Isaiah provided the February prompt for our memoir writing group:
"A hero story. Write about a time when you were in trouble and you didn't know what to do and a person or object came at just the right time to help/save you."
I spent a bit of time thinking about this prompt before remembering a perfect hero story from my life to share.
My older sister, Kay, moved from Riverside, CA (where she had lived for 40+ years in one house) to Bryan, TX in the spring of 2019. I told her that I could either help her with the packing up or be in Texas to help with the unpacking. She chose Texas. And so, off I flew to be a pair of essential sister hands. My sister’s husband was in a wheel chair and couldn’t help at all. I hadn’t seen my sister in some time, so I was unaware of how hard it was for her to get around and how much care her husband required.
Our days were overfull and I found myself being a tough taskmaster because I wanted to help her be as settled as possible before my return to Seattle. We decided to put unpacked boxes that weren't essential in the spare bedroom. We went to Target for all the needs that pop up when you make a move. Kay leaned on a cart to help her walk into the store and then transferred to a motorized cart.
At the end of our expedition, we headed
to the parking lot. I opened the car door for Kay and popped open the trunk to
stash our purchases. In just the moment that it took for me to do that, I heard Kay cry
out, “Oh no, I fell.” She was trying to get from the motorized cart to the car door and slipped, landing flat on her bottom on the pavement.
I looked around and asked another customer in the parking lot to notify an employee in Target that we needed help. There was no way that I could lift Kay from her seated position on the concrete. I hoped that she wasn’t hurt. But I could quickly envision that the only way out would be to call an ambulance and let them help us transport her from the ground onto a gurney and to a local hospital. My mind wondered if her insurance would cover such an expenditure.
And that’s when our angel arrived. A man in the parking lot walked over from his truck and asked if he could help. I assured him that we were waiting for help from a Target employee when he said that he could pick her up. I quickly asked him to wait for help from the store, but before I knew what was happening, he put both arms under her arms, squatted and lifted my ample sister from the ground. He stood with her to be sure she regained her balance, helped her into the car and was gone. I have no doubt that he was sent to be there at that particular time to come to our aid. We’ll be forever grateful for his assistance. Sometimes, angels arrive with a fluttering of wings and angelic robes, but our angel arrived in blue jeans and drove a black truck.
This is what I love about the man in the story...he just did what needed to be done. He knew he could help and so he did. I want to be more like that. Sometimes I worry about overstepping or I get embarrassed by helping; but his unassuming manner and the way he took care of the situation is a beautiful. I want to be like that.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you wrote this.
xo,
ruth
The right help at the right time - an angel in blue jeans driving a black truck! Beautifully captured, Ramona. So thankful that your sister was okay. What a great hero story - to me, you're all three heroes!
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