Editor:

This is for the unknown Roberts Creek firefighter who, on the morning of Feb. 9, climbed into the back seat of my demolished car and talked me through the most devastating event of my life.

There was no question I was seriously hurt, but his calm, reassuring voice in my ear kept fleeting thoughts of my mortality at bay and gave me hope that they would somehow get me out of this mess of mangled steel and shattered glass. Get me out they eventually did.

Another thoughtful thing he did was to rescue my precious trumpet from that back seat and hold it safe for me at the fire hall. I am doubly in his debt.

The selfless people who do these things routinely don’t always get the recognition they deserve. I couldn’t let that happen this time. The only way I could begin to repay the debt of gratitude I owe that man was to publicly acknowledge, in this way, what he did for this one old dude.

From St. Mary’s Hospital, in rehab mode.

Ed Roop, Garden Bay