My wife and I spent one night in Durango on Sept. 14. We were passing through town after visiting our son in California. Our son is a Marine, and we had traveled from Iowa to California to welcome him and other members of his unit home from Afghanistan. We were on the return trip to Iowa when we arrived in Durango late on Friday night. We planned on continuing our trip early Saturday morning.

While refueling the car I noticed that one tire was a little low on air and on closer examination, found a screw stuck in the tire.

I took the vehicle to Big O Tires on Main Avenue to have the tire repaired. They were able to get my vehicle in right away and also directed me to a coffee shop a couple of blocks away to wait for the repair to be completed.

When I returned, I asked how much the repair cost. I happened to be wearing a U.S. Marine Corps T-shirt, so the person who helped me asked if I was active duty military.

I told him that I was not, but my son was, and he had just returned from Afghanistan. He shook my hand and said to thank my son for his service, and there would be no charge for the tire repair. I regret not getting the name of the person who helped me, but I wanted to send this letter to thank the employees of Big O Tires for their kindness and let everyone know of our positive experience in Durango.

Stan Stallsmith

Mason City, Iowa