Got the car packed, the house cleaned, and the food from the fridge delivered, and the return trip to the house to fetch a forgotten item completed, I was now on the road. It was a good drive east towards Erie, Pa, then south toward Pittsburgh and beyond. I had great new music and audiobooks on my iPod. I was all set. And it felt so good to be traveling again. New adventures! I’m most myself when I’m traveling, on the road to somewhere new.
The canoe strapped to the top of the car is rumbling and humming. The bike on a rack on the back is rocking to and fro. The interior of the car is filled to the brim. I think I have enough stuff to be gone 6 months to a year, not just 6 weeks. Well, maybe....
It got dark, and now I couldn’t see the canoe but I could hear it being noisier than usual. I was so scared that my overpriced new toy was going to go flying off the car. Were the straps tight enough? Did it matter if it started to twist off center? What’s it doing now? I can’t see it. So stop. Leave your lights on, it’s dark out here. Grab your headlamp to see the straps. Push the button to unlock all the doors. Close the driver’s door. Open the back door to step up and check the straps. Locked? Locked! Driver’s door: locked, too! Shit! What have I gotten myself into? I’m standing here in the dark, on the side of Interstate 79S, in only a t-shirt and pants with a headlamp. Everything else is locked in my car. I’m screwed...royally! What do I do now? Only thing I can do, try and get someone to stop and help me. Start waving my arms while standing near rear of car. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7... cars pass. They even move over to outside lane so as to not hit me, I guess. Move to the front of the car so the headlights might make me more visable. Keep waving. 8...9...10...11...12...13... and 19...20...21 Where’s a cop when you need one? What’s behind me? Oh, wonderful! Someone stopped! I’ll be all right now. Gregory, a plumber from West Virginia. Thank you, Trail Angel. Call 911 on his cell. Oh, the police can’t help me. Do you have AAA? (and I thought several times about getting it before I left mostly for the maps....sure could use it now!) No. So how are you going to help me get off the side of your highway? I can’t stay here. Call a tow truck. Where are you? I don’t know. Gregory and I try to remember what signs we might have seen recently. I think we’re 20 miles north of Morgantown WV. Greg thinks he saw a sign for Kirby. It will be 30 minutes. Greg says he’ll wait with me til they arrive. I”m sure glad because his truck is warmer than outside.. He just built a house. I hiked the Appalachian Trail. He loves his grandkids. I don’t have grandkids. And on, and on. Where is that tow truck? We call. They can’t find us. We tell them what we know. They’ll keep driving further up the highway. Finally! And $50 bucks later I’m back on the road.
Just like on the Appalachian Trail (AT), there are good people who help you when you need them. Trail Magic. It’s still happening. The world is a good place. Please believe it.
So on I drove another hour to a rest area to spend the night. It was getting quite late by now. A special friend kept me company on my cell phone while I got to where I was to spend the night and settled in. I felt safe, connected, appreciated, and free.
The lights were sure bright, but post it notes properly placed on the windows blocked the direct lights. Comfy mattress, my own bed pillow, and a sleeping bag. Zzzzzzz. Nightie night.
Oh yeah, as suggested by someone dear to me, I’m now wearing my extra key around my neck. Not going to have that problem again...I’ll have a different one, I’m sure.
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