Zooming to the Oakland Airport, my boy decided he couldn't return to Seattle without an In & Out burger. There was one right by the Hegenberger turn-off. Considering the time constraints, we decided to take out his meal and find a place to park near the airport so he could eat it. We opted for the Park & Call, and pulled into a handy spot to eat and chat and enjoy the final moments he had in the East Bay before he flew north. I guess we forgot to turn the lights off in the car when we parked it, for when the time came to begin our drive to the terminal the engine did not turn over. The battery had died!
I got out and began to ask everyone in the Park and Ride for jumper cables. No luck. Conner got on his cell to call a taxi when I realized that everyone in the Park and Ride was going to the airport. I flagged down a departing car and, though pressed for time themselves, they ever-so-kindly gave my boy a ride to the Alaskan Airlines terminal. I then called AAA and gave them specific instructions regarding where I was and the make and model of my car. They told me it would be about an hour before a tow truck would show up, so I waited.
As I waited, I remembered something: long ago I had been given a car emergency kit. I'd never used it, but it was in my car somewhere . . .
Somewhere close, it turned out: right under the driver's seat. Now, did it have jumper cables? YES! All I needed now was someone to supply their car engine for the jump start.
Across the lot I saw four college-age kids waiting in their SUV for their airport summons. I scared them to death when I tapped on their window, but they recovered and helped me start my car.
I called AAA to cancel the truck, and they told me that my call had already been cancelled. The tow truck driver had reported that he couldn't find me. AAA was of no help to me. I don't know how long I would have been waiting there if I hadn't remembered the emergency kit and been aided by those wonderful boys.
I wondered two things: Why I didn't remember the emergency kit in the first place, and why AAA, usually so reliable, couldn't find a bright blue car with it's hood up in the tiny Oakland Airport Park and Call lot?
I think the message from the universe was this: Trust in the kindness of strangers, and realize that even though you read about so many bad things happening in the news, those events are really just a blip in the radar. Most people are good and kind and willing to help out if need be, even if it's at a cost to their own plans.
It was a message that I might have missed if I had thought immediately of the emergency kit or if AAA had come to my aid. I'm grateful to the people who helped out, and the circumstances that led to that lesson. I feel so warmed by the kindness I recieved from these strangers, and I will remember this when I lose trust in the benevolence of the universe. All truly is well.
Thank you, one and all!
Love, Kristine
Finding Method in the Madness:
