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Visibility was poor in the fog
and drizzle as we drove home from a weekend away from
the city. It was a long, slow trip, and we were all
quite tired. Home was just a couple of bocks away
when my son, Larry, said ???Look ??“ up ahead ??“ SMOKE???
My wife and I tried to pierce the
weather with our tired, strained eyes, but neither of
us could see any smoke.
???I think your eyes are playing
tricks on you???, I said as I strained even more.
Nothing but fog and drizzle.
But Larry insisted he saw smoke.
Then, when we were but a block from home, Larry??™s
sister Layne chimed in.
???Yes ??“ there IS smoke up there
and it looks like it??™s almost right in front of our
house???, she shouted.
Sure enough, smoke was billowing
up from what looked like a traffic accident. We were
just a couple of driveways from our house, and there
it was. A white delivery van had apparently slammed
into the side of a Ford Taurus. The van was on fire
and I could see people on the ground. I whipped the
car to the curb and we all jumped out to see what we
could do.
???Larry, grab the fire
extinguisher and come with me. Layne, run to the
house and get some blankets. Honey, call 911.??? I
rushed to the scene to render first aid or whatever
was necessary.
The driver of the Taurus was
sitting on the pavement, leaning against the front
wheel on the passenger side of the car.
???I??™m ok???, he said. ???See if you
can help the others over there.???
The white van was lying on its
side and Larry had been able to extinguish the fire
inside the back of the van. There were two large
dark-skinned men lying on the ground just outside the
van??™s sliding door. They were both on their sides,
one sort of draped over the other. Both were
unconscious. I couldn??™t find any major injuries, but
you never know. I didn??™t want to move them much.
Layne tossed a couple of blankets to me and I covered
the two men and proceeded to attend to the driver, who
was still in the driver??™s seat.
I had to climb in though the open
side door and work my way to the front of the van to
reach him. He too, was unconscious. Larry and I
attended to him the best we could and while we worked,
we could hear sirens approaching.
The van driver awakened and asked
what had happened. ???The last I knew, we were just
driving along on our way back home and the lights went
out. Who are you and what happened to my friends in
the back????
???It isn??™t important who we are???,
I said. ???We??™re just here to help you if we can.???
Layne gave me another blanket and I covered him with
it.
The ambulance had arrived and the
paramedics were attending to the two men from the back
of the van. A sort of make-shift
tent had been set up to keep the rain off the men. A
second ambulance arrived and the team from the new
arrival attended to the driver of the Taurus. As
before, he said he thought he was ok, and that they
should check on the driver of the van.
???Something must be wrong with
him???, he said. ???He was slumped over the wheel and the
van was still moving down the street. He didn??™t seem
to be driving it. I knew there could be some serious
trouble if the van left the road and hit a house or
something ??“ or worse ??“ hit a person. So I cranked the
car around in front of him to stop it. The van hit
the passenger side of my car and I was able to get it
stopped. I didn??™t notice the fire until that young
man used a fire extinguisher on it. How are the guys
in the van????
The two men who had been lying on
the ground near the van were being loaded into the
first ambulance. I asked one of the paramedics how
they were.
???A couple of broken bones and
some abrasions, but they??™ll be ok. They seem to be of
mid-eastern decent and speak pretty broken English.
But they wanted to know who the Taurus driver is and
who you are.???
???I don??™t know about the other
driver, but you can just tell them that we??™re simply a
common, every-day American family trying to offer help
when it??™s needed. We??™re all here to help one another???,
I said. ???It??™s what God expect.???
The men were secured in the
ambulance and it departed, siren screaming.
The driver of the van had been
extracted and was being treated. One of the
paramedics said he thought the driver might have had
low blood sugar and had passed out. He (the driver)
was wearing a bracelet indicating he was diabetic.
Groggy, but conscious, the driver
wanted to know our names so he could thank us later.
I said ???You need not know who we
are, and you don??™t need to thank us???, I said. ???Just
get some rest and let them take care of you at the
hospital. Knowing that we were able to help is enough
thanks.???
As that gurney was wheeled past
the Taurus driver, the van driver asked the paramedics
to stop so he could say a few words. The van driver
thanked the Taurus driver for probably saving his life
and those of his friends. Then he asked for the
Taurus driver??™s name.
???Just call me ???friend??™, ok? I??™ll
be praying for your recovery. And one day, when the
occasion arises, try to help someone else. That will
be the best thanks you can give.???
As the second ambulance left and
two tow trucks arrived, my family gathered around me.
We had completely forgotten about being cold and wet.
???Sure glad we were here to help???,
Larry said.
???Yeah???, chimed Layne. ???God will
be smiling up there???
???We??™ve got two very special
children here???, my wife exclaimed.
A police officer came over to get
our statement of what had happened. We told him as
much as we knew. When he asked for our names, we gave
them to him for his report. Then he asked if he could
share that information with the accident victims.
Layne responded, ???They need not
know who we are. Just tell them to remember, and to
be a friend to someone some day.???
And then I woke up.
It had all been a dream. A very
vivid dream, but a dream just the same. I don??™t know
if there is purpose or not, but I felt compelled to
put it on paper and share it with all of you. It was
a real dream and God may have a plan for it. That??™s
why I share it with you.
?© Feb, 2005
Don Carroll |
