As promised, I have a few miraculous stories from my recent trip to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and here is one of them! A story about a group of burly tow truck operators having sweet hearts is a miracle to me, especially as all the towing operators in Vancouver are mostly pricks who would keep driving and pay no heed if they ran over a kid’s ball. But not the ones in Hamilton. This story brought tears to my eyes and I don’t think no amount of writing could ever give it justice. You would really have to be there to see the look on the kids’ faces and how kind the tow truck drivers were when they came back from the sports store with a brand new football. So here’s the story from start to finish.
Part One: The Football Goes Over the Fence
Before the game, us Vancouver people were practicing in a field, tossing the old pigskin around and getting pumped up for the game tomorrow. One of our best throwers was passing high when the ball went over the fence and flew onto the road. It just so happened that a tow truck was cruising down that very road in the precise timing to flatten the ball and everyone in that park heard the pop! After we and heard it none of ever thought we’d be getting the football back, and we also realized how unprepared we were because THAT WAS OUR ONLY FOOTBALL!
Part Two: We Mope Around At Loss of What To Do
After the tow truck was long gone, we all huddled at the center of the field, and someone cracked the joke, “I hope the Hamilton boys remember to bring a ball!” One of the staff said, “No worries. I’ll go buy another one right now.” Either way, there was no way we were going to mope around for too long. We came to Hamilton to play a football game and that was what we were going to do.
Part Three: Tow Truck Returns and Puts Smiles on All the Kids’ Faces
Just when were were slinging our bags over our shoulders and heading out to the parking lot where the school bus was parked, we heard a rumbling and turned the see the selfsame tow truck rolling into the parking lot behind us. One student who was just entering the bus turned around and we all stared for a moment. When the truck stopped beside us, we read the towing company’s business name. They said they drive the nicest tow truck Hamilton has to sport. I could not agree more and as soon as we saw their door open and the football in their hands, all the kids jumped up and down and laughed. The operator threw it to the same kid who had thrown it over the fence, perhaps by coincidence and then before we knew it we were back on the field practicing again. I got the company’s business card and will make sure to choose them if I ever need roadside assistance in that part of Ontario. If this were to happen in Vancouver, I can already assure you that we would never see another football again that day unless we went and bought it ourselves.
The End
So, it’s probably no sad story to make you cry but if you’re as sensitive as me you definitely would have cried if you saw the story happen in person. All the kids cheering and the tow truck driver sacrificing his own time to make us happy even though popping the ball wasn’t his fault was a beautiful moment I can only call a miracle, and that’s something I’ll never forget about Hamilton! Some of the kids will certainly be glad to read this story again and share it with their family. Even though we lost, we had a great time in Ontario and won’t regret the road trip.
Expect more stories like this from www.bcjuniorfootball.ca and have a great evening! Cheers!