A Night on I-95
The phone rang at 11 p.m.I always hate late-night calls. Especially when the voice on the other end says, “Mrs. Douglass? This is Officer Brown.”Oh no.“I have your son here on I-95. He wants to talk to you.”It was nothing serious. Sigh of relief. Josh’s truck had quit running as he and his friend Dustin were on their way to visit Josh’s grandparents. They had been sitting on the side of the highway—at mile marker 237-- for two hours before Officer Brown came to their rescue.I called AAA and headed out for the hour drive to meet the tow-truck. Usually you wait a long time, but this time the tow truck was fast and about to leave when I arrived. I sent him back to Orlando to deliver Josh's green Ranger to our mechanic.And Josh and friend and I headed home. They begged me to take them on to Mimi and Papa’s, but I said no.Five miles farther north and I could turn around and head home. We were making good time going south on I-95 till mile marker 232. Then a tire on a semi right in front of us peeled off and slammed under my car. I lost power immediately and coasted to the side of the road.So I sheepishly called AAA again. “Guess what? I need another tow truck.”“Sorry, Mrs. Douglass. You are in the middle of nowhere and the only truck just headed to Orlando towing your other vehicle. It will be two hours before we get a truck to you.”He was right on. For two hours we waited—from 12:30-2:30. The night was hot and sticky. With no power we couldn’t run the ac. We were parked next to a swamp, and the mosquitos were merciless. And I had failed to bring food or drinks—the boys had had nothing since 8 p.m.Josh was miserable. Even distraught.I just kept laughing, which made him angry. I kept thanking God, and he was incredulous.“Why not laugh?” I said. “Complaining will not change our circumstances, but laughing and thanking change my attitude. And it will make a great story.”Finally the tow truck arrived. “Sorry lady. Our insurance doesn’t allow me to carry 3 passengers. Can someone stay here?”Hmm, would that be one or two 16-year-old boys, or one mom? On the side of the road, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere? No.So he drove us to the next exit and left us at a closed service station. Again I laughed, and said, "Thank You, Lord."I called a friend who drove the hour to pick us up. A quick stop at a rest area with vending machines and restrooms, and we headed home.At 5 a.m. we all went to bed.And to this day we talk about the night we spent on I-95. Josh began to understand that laughing and saying “Thank You, Lord” made a bad situation not so bad.And it has been a great story!What about you? When have laughter and gratitude made bad not so bad?C2012 Judy Douglass