Kindness

Ark: one Act of Random Kindness.

We just finished watching the movie "Evan Almighty" and I was inspired to tell about our random act of kindness today.

Around five o'clock, Dan and I headed out to the grocery store. It had started to rain and the weather predictions were for the near freezing temperatures to rise as the day went on. There were some slippery spots in the yard but the sand truck had been by and the road seemed fine so we decided to go. We were heading to Granby so went straight down the hill. Although there were a few slick spots the road was well sanded so it still seemed okay to make our voyage. When we got down on the flat, untreated, road we soon found out there were more than a few slick spots.

As we came around a slight corner before a sharper blind corner we both saw something in the road. Although the road was icy, Dan was able to stop the truck a safe distance away. What was in the road was a truck pulling a small trailer with a jet ski on it. The truck was in the oncoming lane and when he hit the ice he jack knifed the jet ski trailer across the road. So now this guy's truck and trailer are across the road and any oncoming traffic would have to come around a blind corner before they could see what was in the road. And not just in the road, in an icy road. As we sat there for a few seconds trying to decided what to do, a truck did come around the blind corner on the other side of incident.

Now mind you not only are the truck and trailer across the road but the two occupants of the truck are out of the vehicle standing on either side of the trailer. I knew the second truck was not going to be able to stop but thankfully the driver did the best thing he could. He managed to steer his truck into the guardrail and completely avoided the truck and trailer in the middle of the road. A third truck came around the blind corner too and that truck went into the embankment on the other side of the road.

At this point, Dan manged to turn his truck around and we went back up the road to a straight stretch where he could pull off the road and signal people to slow down. As we got off the road a truck rather hurriedly pulled out to pass us. It was the truck with the jet ski on the trailer. He blew past us and went on down the road. A few minutes later a truck pulled off the road behind us. It was the guy that hit the guardrail. The truck that had caused the whole problem, although the roads were icy, just took off from the scene. Since Dan and I had seen the whole thing, we offered to stay with the guy and his damaged truck until the police could arrive.

It took the police 30-45 minutes to arrive because there were multiple other accidents that had happened in both directions from where we were. We gave our names and offered to give statements but the police said it wouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately, although I could give many details about the truck and trailer, the one thing I didn't notice was the license plate. With the road conditions it technically wasn't the truck/trailer guy's fault, but if you caused an accident no matter the circumstances wouldn't you stay? Unless of course you had reason to avoid the police.

Anyway, to make a long story longer, it may or may not make any difference for the guy with the damage to his truck that we stayed but at least we could offer support. He was upset about his truck but was more shaken by what the three of us knew was the truth. If he hadn't steered into the guardrail he would have most likely seriously injured, if not killed, the guys in the road.

So that was our one random act of kindness for the day. I have another story for another day about an act of kindness this week that wasn't so random. Stayed tuned!