My work day
was coming to a close and it was a true Friday (meaning I didn’t have to work
on Saturday). I did have to stay late as I had to do a second intervention with
a kid before I left but that’s ok because it was Friday!! I check my phone and
see a message from my father that states: Going to Chinese for supper around
6-6:30.
This was
followed by a second message that stated: just saying.
Sweet!
Chinese! Of course, I’m running late but hopefully I can meet them in time.
Oh miracle
of miracles, I get another text from my dad! This one reads: Meet me on the
square. Park next to me in front of the BBQ.
Score. Not
only am I not too late, but I also don’t have to drive the whole way there.
So, my dad
and I are riding along listening to his music choice (hmm) and just
chatting…like we do…when up ahead, in the middle of 175, we see a man walking
towards us. Well, walking is a stretch. He is sauntering/stumbling. He is obviously
disoriented. My dad immediately pulls over the car and before it comes to a
full stop my door opens and I go running after the man.
That’s right
folks, Fatty McGee went running down 175 with my dad following. My dad started
to stop traffic as I went out to the middle of the highway to grab him. (Of
course I thought they were stopping at the sight of ME running at them.)
“Sir!! Are
you ok?!”
“Whah?”
I grab his
arm and I can immediately smell the alcohol. My dad grabs his other arm but I
guess the wind is blowing just right so he can’t smell the booze. The guy is
having trouble responding to the leadings of Deatons but he is coming along. By
this we are joined by another do-gooder named Chino, who coincidentally lives 4
houses down from my brother and comes to my church every Thursday with his
little boy for T-ball. Or is that spelled tee ball?
Sorry, I
derailed. I try to get him to sit down but he’s having none of it so I get him
to lean up against a van and Chino is helping to guard him. My dad is on the
phone with the 911. My fear at this point is that Justin (that’s his name which
is the only information that we could get from him besides the fact that he
didn’t know anything) was going to start swinging. So I just kept my hand on
his arm so that if he starting swinging I could grab the one arm and pray that
Chino could grab the other. At this point, even if Chino couldn’t, this guy was
so smashed, all I had to worry about was dodging the first swing and then he
would be done. His own momentum would take him down.
Well, after
watching him pee his pants (twice), helping the cop take him to the ground, one
over bearing woman with some extremely bad ideas, and a quick report to the
nice policeman, my dad and I were once again on our way and were soon having
Chinese food with my mother, which was really the whole point of the evening
anyway.
When my dad
and I were explaining to my mom why we were so late my dad kept saying that he
was just waiting to see a body flying through the air because it was that
dangerous of a situation. I wasn’t even looking at the cars, I was just looking
at the man. I guess that what makes my dad and me such a good team in
situations because we look at things differently. He saw the cars and what
could possibly kill me and the guy, I just saw the guy that needed to get out
of the street.
I wish I
could say that this is the only time we’ve ever been in such a situation that
would test this team theory, but it’s not.
*sigh*
It’s not.
