THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180130
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
It would be enough, it seems, for firefighters and emergency rescue personnel to look into the cold gray face of death day after day after day.
Wrestling with hoses and boots and helmets and $100,000 pieces of equipment, and tackling the dangers that others rush to avoid, should be enough to fill the job descriptions of the men and women in uniform.
It's overworked, underpaid life on the edge, with days that wrap stress around your neck until it feels like your head is about to snap off.
And for many here on the Outer Banks, it is strictly volunteer, this risking your life to save someone else's. No salary. No benefits. Just a chance to help your community - and a chance to lose your life.
But for emergency personnel in Kitty Hawk, risking your life isn't all that's required. Sometimes, you have to go an extra mile.
Understanding that means that you have to know the story of Mike Territo, a 16-year-old from Kitty Hawk. On May 13, as he and a friend crossed U.S. Route 158 on bicycles near Frisco's restaurant, Mike was hit by a car. Today he lies in a coma in a Norfolk hospital with broken legs and arms, and internal injuries.
What makes his situation all the more tragic is that his family doesn't have enough insurance to cover the medical bills they face.
For the emergency rescue personnel who came to Mike Territo's aid, this could have gone down as just another tragedy, just another report to file, just another story to tell the wife and kids over dinner.
But there was more.
``We found out about his family's financial situation,'' said Kitty Hawk Fire Chief Lowell Spivey. ``Mike was in our junior firefighter program for a while. He eventually decided - like a lot of kids do - that it wasn't for him. But he was one of us.''
Eugene McLawhorn is heading a fund-raiser Saturday at the Kitty Hawk Fire Station. McLawhorn, a Kitty Hawk Police detective, has a special reason to want to help Mike Territo. His son was riding with Mike at the time of the accident.
He knows Mike as a kid with a quick and easy smile.
``But for the grace of God, that could be my son,'' said McLawhorn, who is also an ordained minister. ``I could be the one going to the hospital every day. That's why I want to help Mike.''
If there is one thing truly cherished on the Outer Banks, it is a smile. And as a result of the efforts of McLawhorn, Spivey, local businessman Art Glidden and others, the community has rallied to help Mike Territo.
``You wouldn't believe the help we've gotten from businesses and people throughout Dare County,'' said McLawhorn. ``We've had fish donated for the fish fry. We've got local bands. It's amazing how when there is a tragedy, people just come together to help.''
On the list of thankless jobs, police officers, firefighters and emergency rescue personnel are near the top.
And when the roll is called of virtues of this magical place, kindness gets lost amid the splendor of a sunset, and the magic of a full moon.
But the fact is this:
We have good cops.
We have good firefighters.
And we've got good people.
All willing to go beyond the call of duty to make a Mike Territo smile again. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
FOR MIKE
The Mike Territo benefit will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at the
Kitty Hawk Fire Station. Fish and chicken will be served at a cost
of $6 for adults and $3 for children. Local bands will perform at
noon.
by CNB