Unexpected Blessings

You never can tell what's going to happen on a Friday.  Pia, a very close friend,  and I had driven to the other side of the Big Island to run errands and relax. We've both had a distressful week and felt we needed to let go and have fun. We were looking forward to having a nice dinner and dancing after.

Pia is a high-functioning business woman with  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  She chatted  incessantly and with no mercy during the 2-hour drive to our destination .  I was very patient and thought myself fortunate that we were not in my house. She often stops  for a visit, usually at about 11 PM and stays till 3 AM talking her head off while I work on my blog or while I do my best to keep my face from falling  on the keyboard.

It doesn't matter whether or not I'm able to listen.

My hard-fought interruptions to ask her if she had taken her medication for the day never faze her either.

After our errands were done, we were driving to get dinner when we saw smoke billowing out the vehicle's front.  We parked as quickly as we could along the side of the 6-lane highway and lifted the car's hood to cool the overheated engine.

Except for the lights of cars that whisked by we were in the dark, literally and figuratively speaking.  Many only passed us by oblivious to or ignoring our obvious need for help. Eventually, a  police car did pull up behind us but strangely, without anyone even getting out, the police car went back on the highway and simply drove on.

Just  as I was to give up my faith on humanity, an SUV with two middle-aged  men pulled up, checked under the hood, and determined that a leak  was depriving the poor radiator of water. The good Samaritans warned us not to drive the troubled car and helped us limp it to the nearest gas station.

In the meantime, I had joined Pia's chatter and worried aloud about spending the night in her car. The prospect of an entire evening in the car with Pia, who talks even while she sleeps, did not really excite me.

Finally, Pia remembered that she had just received  the policy for the towing service she signed up with some weeks ago and searched for it so she can call.   We both let out a sigh of relief after a long wait on the phone to  find out if the service will agree to tow the car and take us  along the 130 mile-drive through Saddle Road (a highway that straddles 2 mountains and is often foggy) all the way to the farthest corner of the island's other side.

The tow truck came with a jolly and kind driver who liked listening to rock music and  entertained us with accounts of seeing shooting stars while going through Saddle Road at night.  He didn't mind being accompanied on the long drive by two strange women -- one continuously chattering while the other dancing like an idiot under her seatbelt. I did say sorry for saddling him with two loonies.

"Oh please don't apologize. I've never had anyone dancing in my truck until now. This is quite an experience," he assured me with a laugh.

I danced in the cab of the truck relieved at the assurance that Pia and I were safe and would be sleeping on our own beds. I was joyful going between the mountains with music, laughter, and the comforting warmth of friendship.

Just as the truck  went past the mountains,  we saw right before our eyes a shower of meteors.  Pia was dumbstruck.  The driver pulled over and turned off the music. In the quiet and magic of the night, I  thought my heart would burst in gratitude.

 
Blessings come in many forms. Yep. Even in times of adversity and disappointment.

Photo by Ken Brandon, National Geographic

  

The following links to a song I heard during my Friday adventure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQJhQOXGjLA 

- Ariel Murphy