You definitely don’t need another reason to dine at Hooters, our nation’s greatest purveyor of wings and beer. That said, I’m going to tell you the story of Hooters employees overcoming adversity, and reuniting a family when both parents were separated from their six children, grief stricken, helpless to do anything. When the night was darkest the good people of Hooters stepped in and saved the day, and for that they’ll be receiving some extra patronage from me in the very near future.
Employees at a Hooters in Lakeland, Florida alerted the authorities when they noticed two panicked ducks guarding a storm drain. Upon further inspection the Hooters employees discovered six quacking ducklings trapped inside a 25-foot-long storm drain pipe, unable to reach mama and papa duck and do all the duck things ducklings do.
So what did the Hooters employees do? They took action, dammit. They attached a fry basket to a pole and were able to retrieve each and every one of the six terrified ducklings as mama and papa duck circled overhead. And once removed from the storm drain they were taken to a nearby pond where they were released and observed into the parent ducks flew in and the entire duck family was reunited. Right now some of you might be thinking ‘these ducklings weren’t facing certain death at all’, but you’re wrong. Have you ever seen or experienced a flash flood in Florida? They happen nearly every day in Summer. These ducks could’ve been trapped and drowned by the waterfall of rain pouring in over the storm drain, trapping them below the surface unable to breath.
Ducks fly together. Hooters employees fry together. #Hooters4Life.
Here’s the longer version of the story from The Bradenton Herald:
LAKELAND — The parents of six mallard ducklings watched anxiously Tuesday as rescuers scooped their babies from a storm drain in downtown Lakeland using a Hooters frying basket.
The manager of a Hooters restaurant called officials Sunday after hearing chirping noises coming from a drain.
Officials found the ducklings trapped in a 25-foot-long pipe connecting a manhole cover and a storm drain grate.
Rescuers used a fry basket by attaching it to a pole to retrieve all six baby ducks. The ducklings’ parents flew overhead during the rescue.
Once all of the ducklings were safe, they were placed in a small crate and taken to a nearby retention pond where the family was reunited.
True story: I’ve eaten at that exact Hooters before, and as soon as I find myself down that way again I’ll be giving them my patronage once more.
Hooters employees = national heroes. Ducklings = SO HOT RIGHT NOW.
All that stuff about ‘not needing another reason to eat at Hooters’ is true…But just in case, here’s some GIFs that’ll have you going there for dinner tonight:
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