Last summer I was driving across the country alone. I had moved 1800 miles away from home just to be told my boyfriend changed his mind about me living with him. So I packed my car and began the drive back. The first two days went fairly smooth, and boy did I LOVE Colorado! But the second night quickly became a disaster. It was 10:30 pm, I had been driving since 7 am, and suddenly my car blew a tire. I pulled off to the side of the road, turned on my hazards, looked at my shredded tire and began to panic. It was 10:30 at night. I was 10 miles from the nearest town, and semi trucks were blowing past me at 60 mph, shaking me and the car everytime they passed. I called home knowing there was nothing anyone could do and started to cry. That’s when I saw the lights in my rearview mirror.
It was Trooper Granner arriving on the scene. First thing he did was instruct me to move to a median road up ahead to get me off the shoulder. While I was moving my car, he was calling in favor with his friend who had a tow truck and a garage.
I was looking at maxing out credit cards for the closest tow truck my family could find online, so when he came to my window and told me he had a guy, I could have cried. Gotta love small towns where everyone knows everyone. He could have easily left after my car was off the shoulder and I had someone he knew heading my way, but he said that there was no way he was going to leave me alone on that highway. So we sat in his car and talked while we waited for the truck to arrive (a man by the way, that was home and in bed when he got the call to come help me, bless his heart). He asked what I was doing driving this late with a car full of stuff and listened to me talk about the shit storm I was going through. He showed genuine concern for my situation and promised me things would get better.
When the truck showed up, I thought we would part ways, so I said goodbye and thanked him for everything. But that isn’t how this man handles things. He insisted on driving me to the garage to see me through. So we drove ten minutes to the middle of nowhere, and by some miracle, the smallest garage/gas station I’ve ever seen had ONE tire to fit my car. While we waited for the tire to be put on, Trooper Granner convinced me to stop at the next town to get some rest for the night. I had mentioned wanting to drive through the night to get home as soon as I could, but he insisted that it was better to be safe than sorry. After all was said and done, he made sure I had directions to get back to the highway, and that I had a hotel room reserved for when I got to the next town. I was a young girl state away from home, and he treated me like I was his family. He called in favors and stayed with me until he knew I was taken care of.
With all the bashing on cops lately, I needed to share this. He didn’t just do his duty that night; he went above and beyond to serve and protect me. To comfort me. To take care of me. He stood in for the family that was too far away to be there for me. I’m so beyond grateful for him, and his brothers and sisters who do this every day. Thank you, Trooper Granner. You’re a hero to me.
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