As I was passin' through Deer Island, I noticed there was trouble up ahead alongside the road. An SUV with it's emergencies flashing away looked stalled and stuck. The driver appeared frustrated and helpless, her arms flailin' away upwards to a brite blue sky. Since the hood was up, I decided to pull over to see if I could offer any help. With my haul being pretty heavy and extended, I managed to finally get stopped a few hundred yards past and as I eased outta my cab to make a long walk towards the scene, I noticed a white Camaro suddenly pull in front of the disabled-SUV and another samaritan instictively hop out to investigate as well. Squinting, I could make out an orangish racing-stripe down the center of the Camaro dancing in a mirage of heat-vapors. It was then I noticed that it was indeed an unseasonably hot autumn day as I continued the long walk, glancin' to check my watch to see if I really had any spare-time due to my tight run-schedule. As I approached shouting-distance, I noticed that the samaritan was a sturdy, balding man who seemed focussed and very intent on what he was doing. "Sometimes you have to just keep at it, ya know?" I heard him advise the discouraged driver. "There...try it again," the man said, grimacing as he continued holdin' something inside the hood. "Nothin," was the reply from the SUV. "Hey, can I help?" I wondered, greeting the samaritan. "Uhm," he replied while intently peering into the problem at hand, "I'm not...quite sure...yet," he said slowly, and turning to smile at me between attempts at tackling the engine-problem before him. I gave my own cursory look inside the hood, as if I could somehow quickly figure out what was wrong and help. The man was unfazed, "Sometimes it can be a little thing here, or a little bit of tinkerin' there...Try it now," he shouted around the hood. "Nothin," again was the reply. The man was getting oily and dirty before my eyes. Small beads of sweat appeared on his bald head. I made a comment about an old alternator problem I had with my car a while back, but was interupted by another of his requests to "try it again," followed by a sudden roar of the engine in question. "Whaah-hoo!" was the verdict from inside the SUV. "Thank you! Thank you," she said emphatically while scrambling out to give the stranger a well-deserved and appreciative bear-hug. "You were so kind to stop what you were doing and help me!" In return she received a, "It was nothin', really, and be sure to take your car to a real-mechanic, ok?" And with that, the lady climbed into her car and spit a little gravel as she motored back onto Highway 30. As the man fished a rag out of his trunk to wipe down his blackened arms, I marveled at his mechanical skill. "Nah," he replied, "I'm not a mechanic, I just like helpin' out when I can." He sure could have fooled me I told him, and he smiled at me while pattin' me on the back. "Be safe on the road," was his parting advice. Making the walk back to my rig, I wondered if the volcano would blow again. The white camaro sped past with a friendly and oily arm wavin' towards me. Y'all got some real nice people keepin' an eye on things in this nice little town y'all got.
Tom
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