Lieutenant Robert Handoff began working as a traffic police officer thirty years ago. He became famous as one of the best-known traffic directors somewhere in Georgia because he went out of his way to make drivers feel special and safe. He was known for waving his hands so much at drivers that he was affectionately known as “Happy Hands” or simply “Handy.” But one day, Robert’s luck changed. As he was leaving duty at an intersection to spend a weekend fishing, he saw a boy crossing the street who was about to be hit by a car, driven by a speeding madman. Robert was close enough to get the boy out of harm’s way, but in the process, he was beaten himself. He was almost run over, but somehow his left hand got under the tire of the car and crushed it.
The pain was excruciating. Robert howled as people flocked to him. Several motorists stopped. A young woman dialed 911. As they anxiously waited for an ambulance, they tried to comfort Robert, whose hand was bleeding profusely. The wait felt like an eternity to Robert. In ten minutes, an ambulance arrived at the scene. The paramedics pulled the stretcher from the back of the ambulance and Robert was quickly but carefully hoisted.
The emergency team tried to calm him down while one of them administered a sedative to numb the pain. The other carefully wrapped his hand in gauze to ease the bleeding. When the ambulance roared toward the nearest hospital, Robert was already feeling the effects of the sedative. The paramedic team rushed him to the emergency room, a doctor was already waiting at a table and connected him to all kinds of hospital equipment. Then they rushed him to surgery.
The operation lasted three grueling hours. After the operation, Robert was admitted to the ICU. When Dr. Fingers woke up, the surgeon came to talk to him. “I have unfortunate news,” he said. “We were able to save all his fingers except one: the middle finger.”
Robert chuckled slightly and said, “I bet I’ll get very popular with drivers.” The doctor smiled. “I remember you. Aren’t you ‘Handy’?” “Yes. I always used both hands to direct traffic and greet people.” But I won’t do my job anymore. “He sighed.” If I go out in traffic, I will make many drivers angry because I would have to use my middle finger. “
Once out of the hospital, “Handy” left the police force to become a lobby at the local Walmart, where he only greeted people with his right hand.