Angels and Truckers

The night was blacker than the devil's heart and twice as cold. Massive clouds blocked out the stars and cast an opaque shroud over the half moon. He was doing something he shouldn't be doing in a place where he shouldn't be doing it in. He was brutally alone and scared. Not scared to death really, but scared and worried enough to be praying out loud continuously. Talking to himself too which, of course, was nothing new. With the level of alone time he endured, talking to yourself was just a fact of life. He was a long haul flatbed trucker and had picked up a load of steel the day before in California. He was scheduled to deliver the load in Chicago day after next and was doing fine up until the snow storm hit the Rocky Mountains and closed Interstate 70 in front of him. He was planning on heading home to Arizona for Christmas after unloading in Chicago but Mother Nature had other plans it seemed. Earlier in the evening he consulted his trusty road atlas and it showed a southern route that he could take to detour the often closed interstate into Denver. He'd never been on that highway before, but it was labeled as a truck route and was also a US highway so he figured it would be good to go. It was good to go for the first 104 miles. Then the snow started getting heavier and the scenery began to change drastically. Had it been daylight he would have seen the mountain range rising like an angry beast in front of him. Knowing him, he would have pulled off the highway and evaluated the situation. That was then and this is now. Funny how things change after dark!

Its past ten p.m and the last town he rolled through before starting the climb was totally dark with all the sidewalks rolled up. He hadn't seen another living soul for over an hour now. No cars or trucks. Nothing. Just himself, his truck and an open line to God. He was locked in now. No place to turn around. No where to stop. If he stopped on the mountain road now he might never get 'er going again. He wasn't interested in jack-knifing the heavy truck nor did the idea of sliding off the mountain appeal to him. So for him there was only one option really: just keep chugging and winding the big rig up that monster mountain and pray that it all worked out for him.

She was just showing up for roll call when the big sergeant handed her the emergency orders. As she quickly scanned the mission notes, the sergeant looked down at the petite female and made a "suggestion": "Grab your gear, troop and get moving! This ain't no church social potluck supper red hat thang! Now GO!!!" She was moving through the squad room door and throwing her equipment vest on before he could finish hollering about hats or whatever it was that he was bellowing at her. She was strapped up, locked and loaded, and had her game face on before she even reached the sign warning her and her fellow troops of the launch area. The sign was white with black letters and simply read "LAUNCH AREA Go with God ". She loved that sign! Checking that she was clear of any others, she said her preflight prayer and then did what the sign said.

The truck groaned like an old Russian weightlifter up the grade. Loaded down with 48,876 pounds of steel beams, the big Kenworth was working hard. He had the wipers on battling the snow, the defroster on full blast so he could see what little there was to see, and the windows rolled a quarter ways down so he'd stay cool. His eyes constantly scanned the road and his engine gauges. With the windows down he could hear the big CAT motor rocking & rolling and the trailer squeaking & tweaking under the heavy load. The high beams revealed big fat wet snow flakes bombarding him while the eighteen tires made scrunching sounds through the virgin snow. The truck had thirteen forward speeds but right now he was only in third. 7 miles per hour is what the speedometer told him. Twisting and turning, going up and up and up. No guardrails to be had anywhere. Mountain to his right. Black abyss to his left. All he could do was keep going. Oh, and keep talking our Lord's ear off.

She made excellent time getting to the area of operations. Which wasn't a big deal really, because after all, she was better equipped than anyone on Earth. Her experience was vast and her service record was flawless. Her superiors were always pleased with her work but she never let their praise go to her head. She earned her wings the hard way and she truly loved what she did. Her name was Susannah and she was a guardian angel. A first class card carrying member of the 1st Angel Legion, Guardian Battalion. She had friends in the other battalions (Transition, Enforcement & Vengeance) and they loved their work as well, but she was very happy doing what she was doing.

As she vectored in to the mountain pass she assessed the situation and considered all the options. This was gonna be a little hairy but very doable. She'd been assigned to the big fella for quite some time now and there were times when he could definitely present a challenge or two. Hovering over the lumbering rig and its tenacious driver she could see that he was almost to the summit of the big mountain. Experience had taught her that it wasn't always getting up the mountain that was troublesome; usually it was the coming back down the other side that was the major challenge. Landing softly on the backend of the flatbed trailer, she sat down and let her legs dangle off the end. Snow swirled in tiny tornados under her feet as she rechecked her gear and prepared to engage the mountain.

As the snow covered road briefly leveled off, he saw the sign officially announcing his arrival at the top: Red Mountain Pass. Elevation: 11,075 feet. The next sign offered even happier news: 10% grade Next 12 Miles Trucks Use Lower Gears. He chuckled softly at his predicament, shook his head and shifted into 2nd gear. The speedometer said 3 mph and he knew this would be the hard part of tonight's adventure. Too fast and he risked breaking traction and sliding off the mountain; too slow and the heavy loaded trailer would push him off the mountain. Years ago in a cold, remote, storm wind-whipped lake swimming with a near drowned man in tow; he raised his eyes to the heavens and made a short prayer request. It was immediately answered! This night he uttered those same words..."Lord, I sure could use some help down here."

Her mission orders were simple: Get this man safely down this mountain and to his family ASAP. Jumping off the rear of the trailer and trotting with it on the driver's side, she was in full "get 'er done ASAP" mode. He was doing a good job of keeping the tractor going in the right direction while maintaining the safe descent speed needed. She acted as an extra set of "training wheels" and with a nudge here and a grab & drag there, she kept the trailer from misbehaving. If anyone was following them this night, they would have only noticed the occasional zigzag of the tire tracks in the snow and most wouldn't have noticed that.

The last sign he passed read: 8% Grade Next 2 Miles. Almost there, he reckons. Can't let his guard down though. Still no guardrails and plenty of snow-covered road lay in front of him. The truck has obeyed perfectly thus far. A few times he felt the trailer "wiggle" and attributed that to ruts and "what-have-you" that he couldn't see under the snow trail he was on. He could "feel" that he was almost done with this adventure. Good thing too, because he's exhausted. His body aches from the tension and his head is pounding from the mental stress. If he gets outta this mess, he's gonna find a safe place to park and hibernate...

Done! She smiles while still hanging on to the rub rail of the trailer. She ski's a little farther and then hops back up on the tail end of the trailer. She feels the rig accelerate and can hear the big fella going through those gears like he's got somewhere he wants to be! Bowing her head, she closes her eyes and sends her after action report to her grumpy, old sergeant who's always rambling on about red hats and such. Shaking her head and grinning, she reflects on this year's guardian activity imposed by her fellow angels and herself: they were there when you woke up and they put you to bed every night. They all watched over you when you got in your car and commuted, ran errands, went on vacation, and just plain ran around like a crazy chicken. They were there watching over your loved ones. Grandkids going to school, playing sports, studying, growing up too fast, saying & doing funny things. Nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, sons, daughters, parents, and friends-they watched us all. They laughed with us and they cried with us. They rejoiced in our accomplishments and they felt our pain. That's right; your guardian angel has been very busy this year....... She's still grinning when she launches off the trailer and heads back to base. Glancing over her shoulder, she see's him rolling into the retail store parking lot where he will sleep like a log tonight. "Goodnight big'un, see ya next time" she whispers. She knows there will definitely be a next time!

He's got his orange & white Tennessee flannel pj's on and is getting situated under his cozy homemade quilt that his momma made him. Just settling and wiggling in kinda like an old beagle dog he used to have would have done. He lays in the warm sleeper listening to the big diesel softly rumble as it lulls him toward hibernation. Thoughts of his 128 mile, 7 1/2 hour joyride this evening are slowly being filed in his "been there-done that" bottom desk drawer of his brain. No need to relive that ride anymore tonight that's for sure. He says one more thank you prayer and then visions of his friends and family take him through the gate to his happy place where his old friend sleep embraces him.