Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: ROAD TRIP (vacation) (07/02/15)
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TITLE: Running On Empty | Previous Challenge Entry
By Stanley McMahon
07/07/15 -
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A few miles from the highway exit, the fuel light came on. No sweat. Surely there were still miles of fuel left before we ran out. We weren’t that far from home. Lesson number two: never assume anything.
The exit was only a few hundred yards away and we started to slow down to make our manoeuver, but instead of slowing down in response to the gear change, it began to lose power, and chug and eventually came to a stop about fifty feet from the exit. Miles from anywhere. No petrol. Hazard lights on.
The lady to my right was less than impressed. The son behind me compounded the frustration with unhelpful comments. Nothing to do but get out and push. All three of us. Correction. Two of us. My son and I pushed while my wife steered the car down the ramp and off to the side of the road. Heavy car.
Sweating, angry, frustrated, we thought about our next move. There was still life left in the battery so we kept the lights on. My son had a bright idea. He rummaged through the plastic bags that were the accumulation of the day’s purchases and waste. He had bought a luminous gorilla that glowed in the dark. Lesson number three: never wave a glowing gorilla shaped rubber figure in front of vehicles that you want help from.
Eventually a benevolent passer-by did stop. The plan was to ask them for a lift to the nearest filling station. A mixture of our awful Spanish and their broken English brought about the understanding of what we wanted to do. I went, leaving my son and my wife. Unfortunately the manufacturers of the car had not thought it would be helpful to indicate on the petrol cap the type of fuel that the car needed. It was fifty-fifty.
I chose the wrong fifty, which we didn’t find out until the benevolent helpers had driven away; which didn’t improve the mood in the car. New plan. With the little battery that remained in the mobile telephone, we made a strategic call. We called the only person we knew in Spain, a local ex-pat. She picked up an income driving people to and from the airport and maintaining properties in the local area. She sent her husband to pick us up. Great, except he was almost drunk. Lesson number four: never accept a lift from a drunk, unless you absolutely have to.
We arrived back at the local pub with our knight in armour that gleamed about as shiny as a luminous gorilla. The bright light of the location allowed us to gather our thoughts, call the rental company and get a replacement vehicle. We had to meet them in about an hour. Our helpful knight, slightly the worse for wear, offered to drive us back. No other option. Nobody else was offering.
As we neared the location, we could see lights in the distance. The knight was convinced that it was in fact the rescue team that had gone to the wrong location. He drove up the ramp to the roundabout and off to the side road where there was a group of about six men standing talking at the back of a van. Impaired judgement. Not the rescue team. Possibly a gang of thugs. Lesson five: keep praying.
Our driver returned to the car, concluding that he had in fact been mistaken and that we should maybe go back to location of the broken-down vehicle. Smart choice. He mercifully left us there and less than ten minutes later we were seated in a new hire vehicle with the correct fuel and on our way home, exhausted but safe.
In all of our life events there are lessons to be learned because the truth is that we were created to be life-long learners; disciples who never stop reviewing, and learning and laughing and telling stories. The alternative is to live in the misery of knowing everything within the small parameters of what we can control. Faith is about growing, and moving into new areas of knowledge and making mistakes and learning from them. It’s about becoming and maturing and never arriving.
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God bless~
Your philosophy of life shows your maturity as well as your wisdom.
I like this one a lot.
God bless~