When I was 20 years old, I went on a road trip to see the Grateful Dead in Las Vegas. I had never been to see the Dead, and wanted to go as a social observer, to have a feel for what the culture was like. I had a great time, and was happy to head home when we left. I was with 3 close friends. The morning we left, we piled into our car, completely exhausted. We hadn’t really slept in days, and the sun rising high in the sky promised this day would be another scorcher. One of us volunteered to drive so the rest of us could sleep. We fell asleep almost instantly as he hit the gas.  The road stretched out before us.

I awoke confused and horrified to the sound of crunching metal. The driver had fallen asleep and hit the “semi” in front of us. We came to a stop, still attached to the truck. We were all okay, but the car was nearly totaled.  Our driver had insurance for every state but Nevada, the one we were in, so the truck driver decided not to hold us accountable. The police gave us a ride to this little hotel in Williams, Arizona, 35 miles from the Grand Canyon. We went to rent a car to drive to Phoenix in order to catch a Greyhound bus back to Austin, Texas, but were told we could not rent the car because we didn’t have enough money on our credit card.
Dejected, we went to eat at a nearby restaurant. The waitress asked us how we were. We told her the story. She gave us the names of two truck stops, and told us who to look for to ask for a ride. She was very kind, and cheered us up immensely. She also bought us our lunches, telling us she understood how sometimes times were hard. We were very low on funds, and her gesture meant a lot to us.
We stopped back by the rental car place to thank the guy who helped us again. He offered to give us a ride himself for free to Phoenix when he went to deliver a car there the following day. We were thrilled, and gratefully accepted.

When we arrived in Phoenix, it was too late for the bus. We got a hotel, and next door a man named Mr. Saturn had set up his world class telescope to offer star sightings free of charge. He traveled around the country with his telescope, and got great joy out of helping people to see the stars, and to understand our world better. It was magical, looking up into the great wide sky.

The next morning, we were running late for the bus, and left in a hurry. My girlfriend left her backpack in the motel without realizing it. We called the taxi service to ask if she had left the bag in the taxi. The driver we had used heard her request on the taxi radio, and without hesitation, went back to the hotel, found her bag, and met us at the Greyhound station just as the bus was about to take off. She was in tears, and we were all blown away by his kindness and quick thinking.

On the bus, we crossed the Texas panhandle to get home. It was the middle of the night, and there were tornadoes touching down all around us. The driver asked us to look for tornadoes and let him know. No one was asleep, even though it was 2 a.m. The bus passengers were primarily African-Americans. An old man began singing a hymn, and the whole bus picked it up, singing softly through the night as we prayed for safe passage with tornadoes visible in the distance. It was one of the most profoundly beautiful moments of my life. We arrived home, safe and sound, with no tornado touching the bus.

At every turn on that trip, we were protected, loved, and guided. I will never forget how magical or alive I felt as each miracle unfolded, and as each stranger became a friend and helper.
Jennifer—San Rafael, California

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