03/17/2024
Story time...
After leaving lunch with my bestie yesterday we were headed for a little BDay shopping and my navigation decided to take us the scenic route.
As we are driving through Bel-Air admiring the beautiful homes and perfectly manicured lawns...my engine light starts flashing and the car begins to decelerate. 😬
I coast into the first driveway on the corner of Sunset and Beverly Glen to quickly get out of traffic before my car completely shut down.
It’s a fire station. 🚒
At first glance it looked as if it might be old and inoperable, but I rang the doorbell anyway to make sure where I was parked would be okay if indeed it was not.
After a few minutes the double doors slid open and firemen came flooding out.
What happened? What was the car doing before it shut down? Try to turn it back on so we can hear what it sounds like? Do you have AAA? How can we help???
Over the next two hours we toured the station and talked with these gentlemen about everything from their job (some of which you’d have no idea is as comparable to and as under paid to the field of education) to the importance of sleep, diet, exercise, family, the fact that we are all connected, the importance of mental/spiritual health, podcasts, saw baby pictures of their loved ones and debated on the best cookies from Trader Joe’s! 😂
Moving forward into this new year of life I’d decided three things...I want to engage in more experiences that bring me joy...experiences which are cathartic/healing and those that are just completely new in general.
Yesterday was definitely one of those experiences.
Cathartic because it improved the way I was beginning to view humanity. Even though my vehicle broke down and it took FOUR hours to get it towed...I had a wonderful conversation with people I hope become new friends and that brought me great joy. People whom if it weren’t for my car trouble, I may otherwise have never met. 🤷🏽♀️
And lastly, I had an entirely new experience wearing a 30 pound jacket, wielding an ax, touring a fire department and hearing their stories. An experience that was NO where on my radar or bucket list‼️
Listen...I still have a bone to pick with my insurance company over the towing situation (🤬) and my BDay plans for today may be postponed...but meeting Vincent, Aaron, Captain Billy (and others not photographed) from the LAFD Station 71 restored my faith in humanity just enough to make the situation with my vehicle worth it‼️
Happy Birthday to me‼️👩🏽🚒🚒🍀🥳🥂