I put on my BOGS knowing the trail would be muddy, and set out with Bella for the Fox Hill trail.
The entrance to the parking lot was so muddy I got stuck. So I locked the car, put Bella on her leash, and ventured forth to find someone at home who would let me use their phone to call AAA. Across the street was a trailer with two trucks in front of it. I went around them and saw a young man on the porch. I told him I was looking for help, my car was stuck in the mud. He said he’d be glad to help me, and invited me into the trailer while he washed the grease off his hands. He apologized for the mess (but it was the mess of construction, not of laziness or depression) and explained that he had just bought the trailer and was fixing it up. While he was washing his hands he told me he was medically retired, that a boiler had fallen on him, broke a number of vertebrae and blew out the discs. He managed to heave it off him (“I was bigger then, I could bench press 300 pounds”) and crawl to a phone (of course his legs were paralyzed). They said he wouldn’t be able to walk, but here he is. I congratulated him on his courage and persistence. He poo-poohed “courage”. He pointed out that he had re-done the floor with beautiful reddish wood. He also had to show me the bathroom which he’s completely re-done and was clearly proud of. Of course I exclaimed. He said his son had helped him with some of the work, and that his mom & stepfather lived 2 trailers away. He moved here so he could help out as they got older. He had shortish red hair with lots of body, was wearing a cross dangling from his left ear, and had a cross around his neck of semi-precious stones. He said “God’s been good to us.” Then he went to get the tow rope and it took him a while. He really moved very slowly. He said it was the medication. Finally he found the tow rope, backed his truck up close to my car and attached it. Told me to drive in reverse and we went out very sweetly. I honked twice and we both stopped. I was able to back the rest of the way on my own, and parked on the side of the road. I thanked him & started getting ready to take Bella for a walk. He came running back — “I want to give you something” — and handed me a metal oval with a cross cut into it. I said “Thank you! You were my angel today.” He said “Yes, there are angels all around.”