You will find short stories on this site. Most are autobiographical. Some are fiction.

ROAD SAINT

Perhaps it was in a dream that I had the vision of an ideal human as being one who lives by a lonely stretch of road and who welcomes and helps troubled travelers. That dream came true yesterday when I met one. His name is Nate.

My sweetheart, Carole, had been staying with me over the previous week. We were testing the prospect of living together. It was very enjoyable to have her with me, however I did wind up being a bit sleep deprived. I had driven her to the train Station in Longview for her 1:30 PM train to Tacoma.

While driving back to Astoria, I became drowsy and decided to pull off the road and take a nap. I drove a short distance up a logging road. I turned off the ignition, set the brake, and leaned the seat back. The sun was overhead, the car was warm. I fell deeply asleep unaware of time or place. A nap, which I thought would last 20 minutes, continued until the sun had passed beyond the trees. The car was cool. It was 4:00 PM when I woke up. I had slept more than two hours.

As I opened the door to get out of the car and take a leak, an alarm sounded warning me that the lights were on. I turned them off. I thought about the possibilities. Surely the battery would hold enough charge to leave the lights on for two hours and still have the power necessary to start the engine. I got back into the car and turned the key. “Click”. Somewhere I had heard that if you wait, the battery can recover enough charge to start the car. I waited. Ten minutes later I tried again. Another “Click”.

“OK” I thought. “No problem, I will simply use my cell phone and call Triple-A. I found the AAA number and pushed the call button. The obstreperous phone responded “No service”.

My only other option was to hitchhike back to Naselle, the town I had passed about five miles back. The car windows were open. They are electric and could not be closed. With the windows open there was sense locking the door, even if I could, the locks were also electric. It occurred to me that I was blocking a logging road. I imagined how furious loggers would be, finding my car obstructing access to their forest. They could not push the car down the road to a wide spot, because the transmission was also locked. I imagined these big men lining up on one side of my car and rolling it over, off the road. I would return to find my car, in the roadside ditch, wheels facing the darkening sky, like a dead cow.

I walked out to the highway. Fortunately it was still warm and dry. There was not much traffic. After standing for a while watching cars and trucks zip passed, I started to walk. “Five miles”, I thought, “I can walk that far before dark. If I am lucky my cell phone will find a signal before I have walked all the way to Naselle. As I walked, I listened for cars approaching from behind. Hearing one, I would turn. Put on my a pleasant smile and hold out my thumb. They would pass pretending not to have seen me. The only gesture of my existence was evidenced by those few cars which crossed the median line to keep a safe distance from me as they zoomed past on the wrong side of the highway, preferring to risk a head on collision to being too close to an old man walking along the road.

I continued to walk. Over a mile down the road and around a curve, I saw a mailbox ahead. Then I heard a dog barking. I approached the driveway. Looking through the trees, I could see a log truck and a pickup, a new-looking shed, and a tidy house. I walked up the gravel driveway hoping someone would be home and that I could use their phone.

As I approached the steps to the house, a man opened the door and said “Are you looking for someone?” “No“ I replied “But may I use your phone?” “Sure,” He said as he held the door open. As I walked up the steps, I explained my predicament. Without hesitation, he asked, “Can I give you a jump?” I stopped. Such goodwill, and such good luck. This was a possibility that was so wonderful it had not even occurred to me. “Certainly!” I my replied. “That would be great!”

We walked to his pickup. He apologized as he arranged things in the cab so I would have a place to sit. I got in, and we were off. He was ready for such a mission with jumper cables behind his seat. When we arrived at my car, which was still on its wheels, he set the cable connections and I started the motor. As it was idling, I got out of the car to thank him. I offered him a twenty-dollar bill. He declined saying “Providing help during the day is a pleasure, it is when folks show up at 2:00 AM and bang on the door, that I am not so willing to help.“ With that, he waved his hand, climbed into his truck and drove away.

Before getting back into my car to continue my drive home, I paused for a minute realizing that I had met one, a real living road saint. A man who lives by a lonely stretch of highway and is pleased to be of help to travelers in need. His name is Nate.