One dark night outside a small town, a fire started
inside the local chemical plant. Before long it
exploded into flames and an alarm went out to Fire
Departments from miles around.
After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical
company president approached the fire chief and
said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the
center of the plant. They must be saved! I will give
$50,000.00 to the fire crew that brings them out
safely.
As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the
firemen
to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two
more hours of attacking the fire, the company
president offered $100,000.00 to the engine
company that could bring out the company's secret
files.
From the distance a siren was heard and
another fire truck came into sight. It was the local
volunteer fire company, composed entirely of men
over 65. To everyone's amazement, the little fire
engine raced through the chemical plant gates and
drove straight into the middle of the inferno.
In the distance, the other firemen watched as the
old timers hopped off their rig and began to fight the
fire with an effort that they had never seen before.
After an hour of intense fighting, the volunteer
company had extinguished the fire and saved the
secret formulas. The joyous chemical company
president announced that he would double the
reward to $200,000.00 and walked over and
personally thanked each of the volunteers.
After thanking each of the old men individually the
president asked the group what they intended to do
with the money. The truck driver looked him right in
the eye and said: "The first thing we're going to do is
fix the blasted brakes in that truck!"
