At Christmas time, the Grasshopper No.1 family gave us AAA auto insurance for roadside protection. We haven't needed towing or roadside assistance in 40 years except once last year when the Saab fuel pump failed near Sheboygan. It was a freak of nature.
Yesterday the special person in my life was "out and about" in the snowstorm. She checked to see if she had everything she needed in her wallet including her AAA card just before leaving. She jumped in the Saab because it has snow tires and away she went.
Late in the afternoon after about 3-4 inches of snow, I got a phone call. "Hello, it is me". Yep, it was her. "I'm in the ditch"! She was just outside the Darboy subdivision of Appleton.
After we established that Mom was okay, we found out she was in the car sitting down in a pretty deep ditch. Snow was up to the running boards and there was wet mud under that.
Thank God she had the cell phone although she said later that people began to slow as they passed and it wasn't much longer that a "first responder" walked down into the ditch by the car. Apparently there is an army of people that work with Fire Stations and EMT's to get to an emergency site as fast as possible to assess the danger. Mom was okay but there was doubt about getting the door open enough to get her out. They did! She did! About that time a County Sheriff pulled up (great thing about phone networks). Soon she was being warmed up in the squad car. In the meantime, Grasshopper No.3 was on scene (and Jim Stiles who had been in the area stopped by). Grasshopper No.3 couldn't do anything because the Sheriff had called Ricks Towing.
Soon Ricks Towing had the car on the road and a quick meeting at the nearby convenience store took place to make payment. Yep, Mom pulled out her AAA insurance card. All the information was taken and everyone was on their way.
So about 1 hour after the ditching took place, the Saab (full of snow and mud) pulled into our garage. I will admit I was never so happy to see your Mom in all my life.
Actually your mom had everything under control. With a cell phone and AAA insurance card, she managed the whole process.
A special thanks to Grasshopper No.3 for trying to help at the scene.
A special thanks to Grasshopper No.3 for the free car wash certificates given at Christmas. I will use one this morning for an under body flush.
A special thanks to Tom (I know he also gave AAA insurance gifts to his kids) and of course thanks to Grasshopper No.1.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that sometimes fate takes a strange turn. AAA was indeed a fortuitous gift.
Love,
Dad