out when that crew was working again and ordered them pizza, wings, soda, and left a thank you card there. We sure did have a few laughs at the expense of that doctor :D

Unknown said...

Nice! We were frequently called to emergy cares, if it was a serious call ie. heart attack they would panic. Sore throats and colds they can handle not much more that.

k~ said...

An interesting dilemma to be in for any of you! I am still trying to figure out how she got in that position in the first place. (shakes her head and shudders).

Unknown said...

I think it is horrible that she couldn't be a little more appreciative. On the other hand, it would have sucked to realize that she would have to call a plumber in and pay to have the toilet put back on. Maybe she could have found a husband or neighbor who would have been willing to lend a hand. It certainly wasn't your fault you were forced to follow the rules. I am so glad you finished this little story. I loved it.

Because I love reading what you have to say, and think you are an irresistibly sweet writer I am giving you an award. Stop by and pick it up when you get the chance!

http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com/2012/02/irresistibly-sweet-blog-award.html

Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Thanks Kathy, I believe that is the first time I have been called irresistibly funny. Thanks for the award, yeah!

Darlene ~Bloggity Blogger~ said...

She sounds like she is half crazy to start with. If I was fat, naked and wedged between the bathtub and the toilet, I would still find a way to keep that towel on my personal parts. What she found to giggle about is beyond me unless it was nervous giggling. But, still... my mind goes back to the fact that she - seemingly - had no modesty. That bothers me but not nearly as much as her filing a complaint against you guys. What a nasty woman!

Unknown said...

Oh Darlene she was a bit crazy, I think it was all a combination of circumstance, and she reacted poorly, she wasn't alone in that though, many people reacted weirdly over the years.

Corey said...

Thumbs up

Unknown said...

Thanks Corey.

Jo said...

I believe she said you were irresistibly sweet! Not funny,,,,bahahahahahahahaha

Jo said...

Okay, I think the vibration of your pounding that porcelain against which she was pressing might have given her, shall we say, a little tingle? lol
You are too funny and I am sorry she was such a biatch after your rescue, but as always, the worse ones give you the best stories.

Love your stuff! You are irresistibly sweet, btw!♥

Unknown said...

Thanks Joe and thanks for reading between the lines.