Windows rolled down with his favorite country station on, Buck singing along.  Today was going to be a good day, he decided, nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet and his favorite show was on tonight.

    And then reality stepped in, as it often does in the life of a Ranger. There was a man standing in his lane up ahead flagging him down, his vehicle was parked off the side of the road on protected land, officially making this Buck’s concern.

    He pulled up along the motorist and his car and rolled down the window, quickly noticing that the car had, had its tires slashed. “By the looks of it you need some help. Name’s Buck.” The man was above average height, dark haired and clean-shaven, and it looked like he’d just gotten off of an airplane, not dressed like he’d just finished hiking. Leaning into the jeep, Terry shook his hand.

    “Thank you ranger-“ Buck interrupted him to let him know that calling him Buck would be fine “Well Buck, Oh my name is Terry, well I got back to my vehicle, and the tires had been slashed, I’ve been trying to phone for help, but this isn’t exactly the best place for service.”

    If Buck had a nickel for every time he’d heard those words, he’d be rich, he allowed himself a small smile and then spoke “By the looks of it, I’d say you weren’t hiking. May I ask what kept you from your vehicle long enough for someone to mess with your tires?”

    Terry’s face screwed up into an embarrassed grimace for a moment “Well Buck, honestly, it had been a long drive, and I pulled off onto this road to… you know.” As he finished he shook his head in the direction of the trees.

    “Terry, we’ll disregard your last statements.” Now climbing out of his jeep, Buck started to walk towards the vehicle “Do you have your paperwork handy?” Now almost to the car, Buck turned back to Terry who hadn’t moved from the spot.