Tommy's not a cheapskate (well, yeah, he is a little), but really, more than that, he just likes talking.
"Okay," he says, gathering his thoughts on exactly which anecdote to tell and how to tell it.
"A couple years ago, me and my crew got called to a fire in an apartment building. Huge fire, flames and smoke comin' outta the windows. There was a woman still trapped inside-- we could even see her at one of the windows waving a rag and screaming for help-- but the problem was, the fire was so bad that it burned up the staircases, so we couldn't get up to her that way, and our ladder was too short to reach the floor she was on.
"So we went up the fire escape on the far side of the building, all the way to the roof. Then they tied a rope to me. Then as they held the rope, I climbed over the ledge. This was a twelve-floor building, okay, so I was pretty high up! And so they lowered me down the side of the building, inch by inch, foot by foot, until I reached the lady at the window.
"Now, when you evacuate a fire, you're supposed to drop everything and go. But this woman wouldn't let go of this sorta saggy, lumpy pillow she was holding. I told her to leave it, so she could hold onto me better, but she wouldn't let go of it, she just wouldn't. And she kept crying and screaming about it, no, no, no, she can't leave it. Time was running out fast, her room was totally filled up with smoke, so I just grabbed her, pillow and all, and pulled her through the window.
"The guys hoisted us back up the side of the building and onto the roof again. The woman tumbled out of my arms, still holding onto that pillow. We all had to get outta there, though, so I helped her down the fire escape. She kept losing her footing and balance 'cause she was so shook up, so I offered to carry that pillow for her. And when she gave it to me-- I realized-- there was a dog inside of it. A little chihuahua. It was still alive, but curled up in a tiny ball and really scared, the poor guy.
"In the end, the woman and her dog were both okay. She told me the dog's name and I still remember it: Peanut Pie. I mean, I love dogs, though usually the bigger ones, not so much the small ones, but he was actually kinda cute."
no subject
"Okay," he says, gathering his thoughts on exactly which anecdote to tell and how to tell it.
"A couple years ago, me and my crew got called to a fire in an apartment building. Huge fire, flames and smoke comin' outta the windows. There was a woman still trapped inside-- we could even see her at one of the windows waving a rag and screaming for help-- but the problem was, the fire was so bad that it burned up the staircases, so we couldn't get up to her that way, and our ladder was too short to reach the floor she was on.
"So we went up the fire escape on the far side of the building, all the way to the roof. Then they tied a rope to me. Then as they held the rope, I climbed over the ledge. This was a twelve-floor building, okay, so I was pretty high up! And so they lowered me down the side of the building, inch by inch, foot by foot, until I reached the lady at the window.
"Now, when you evacuate a fire, you're supposed to drop everything and go. But this woman wouldn't let go of this sorta saggy, lumpy pillow she was holding. I told her to leave it, so she could hold onto me better, but she wouldn't let go of it, she just wouldn't. And she kept crying and screaming about it, no, no, no, she can't leave it. Time was running out fast, her room was totally filled up with smoke, so I just grabbed her, pillow and all, and pulled her through the window.
"The guys hoisted us back up the side of the building and onto the roof again. The woman tumbled out of my arms, still holding onto that pillow. We all had to get outta there, though, so I helped her down the fire escape. She kept losing her footing and balance 'cause she was so shook up, so I offered to carry that pillow for her. And when she gave it to me-- I realized-- there was a dog inside of it. A little chihuahua. It was still alive, but curled up in a tiny ball and really scared, the poor guy.
"In the end, the woman and her dog were both okay. She told me the dog's name and I still remember it: Peanut Pie. I mean, I love dogs, though usually the bigger ones, not so much the small ones, but he was actually kinda cute."
He chuckles.
"Anyways, so how's that for a story?"