It had rained all evening but when morning arrived the skies had started to clear, and we decided to run errands. We were in route to drop off some lumber to a neighbor who in turn made things for the community. We had climbed a steep grade on a narrow back road when a vehicle approached traveling in the opposite direction. On these confined travel-ways it is customary for both drivers to slow and pull onto berm, so each has room to pass. In this case the driver opposite us gave very little and we were forced to move further off the road than we wanted. The car that refused to give way sped past us barely slowing. When we attempted to move forward the rain-soaked roadside gave way and our truck slid downward toward a deep culvert. Even when trying in four-wheel drive low we listed further getting closer to rolling. I carefully pulled myself out and we walked down the same hill we had just ascended in search of help. At the base of the incline, we found a wonderful elderly couple who, though encumbered with health issues, gladly offered to help. I aided him in finishing his current task after which he drove his tractor up the hill and positioned it where he thought he could do the most good. We hooked chain between truck and tractor in attempt to pull the former back to the safety of the gravel surface—no dice—in fact the angle of the beleaguered auto worsened. Back down to his house we went.
It was time to get some professional assistance. Given it was Saturday and given we were in a remote rural location we weren’t sure who would be willing to come to our rescue. Our first call yielded only a prerecorded missive and though we left a message we felt the odds weren’t in our favor. Upon recommendation of our kindly neighbors, we called another outfit who did answer and said the owner and his wrecker could be there after finishing his current job. We agreed and I visited with the couple who had, by this time, opened their home to us. Unfortunately, my beautiful Renea had left her pocketbook at the site of the “accident” and was concerned she hadn’t locked the car so at her insistence she set out fighting not only the slope but the summer heat and humidity. When she returned, we continued talking about old times and shared friends until we heard the motor of the approaching wrecker.

I think the best way to describe the man who arrived in tow truck is to say he was a character. He was somewhere in his sixties, his greying hair was slicked back, and his chest and part of his belly was in full view as he didn’t employ the buttons on his shirt. A good-natured fella, with a wise-cracking dry sense of humor, it was difficult to know when to answer him or just assume his questions rhetorical. When he offered a ride to our vehicle we gladly accepted and climbed into his vintage rusting wrecker and headed upward. When he stepped out and saw the predicament, he messed with us again while listening to our suggestions of how best to solve the problem. He then sat back in his truck and said he would return in short order. In approximately five minutes he rumbled over the crest now pointing in the opposite direction. After hooking cables to our truck’s frame, he asked that I take driver’s position in our vehicle and stated further that I follow his instruction exactly. We wondered if his approach to extradite our ride was wise, but there was something about his manner that said, “I know what I’m doing.” When I announced I was ready, he began pulling levers, barking orders, and in general taking the lead. He stopped the process momentarily to mention that I hit the break pedal when I wasn’t supposed to, but he also complemented me because he knew some of his directives were counter intuitive. Within a few minutes we were well positioned on the road with an unscathed truck. He cracked-wise a few more times before asking for a $265 check—the best money we’d spent for some time. We thanked him for a job well done and he was off to his next assignment.

The entire episode cost some four hours and wasn’t on the day’s agenda when we woke, but we made new friends, survived without injury, finished our errands, and still spent time on the river. The remainder of the day we talked about getting stuck and how we could have avoided it could we go back in time, but sometimes life throws a curve, and it is best to roll with it and count your blessings.