12 years ago, a calm September morning turned into one of the most devastating days in American history, and once again we learned what heroes are made of. We learned once again that loving one another is the best way to overcome the bad deeds of others. On September 11, 2001, many heroes and heroines became just that, heroes through their love for each other.
Firefighters, police officers and first-responders in New York rushed back and forth before the World Trade Center went down and stayed long hours into the night rescuing people from the rubble after the towers had collapsed. Passengers on Flight 93 stood up to the terrorists face-to-face and laid down their lives for the greater good, protecting more people than they would never know. Officials in Washington DC fought hard to save the lives of those injured in and around the Pentagon.
It doesn’t take much to see the amount of heroism displayed 12 years ago. We will never forget those who lost their lives that day. Heroism did not start and end on 9/11 though. Heroes are born and serve every day. We are lucky to have quite a few in our small diecast community as well.
We have quite an array of men and women who serve and have served in the armed forces, protecting countries all over the world and allowing us to have the silly little luxury of collecting diecast cars. We have doctors/nurses who keep us all healthy. We have teachers who educate our children and even a few of us grown ups from time to time. We have everyday, average collectors, who do the right thing on a daily basis for nothing other than to do the right thing.
I challenge you, the collecting community to BE A HERO. Help out others in need and look out for more than yourself. While its not always the easiest thing to do and others have been taken advantage of, take the higher road and live the life of an everyday, unnoticed hero.
For those that are the heroes in the crowd, I salute you with the Hot Wheels Fire Eater. This classic Fire Engine was designed in 1977 by the one and only, legendary Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood. This particular Fire Eater shown above was released in the 2009 Treasure Hunts Series and is considered the “regular” Treasure Hunts version while the “$uper” version had Spectraflame Red paint and real rider tires. Detailed on the outside of this beauty are an ax, oxygen tank, shovel and fire hose. Consider yourself lucky if you found one of these 2 versions in the store as they were hard to come by. Still, with that said, the regular version can be had for around $5 and the super version can be had for around $15 on the secondary market. Enjoy this fantastic piece for yourself and remember to be that hero, even when no one is looking.
Wheel Close 