"When plans end, adventures begin."
A funny thing happened on the way to Cops & Gobblers 2021, and we thought you'd enjoy starting your week by hearing about it. Our President/Founder Nicole Banks guest posts:
After the truck was loaded at the Walmart on Britton Parkway with all the food items for Cops & Gobblers, Columbus Division of Police Officer Dan Snyder turned to Lieutenant Chris Lieb and said, "I'll follow you to you Douglas?"
"Why don't you just GPS it?" I asked (I get lost easily, so GPS is imperative for me).
"In case something happens to the truck," Officer Snyder replied. He is a very sweet, big brother type, so it didn't surprise me that he'd want to make sure everything arrived safely at the community center. I dutifully joined the caravan behind them, even though I was sure he was being overly cautious.
I was wrong.
We were on track to arrive half an hour early until...the truck broke down on 670 near the Grandview exit. Ofc Snyder and Lt Lieb were able to safely get over together, but I had to go up and circle back around, which took some time. By then, they'd determined they needed another truck and Ofc Snyder left to get it. Lt Lieb called for a highway officer to come, since we were in a dangerous position, and I called Starfish Board Member/Officer Pete Casuccio, who was on his way to the event. Ofc Casuccio called some of his fellow Linden officers who were already at Douglas, and he arrived within minutes himself. Other officers, including those from the West Side, and Commander Robert Sagle, who was also on his way to Cops & Gobblers, also came.
You have to remember we had over a ton of frozen turkeys alone. Yeahhhh...let that sink in. The smallest turkey we purchased was over 11 pounds, the largest was over 23 pounds, and we bought more than 200 in total. Plus 200 cans of corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and yams. Two hundred packets of mashed potatoes and gravy. Two hundred boxes of stuffing. Someone quipped that it looked like we were having a farmer's market on 670.
Everything had to be loaded off that broken truck and put onto the new one, but everyone pitched in to make it happen quickly. Even the State Farm emergency guy and the tow truck driver helped! It was so much fun, and truly a highlight of the day.
I cannot imagine what the passing drivers thought. Our apologies to everyone traveling on 670 East from 11:15-12:15 on Wednesday--we didn't intend to delay you, but we're sure we did because people slowed waaaaay down to have a look (who wouldn't?). Now you know the rest of the story and we hope it makes you smile. We ended up being only half an hour late for the event, and BONUS we have a great, happy story to tell!
