Slice of Life Tuesday: Startling Start to Summer

Join Two Writing Teachers and share a slice of life. 

Last Friday afternoon, school officially let out for the summer. Before sleepaway camps, summer school, PD, and afternoons of swimming were in full swing, I decided to travel with my two tweens to my parents' house for the weekend. 

The kids, nestled in the way back of the mini van, zoned out watching The Incredibles on the portable DVD player. I was intently listening to Louise Erdrich skillfully weave Evelina's story in The Plague of Doves. 

Aside from normal sibling squabbles and the steady stream of truckers I shared the two lane highway with, the trip was smooth. Until it wasn't. 

I saw her sneak into my peripheral vision first. 

A streak of blurry brown.

Suddenly, my eyes met enormous brown doe eyes.

Thwack! 

Thud. 

Thud. 

The doe flow off our gray hood.

"AHH!!" One of my kids screamed.

"Is everyone okay?" My shaky voice cried out.

"Yeah." My son murmured. 

"What happened?" My daughter inquired. 

"Mom, was that was a deer?!!"

"Yeah. We hit a deer. It's going to be okay."

"It's going to be okay." I repeated, perhaps more for myself than for my children's reassurance.

My son matter-of-factly said, "now this is going to be a mess."  

Aside from a bit of shock, my kids and I were okay. (The deer, not so much.)  

Turning my hazard lights on, I parked the van along the gravel shoulder of the highway. Slowly, I crept out of the van and assessed the situation. Thankfully, I could open the driver's side of the vehicle. Debris from the crash littered the highway, including part of my front bumper. The left front headlight was missing, but I didn't see any fluids leaking or smoke escaping from the engine.  

Part of the deer damage.

Pieces of broken plastic I pulled behind the grill of our van.

Before I could even dial 911, a red truck pulled alongside us. Sporting a full beard, donning a ribbed white tank top, arms speckled with tattoos, a tall lanky man climbed out of the truck's cab. 

"Is everyone okay?" 

I nodded. 

I glanced at his Chevy adorned with bumper stickers bearing slogans like Make America Great Again and I Stand with Scott Walker and Huck Fillary! A Playboy bunny silhouette swung from his dash. My body was full of tension. I was leery. Uneasy. He would have been someone that I probably would have avoided in the grocery store, the last person I would have asked for help from. However, I was by myself with my kids. We had not reached the interstate yet, so we were literally in the middle of rural Central Wisconsin. By my estimation, the nearest gas station or city was at least seven miles away. And my parents' house was still at least an hour away. 

To my surprise, this man spoke with me in the most calm, peaceful way. He helped me report my accident to the State Patrol. He helped me pick debris from the accident off of the highway. It was a Friday night, but he stayed with us until he knew the State Patrol Officer was on his way and only after I repeatedly assured him that I would be okay if he left. He must have gently asked me three times if there was anything that he could do to help or get for us. 

Although I thanked him, I don't think that I even asked his name. 

After we are safely off the highway, my kids examine the damage. 

Now, several days later, back home and able to consider the long and short view, I am reminded that sometimes the good in people is revealed in unexpected places. 

As a teacher, I would like to think that I am open-minded and receptive to all kinds of people, but I cannot dismiss that I was initially wary of this man -  mostly because of my personal bias. It made me consider this question, how many times has my personal bias prevented me from talking to someone just because that person isn't like me or holds the same beliefs? Especially recently.

I am full of gratitude that this man, who probably holds dramatically different values and political beliefs than mine, yet he still stopped to help me and my kids. Would I have done the same? 

And so, it has definitely been a startling start to our summer.