Editor’s Notes: A driving impulse to help
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During last weekend's cold, snowy, icy blast I made an unfortunate miscalculation. I attempted to drive uphill into my driveway ... only to slide backward and sideways in a way that left my front tires in a yucky combination of mud and ice. What an irritating spinning sound my tires made.
So I turned the tires, put on my emergency brake and left my car where it was. After all, I was technically still parked ... mostly on my own driveway. I wasn't obstructing any road. My car was only stuck, not in need of a mechanic's attention. Counting on the temperatures to rise enough the next morning that perhaps I would just be able to back out of my mess, I went inside and carried on with my evening.
Of course, the next morning there was still plenty of ice and snow around my tires, so I left the car where it was another day and contacted a coworker who was kind enough to come pick me up. Even the next morning, though, I had no luck.
And when the tow truck driver approached the bottom of the hill, looking up toward my driveway, he quickly made the wise decision not to risk his truck on a vehicle that was not obstructing a roadway and with an owner who was safe and warm in her own home.
So again I had to rely on the kindness of coworkers to get me to and from work.
The tow truck driver did come back the following morning and it took an embarrassingly short amount of time for him to free my poor vehicle. I felt a little bad for having him go out of his way for what must have seemed such an insignificant predicament. But neither sand nor rubber mats nor three guys trying to rock the car back and forth out of its muddy ruts had done the trick. Thank goodness there are people who do that kind of work in all kinds of weather.
So all was well that ended well. But I discovered something unsettling.
Simply being without my own means of transportation and having to depend on others to get where I needed to be was disorienting and upsetting; unpleasant, even.
I know I can be ... let's call it independent ... but I was surprised by my reaction.
There were plenty of people willing to help -- and I was, truly, stuck without them. Why did it make me feel so guilty to have to ask?
Whatever the reason (I suspect it has something to do with being raised by people who always seemed to be the helpers, rather than the other way around), I am certainly grateful to those who did come to my aid.
And as I think I noted last winter, too, there are a lot of things not to like about this season; but one bright spot is the opportunities it gives us to see how people lend one another a hand during a rough time of year.
I guess there are a couple of lessons I'm supposed to learn here: Ask for help, it's all around me; and maybe don't attempt the approximately 45 degree hill when three inches of snow has fallen on ice.
Here's hoping that, at least on the second one, I don't have any more chances this winter to test what I've learned.
Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com