By Gary Lloyd

MOODY – As a journalist, I spent hours typing up safety tips from law enforcement agencies leading up to the Fourth of July, Halloween, and New Year’s Eve.

I typed words about additional patrolmen out on the roadways, watching for drunk drivers. I published tips on driving safely, using ATMs, protecting children and homes, setting off fireworks, shooting firearms, attending parties, and hosting parties.

I wrote about towing companies’ programs for helping intoxicated citizens get home safely.

Law enforcement stopped at no end to provide safety tips. And those tips were all great and I hope continue to be for those celebrating the New Year. But now that I’m out of the daily grind of news coverage, I see it less.

But not in Moody.

Recently, I saw a mangled Ford Ranger pickup truck in front of Just-In-Time Towing on Highway 411. It sat prominently near the roadway, closed in by yellow police tape. Signs adorned the heap of a truck. I pulled off the road Thursday to take a closer look.

You may remember Just-In-Time Towing’s efforts during Hurricane Michael.

“Think Before You Drink” and “Don’t Drink & Drive!” were the signs leaned against the Ford’s twisted metal. A bigger sign held together by two wooden posts near the truck’s bed advises those drinking in Moody and Leeds on New Year’s Eve to call the towing company at 205-230-8184 for free tows home.

I must have typed thousands of words on holiday safety over the years. One picture is worth more than that.