We Are Not Alone

Broken Top mountain shot last week. Had a very eventful week shooting, including a tire mishaps. My tire shredded on a back gravel road in the middle of the night. To make things worse, my flashlight was dead...so I had to forge around using my cell phone as my only light source. If that wasnt challenging enough, it turns out that my lug wrench did not fit in my lug wells...so there I was. I think I must have said shit at least 6 times in a row before I calmed myself. I knew there was a house I passed a little ways back, so that was my alternative to walking at least 6 miles...to a place that was closed.

I knocked on the door, feeling very vulnerable. I mean whoever lived there could just invite me in and eventually bury my on their property somewhere without breaking too much of a sweat. When you live that far out...people dont ask you too many questions, ya know. A man with shoulder length gray hair answered the door, and I told him my predicament. He said to me that he actually expected my visit...hmmm.... not sounding too good so far. Oddly enough, he did not have a lug wrench to loan me but he shockingly offered up one of his personal vehicles to me, to use as long as I needed. The only catch was that the keys for it was at his shop which was even further into the woods and away from civilization. So I threw caution and rationality to the wind (because I really had no other choice since I had no cell reception), we hopped in his rig and away we went. I was a little at a loss for words, but my new found friend made up for it in folds. He confessed to me that he had done a lot of terrible things to people in his past...and that my tire going flat was his chance to begin his journey of righting his life. Great... I thought to myself that I hoped he had a heaping helping of beginners luck! After I loosened up, we actually hit it off.

He was a very interesting prophetic man with stories that he didn't mind repeating over and over to enforce his points. We got the keys and headed back to his place. along the way, he had to tell me that I might want to be careful driving that truck around town...that the police know it and him and that they have a personal vendetta against him. I didn't ask why or for further details, as it was probably best I didn't know. So I drove off in his truck thinking that it wouldn't be a very fair trade if he decided to take my vehicle while I was gone. I got up early the next morning and stopped everyone I ran across to see if they had a deep socket that would fit my lug nuts. After feeling a little bit like a pan handler, I was loaned one that I knew would work. I changed my tire in record time and placed the keys to my new friend's truck on his bench seat and away I went. Even though I felt guilty...I didnt knock at his door for a couple reasons but mainly, I just didnt have that much time on my hands that morning. A few days later, I called "Bob" and thanked him for his kindness and trust. After realizing that he didnt want to add me to his bone collection, I too shared the feeling that my tire didnt crap out for no reason. Sometimes people are brought together at crossroads for reasons that we may not know at the time. Perhaps the event was a lesson in trust for me...something that I have struggled with in the past and even the present. Perhaps the reason hasnt happened yet, and wont for many years.

If I can pass along anything from my experience, is that we are not alone in this world... even though we are more "connected" than ever before...we need to make better efforts to go outside our comfort zones and interact with other humans on a personal level. Actively look for ways to help people without analyzing too deeply or judging.