Monday, August 29, 2011

Stranded

Sometimes, the reality of my "aloneness" hits me in a cruel and unusual fashion.  Several times as of late I've felt alone - when I am sick and I have no one to help take care of me or run me to the doctor or pick up a prescription, when I am terribly busy and need to run errands but just do without, when something tickles my funny bone and I get all excited to share only to realize the only one there is my kitty...you get the point.

But I have never felt more alone than I did last night.

Thursday I had an oil change and inspection done to make sure my car was ready for my post-work Friday trip to Boise to visit my life-long friend Scot and his wife Megan, who also happens to be one of my favorite people.  I can be 1,000% myself in the most geeked-out manner around those two and never feel a twinge of guilt.  Love.  I'll post more about the trip, complete with photos, later - it was amazing with an extra zing.  Just what the doctor ordered.

Yesterday I felt a little blue to leave my friends, but life must resume as normal.  I stopped at the Stinker Stores for a soda, hit up a rest stop, you know the drill.  Just north of Brigham City, Utah, I pulled into quite the nice rest stop for one last break before the home stretch.

Just as I pulled away - *POOF*- smoke everywhere. You want to know what was running through my head as I stopped?  "Huh...uhhhhhhmmm...hmmmm....uhhhhh.....weird.  Uhhhhhhhhhh....huh."  And my thoughts continued like that for quite a few minutes.

Almost immediately two rough and tumble bikers with their daughters in tow came to help check the problem.  No genius was required to see the exploded top radiator hose.  I found it before the men did, actually.  It exploded like a hot dog in the microwave and the "smoke" had actually been the steam of the anti-freeze hitting the hot engine.  The kind men walked me through what parts I needed, had me repeat everything to them, and waited until they knew my phone worked.  A little bit later, another kind man came up and told me he'd had the same problem with his old vehicle and gave me some more tips.  I must have been at a rest stop for nice people only.  In spite of these sweet folks, I felt completely and utterly alone.

And then...

I called my dear Blake.  He immediately fetched the correct parts, my darling Shayla, and began the hour and fifteen minute journey to rescue me without a moment of hesitation.

As I waited, I contemplated the love these two people have for me.  I contemplated the kind strangers.  I contemplated that I could have literally been anywhere along the stretch of oblivion between Salt Lake and Boise when that radiator hose exploded.  Anywhere.  The odds that I made it so close to Salt Lake and just happened to be at a well-kept rest stop near a town are nothing short of miraculous in my book.  I contemplated the love of those who continued to call me and text message me to confirm I really was being rescued.  I actually laughed through most of the evening because, hey, what else are you going to do?

Once Blake and Shayla arrived, I was fixed and on the road within ten minutes.  They followed me home and now I just need to find some time to go get a little "peace of mind" inspection.  They are my heroes.  I am a very lucky girl to have such angels in my life.

Sometimes, I feel startlingly alone - my family all live in Ohio or Virginia, I am unmarried, and I am just a darned unique individual.  Then some miracle of a catastrophe happens to show me that I am anything but alone. 

 

2 comments:

S.R. Braddy said...

That's a crappy weekend. Huzzah for knights in shining automobiles!

Shayla said...

I only rescue the people I love the most. ;)