LUBBOCK, Texas — There was no fire to fight or bad guys to arrest in one North Lubbock neighborhood, but Lubbock Fire Rescue and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department answered the call anyway to save a little girl’s birthday party. Maggie Head turned 11-years-old over the weekend, and the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to celebrate.
“We were just gonna put up a slip n slide, and my mom got balloons, and she got these signs, and it was gonna be fun,” Maggie said. “But then this giant dust storm started to come through.
The decorations had to be put away, or they were going to be blown away. Maggie’s mom, Lu-Anne Peaslee realized that with no friends, no decoration, and no ‘slip n slide’ her daughter wasn’t going to have anything to celebrate with.
“Already our extended family couldn’t come, and I just felt so bad seeing her just sitting there and watching a movie,” Peaslee said. “What kind of magic can I pull out of my hat to fix this, because I had nothing.”
Peaslee decided to call local first responders to see if they could swing by and wish Maggie a happy birthday. She said she never expected much, but the response blew them both away.
“Within 30 minutes we could hear sirens coming everywhere, and her [Maggie’s] face just lit up,” Peaslee said. “I know they have jobs, and they have work to do, so for them to come over just means the world.”
The entire neighborhood came out to hear the commotion, once first responders blared their sirens and wished Maggie a happy birthday over the PA system. Maggie said, this by far was her second favorite birthday.
“My favorite was when I turned seven and my friends shoved my face in cake,” Maggie said. “But for a birthday where I was alone, this one definitely was still good, and better because of them.”
Use the video player above to see more of this story.
