Unexpected Mother's Day Gift

My Mother's Day gifts this year were the typical lovely fare; flowers, cards. books. etc. My Mother's Day experience, however, was something all together unexpected and delivered a dose of extreme gratitude as well as renewed faith in the infinite kindness and concern of my fellow man.

Husband Dan realized we were running short of the infamous cocktail and beer mixer, Clamato juice, and needed to make a quick run to the grocery store before the rest of our Mother's Day guests arrived. Borrowing our son John's Jeep that was sitting in the driveway blocking his way, he took off for the store. On his way back to our home, sitting at a stop light, the preciousness of life and limb took on a whole new meaning.

Speeding up the I94 exit ramp trying to make the light, came a large pickup. Upon executing the left turn, the driver lost control, came up on the median separating the lanes, and crashed into the Jeep sitting at the stop light. The pickup driver then jammed the truck in reverse, and sped off in the direction of another interstate exit ramp, which he took, again at a high rate of speed. Dan says the last thing he remembers was a large pickup grill coming at him. Now comes the best part of the story....wondering how there could be one??

The car in front of Dan immediately called the police after finding that Dan was OK. The car behind him containing a woman and two female teens, asked if he saw a license plate. All Dan could remember was Wyoming. The woman quickly turned around and went after the pickup. The man with the cell phone stayed on the phone with police until they arrived and stuck around to give a detailed statement. The lady in the chase car returned to say she had regretfully lost the pickup, and then departed from the accident scene. Just as the policeman was explaining to Dan that it was very unlikely they would apprehend the suspect, he received a call telling him the pickup had been found in a local hotel parking lot. Amazing : The lady who initially followed the pickup did not give up! She backtracked the route and exited where she thought he may have escaped. SHE WAS THE PERSON WHO TRACKED DOWN THE PICKUP, and then notified the police.

Dan had not taken his cell phone, so he finally called me from the police car to tell me what had happened. I fearfully suspected something had gone wrong, as he had already been gone for 40 minutes for a 15 minute errand. Soon, he limped the broken Jeep home, but thankfully, he was fine.

John's Jeep is 15 years old. He has had it for 8 years and never put a scratch on it. The odometer reads 157,000 miles. Due to its advanced age and mileage, we only carry liability insurance. The hit and run driver may or may not have insurance to cover the Jeep. The slime took off before he even knew if someone was hurt, so I doubt he would be responsible enough to carry insurance. John realizes it may be the RIP moment for his dependable car....and he can't afford another right now.

The silver lining you ask??

• Two citizens went out of their way to be helpful and took time away from their families on Mother's Day to get involved. They went the extra mile, literally, for someone they didn't know and would probably never see again, and for absolutely no personal gain.
• My husband and the father of four was uninjured and made it home in time for Mother's Day dinner.
• My faith in the goodness of others is once again restored...except for that d___pickup driver.

Stay tuned for the "rest of the story".