An Angel in a Pick-up Truck | Carole Devecka, |
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My aunt and uncle, both of whom are in their eighties and suffering from cancer experienced a most wondrous event due to the big snow storm of 2003/04. Depressed over their medical conditions and really feeling rotten with the cold weather, they decided to take a Senior Citizen Bus Trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey. They live hours away in Patchague, Long Island, New York. As neither of them drive outside their immediate area, they thought this would be a good time to meet people and get out of the house. When they arrived in Atlantic City, they were given tokens and discount coupons for the huge dinner buffet. Chatting with other people from their bus trip, they really had a nice time. On the way back they were caught in a bad snowstorm. In fact, for a time, they pulled over on the side of the road because the bus driver could not see out the windshield. It seemed everyone on the bus had cell phones and were calling friends and family telling them not to expect them on time; they were stuck in the storm. Whereas the cell phone has seemed a foolish modern invention to my aunt and uncle, they now wished they too had a way of contacting friends and relatives for help on arriving home. Getting back to Long Island took hours longer than they expected. The driver was extremely cautious returning them safely, but late. Their first hurdle was tiring as it was necessary for them to use floor mats as scoops to clear the car of snow and then as traction to get out of the parking lot. When they arrived at their street, they were dismayed to see a huge mound of snow blocking their driveway. Snow plows had moved masses of snow from the roads but there was little space to park on the street. They temporarily parked on the street with hazard lights flashing and an orange cone near the car's rear. Then they attempted to wade through the resistant drifts to reach their doorway. With snowdrifts up to their thighs it seemed an almost insurmountable task for eighty-year-olds. Ill dressed for the unexpected weather, shaking with cold, and worried one of them would soon suffer a heart attack, my aunt sent out a plea for help. "God, please help us." All of a sudden a young guy in a pick up truck stopped and asked if they needed help. Of course they said Yes! They would pay him anything, just to get into their house where it was warm. My aunt said when she spoke to him, he smiled and she instantly felt warmer. The gentleman said he would return with a plow attached to his truck and did they want to sit in his truck to keep warm. They declined with a grateful thank you telling him they would stay in their car. Soon the young fellow returned. My uncle offered him money before he started to plow but his answer continued to be, "Later, sir, later." When a path was cleared to the door my aunt and uncle gratefully headed into the house, with my aunt intending to make hot coffee. My uncle bundled up and was soon outside working alongside of the young man. Coffee ready, my aunt gave a thermos to her husband, who was getting out of the car. They turned to give a thermos to the young man. Moments before he had been alongside of the car but now he had disappeared. They knew he couldn't have driven backwards that quickly and neither of them could see his lights, yet he had vanished. My aunt started to cry. So did my uncle. My aunt said, "Carol (that's me) always sends me angels just when I need them. This one, God sent. Yes He sent an angel in a pick up truck!"
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