I must tell a story about a long ago past experience that may have a life lesson for someone. This happened way back before cell phones existed (at least for the general population) so I am dating myself. For those of you who can’t imagine what that was like. If you got in trouble on the side of the road or anywhere, you had to find a pay phone or flag someone down to assist you. It makes me grateful for technology we have now.

Right now I don’t recall why I had been to be traveling on Highway 1 North going home, but I was. Suffice it to say to my audience who are not familiar with Hwy 1 North in North Carolina was not very busy at night. I was driving a 1968 or thereabouts model Volkswagen bug. They are cool cars and still today, collectors find them fun to drive.

However, I was not crazy about it as a young person who had started selling recently and had to deal with a stick shift. For those of you unfamiliar with stick shifts, it was a challenge to drive. So I was driving back after dark on this old highway and to this day I don’t know how I did not flip that old VW bug when I hit a chock that had been left in the road by some truck driver. VW bugs are not known to be that stable but by some freak accident, I hit that thing with both tires on the right side of the bug.

Let me reiterate, I do not know how I didn’t flip that car over and go plunging into the ditch beside the road. But it popped both right tires on the car. Yeah, I freaked out! It was dark, no one around and I and I only had one spare.

At last a nice truck driver stopped to help. To the best of my recollection, a tow truck had to have been called and maybe my husband. Some details are unclear but I lived to tell the story because I am here now telling you about it. My husband at that time, who was my high school sweetheart could not believe I didn’t flip the car. Neither could his father who was a VW mechanic. It was very bizarre with both tires hit on the same side of the VW, that I was able to stay on the road.

I truly believe in angels and must have crushed a couple of them that night when I was able to stop that crazy car safely. Why do I tell you this insane story? Because it happened and it was a miracle. Life can throw us, not just curve balls, but wild circumstances to face and deal with. This one still eludes me as to how I got through it. Let this be known, I keep an eye on the side of the road these days much better than back then. I was a lot younger of course but I did learn to be aware from that instance.

Steady as she goes is the best phrase I could come up with because by some miracle, I was steady. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was visibly shaking. Keep it in the road folks and stay alert in your life. Thanks for reading.