Black Angels

Yesterday I went to town to get groceries and run errands.  By the time we were finished, it was 6:00 pm, and so I ordered pizzas.  The girl said they'd be ready for pickup in 20 minutes, so I figured I'd fill the van's tank w/ gas and then we'd head over to the pizza place to pick up our order.   After putting the gas in, I hopped back into the van and turned the key.  CLICK.  Not even a buzz or a slight hum....just "click".  OKAY!!!  Thankfully we were in a large gas station, VERY well-lit, busy place, and we didn't feel unsafe at all.  We did feel a bit helpless though.  I said to the kids, "Well, the Lord's going to have to help us out here!"  and then I prayed a short prayer w/ the girls...something like, "Lord, please send someone to help us here...we're going to need it."  Then I proceeded to attempt opening the hood.  Just so happens that the hood mechanism on this particular van has to be WD-40'd every 3 months or so.....or it sticks.  We must have exceeded our 3 month limit, because as much as I tugged on the lever inside the van that's supposed to pop the hood open, NOTHING happened.  Besides that, I couldn't even get my fingers under the edge of the hood to jiggle it!  So, I summoned the help of my 9 and 12-yr-olds who have slightly smaller fingers.  Maybe they could get their fingers in there.  Nope!  By this time, the girls were talking among themselves about the various people around us....guessing WHO might be the one to help.  Turns out, a black man and his son were 2 pumps over.  (Note: there are not very many black folks in Cullman.) They were nicely-dressed and well-groomed and drove a decent car.  So, when the man nodded to his teenage son to see if we needed help, I wasn't worried.  The son (probably about 16-yrs old or so) came over and asked very politely if we were having trouble.  I told him the battery had died, and wondered if they might possibly have any jumper cables.  He said they didn't, but they would help us out.  So, he headed one direction and I headed the other to ask other customers if any of them had any cables...and then and there I decided that next time I go to WalMart I'm buying jumper cables to keep in the van.  Every person I asked said, "No, I'm sorry - they're at home!"

As I went back to the van, the dad had located some cables from the people in the van on the other side of his pump....so he brought his snazzy little sportscar around to face our van.....and then HE began the fun process of trying to open the hood.  Turns out that it helps to bounce on it a little.....(make mental note to self for future reference!)  Took quite a while to get the battery charged, during which time I was digging out cash to serve as a small thank you to these men.  After the van started, we tried to give the dad the money, but he wouldn't take it....saying, "I have kids too...and I see you have a bunch of little girls...just keep it."  So, I asked him to write down his address for me, so that we could send him a personal "thank you".  He did so, and we will be sending him and his family a box of Sweet Shoppe chocolates tomorrow!  

We ate our pizza on the way home, and amazingly there was enough left for Johnny when we got there!!!   He's getting a new van battery too.  :)