Sunday afternoon, after running errands, I wandered toward home via backroads as I often do. A blue sky full of giant white clouds was overhead with bright sunlight flowing through the sunroof. It was a glorious day. Earlier storm clouds darkened the day, and they would again, but for the moment, the joy of the sunlight was with me.
Along the way, I stopped at one of the beaches along Indiana Lake, about 20 minutes north of my Ohio home. A breeze had kicked up, and the sun was giving way to moist clouds, so I stayed in the car with the windows and sunroof open and enjoyed the peace. Across the way, children played with parents and grandparents. Their laughter, muted with distance, flittered over to me and gave me pleasure.
I pulled out my journal and wrote for a while, then took a walk along the beach. The sun had faded and daylight wasn’t far behind. It was time to head home.
As I pushed the button to start GC (short for Golden Chariot, my Rav4), the only noise was a tiny little grrr. Trying it again and again didn’t change the situation. Pulled out the phone and AAA card, but first I needed to verify my location. The sign said, Fox Island, but was that just the name of the beach? Could AAA find me? Did I also need to know the name of the town? Was I in Russel’s Point or Lakeview or one of the other towns around the lake?
I walked over to the playground and asked the family where I was. One of the women asked what was wrong. When I told her, one of the men asked if I had jumper cables. I didn’t. They didn’t either. By this time, I was growing anxious. Tears were forming as I called AAA and listened to the voice telling me that they were understaffed, so I’d have to wait. Dinner time was approaching and people were leaving, including this family who was trying to help me. My mind went to the dark place of AAA won’t be here for hours and this old lady will be out here alone as night approaches.
I know, I know better, but that’s what happened. So…
I walked back over to GC while still on hold with AAA, and I said a prayer. “Please send help now.” As I finished my prayer, I heard the gentleman give me a shout out. “Hold off. We may have a solution.” After he checked all three of their family vehicles, he then asked others in the park if anyone had jumper cables. As it turned out, the only other visitor to the park was a women with her children. And she did have the needed cables.
The man put the cables in place, while Mindy, the woman with the cables, comforted and instructed me. Pressed the start button. I did. But was only answered by that little grrr. Try again. Grrr. Try again. Grrr.
One of the women from the family came to add comfort, and to suggest I close the car door. She also noticed the overhead lights were on, which was probably what caused the battery to die to start with. I flipped the switch to the off position but nothing happened. Then my finger hit the light, and it went off. And GC started right up. Purr went the engine, the sound I’m used to hearing.
In all the years I’ve had GC (more than 200,000 miles since 2009) I never pushed against the lights to turn them off. They always went off automatically or when I would slid the switch to the off position. Well, I learned something new. A good experience, but what made this an especially meaningful experience was how hard these strangers worked to help me.
I offered a little money for their trouble, but no one would take the money. “There are still good people in the world,” the one women said as she looked directly at me with full love in her eyes and a smile on her face. I told her that it’s said that for every good deed you do 10 will come back to you. I sure hope that’s true for this family.
The family left as Mindy stowed the cables. She then walked back over to me and handed me her phone number. “If you ever need anything, give me a call. I don’t know everything and I may not have the answer, but if it will help, call.”
I waited for her and her children as we all left the park together. Mindy on her way home and me to do the same.
The roads were wet from the storms that had passed through while I was receiving the kindness of these new friends. Red Tailed Hawk flew across my windshield as I rounded a curve, then off to the east, where the storms had flown to, was the rainbow as big as the sky itself.