Highway Angels

Credit: Google images

No one needs to be introduced to the idea of river angels.  They are indeed a band of angels that line major shorelines and rivers to help paddlers with a wonderful home-cooked meal, a camping spot, a trip to the grocery, laundry, and even first-aid or medical assistance, all to help them continue on their way.  We had a chance recently to encounter a couple of highway angels.

We were headed for Medicine Park, OK, and Lake Lawtonka with our RV.  Driving south on Hwy. 54, south of Weatherford, OK, I suddenly heard a noise and felt a rumbling vibration.  I hit the brakes quickly to reduce speed, and Jean asked what was wrong.  “Blow out,” I said.  Like most rural roads in Oklahoma, there were no shoulders, and there were steep banks falling from either side of the pavement.  I was screwed, and had traffic behind me.  I turned the hazard lights on and crept along looking for a place large enough to escape with the trailer.

Finally I saw a farm drive ahead, and turned in.  I pulled off to the side of the driveway so I wouldn’t block anyone needing to get in or out, and walked toward the house to assure the owner that I’d be there only long enough to deal with my problem.  As I got near the house, I saw a man working on his fence line.  He was Ken Rose.  He not only had no problem with us being there in his drive, but asked if I had a good jack.  We have one, but not one I’d call ‘good.’  We had used it previously, and it fell a bit short of what I had hoped for.  Ken suggested I pull on up to the garage and use his 3-ton floor jack.  It made the job of changing the RV tire not only safer, but a breeze.  Ken’s wife, Susan, meanwhile had come out to invite Jean inside, or asked if we needed anything, like a drink or restroom.

I checked the spare tire air pressure as I put it on, and it was a bit low, so I asked Ken if there was a place where I could stop to get air as we continued south.  He said, “Sure, just follow me,” and led me around to his compressor.  Like most farmers way out in the country, he was set up to deal with almost any problem with tractors or trucks, and he turned it all right over to help us out.  They were angels indeed, because we would have been in a poor fix without their help.  It’s a shame they are so far away from us, because they are the type of folks that would be wonderful to become friends with.  Thanks to their help, we continued on to Medicine Park to enjoy several nice days.  It is heavenly to find we in fact have angels around us.  We’ve since purchased five new Goodyear tires and a two-ton floor jack.  More on the tires later.