Nine Years Ago Today, A Hero Was Born On 7-Eleven "Free Slurpee" Day

Jimin Kim. Shutterstock Images.

I wanted to take a moment to shine a light on the tale of an American hero that often gets forgotten in our nation's history. The date was July 11th, 2015. The location was a newly opened 7-Eleven convenience store on Long Island getting ready for their first "7/11 Day." For those unfamiliar, every year on July 11th, you can go into any 7-Eleven location and get a free small slurpee. Millions of people swarm in every day demanding a free frozen treat. 

Well on that specific day at that specific location, a hero was born. Three weeks into the job, a ripe 19-year-old clocked in for his 7 AM shift, eager to give back to the community by serving them their slurpees. What he thought would be a joyful day turned into absolute mayhem. A 109 degree heat wave came through Long Island, leaving everyone sweaty and irritable. Typically AC would solve that, but the AC was broken at 7-Eleven that day. "Well at least he had a partner to help him out?" you'd ponder to yourself. Nope. His co-worker called out sick at the last minute, leaving this solider all alone. 

It still should've been a pretty simple day considering the slurpees are self-serve. But on the worst day possible, the slurpee machine broke. So he rolled up his sleeves, put his hair in his net, and tried to fix the machine himself. A line formed around the block with angry, thirsty customers suffering in the 112 degree heat. And to make matters worse, a kitchen fire broke out due to overcooked taquitos that couldn't be monitored while he was trying to fix the slurpee machine. 

But he persevered. The slurpee machine got fixed. The fire was put out. The customers were served. The clock struck 3:00 PM and he handed over his shift to the next brave platoon of 7-Eleven soldiers. But what that boy did at that 7-Eleven that day changed him forever. It turned him from boy to man in a way that puberty never quite could. It was a heroic day that should one day be written about in US History textbooks. That boy doesn't want the recognition of being a hero, but he does deserve it. 

And that boy…….. was me.