We take them for granted sometimes. Too many times. Almost all of the time, if we're honest about it.
Too many of us only think about the Chattanooga Police Department and Chattanooga Fire Department when we need them. Or - as is occasionally the case with the police - when we needed them to be anywhere but where their radar guns were pointed.
But all that changed in April. Our city and its surrounding communities torn asunder by Mother Nature's wrath, the police, firemen and a host of non-profit agencies immediately began helping in ways both big and small.
Six weeks later, many of those agencies haven't taken a break since, a commitment that isn't likely to wane for at least six more months.
Except for Wednesday afternoon at AT&T Field, that is. Except for a seismic softball game between our city's police and firefighters that they've not-so-affectionately dubbed "Handcuffs vs. Hoses."
Scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. so it's over in plenty of time for everyone to scramble down Hawk Hill for the Miranda Lambert concert that night at Riverbend, the game is supposed to deliver a little free entertainment for all the non-profits involved in the tornado cleanups.
It will also provide an opportunity for a lot of us to say a proper thank-you to these saintly souls, many of whom are expected to man booths around the ballpark throughout the game.
But if that's not enough to draw you away from your offices, out of your swimming pools and off your couches, the US Navy's parachute demonstration team, the Leap Frogs, will jump onto the field just before the game. The Leap Frogs will then present the game ball to Vice Admiral Harry Harris, who will toss out the first pitch.
Then the real fun will begin, especially since the base paths on a regulation baseball diamond are roughly 33 percent longer than a regulation softball field - 90 feet between the bases in baseball as opposed to 60 feet in softball.
Throw in the expected sun and heat and the fact that most of the Hoses and Handcuffs have been too busy helping others to practice many softball swings of late and they may need a little assistance from their EMT friends just to finish the game.
Not that either side sounds terribly concerned at the moment.
Chief Randy Parker of the CFD was already turning up the heat last week by announcing, "Our team is 'fired up' about this game. We intend to take home a major win over the boys in blue."
Countered Chattanooga Police Chief, Bobby Dodd, determined to fire the last shot in this debate: "We're going to have the fire department handcuffed within a couple of innings."
When it comes to softball, we apparently just can't get along.
But our town's employers letting off as many workers as possible on Wednesday afternoon - especially all those either ravaged by the tornadoes or those who've given so much of their free time to help - would go a long way in letting Chattanooga's policeman, firemen and nonprofits know how much they're appreciated.
Or as Robin Derryberry - who heads the Derryberry Public Relations firm that first came up with the idea Hoses vs. Handcuffs - said last week, "We realize that people are exhausted. Many people have lost so much from these horrible storms while others are exhausted from volunteering to help. We thought it would be so much fun for people to just take an afternoon off and enjoy themselves."
Take the afternoon off while the Hoses and Handcuffs once again work up a sweat. Just like every other day. At least this time it's for fun.