Walking as Neighbors

Years ago, before the cell phone became a family necessity, I was flagged down by a man standing at a small “Roadside Rest” entrance. I turned in and found this little family, parents and two small children in big trouble.

I could see they all were sad, and the children had been crying. The 'after-sob' was still shaking the little girl.

They had parked on a wet grassy slope and their pickup camper had slipped sideways down the slope about a foot and had become wedged tightly under the big branch of an oak tree. They could not drive forward or backward with out tearing the camper apart.

After we had rescued the camper, they were ready to continue their journey. We visited a few minutes as they loaded up to go home. The children walked over to me. The little girl was about five years old and her brother maybe three. The girl had a stern look on her face as she said in a strong voice, “Who are you?"

I was surprised at her firm serious manner. It caught me a little off balance. I did pick up the fact that this was serious business to her! I smiled and told her I was just a neighbor, and lived only a short distance down the road.

I knelt down so we could talk face-to-face. When we were through talking, her little arm shot out to shake hands with me. A big smile was on both the children’s faces and she said with tears in her eyes, “Thank you, neighbor.”

The little family, singing a children’s song, was on their way, waving wildly back at me. And I was the one with the tears. I was so thankful for them.