A fire engine and a tank truck screamed as they threaded their way through town. We watched, like everyone else, and wondered what emergency they were going to help.
The day dawned bright and beautiful after a rainy, windy night. What a day to take a drive! We were meandering through West Virginia to see the fall leaves at their peak. The gold and russet leaves shown against the blue sky with scattered puffy, white clouds. In the afternoon, after our snack, we headed back towards home.
We stopped at the first overlook we came to, hoping for a few more pictures of leaves and sky. What we saw was not what we expected. At the end of the parking lot were the fire trucks we had seen rushing through town. The firemen were taking one last look and getting back in their trucks to return to their station.
There, in a huge puddle of water, sat the burned out hull of a Mitsubishi Eclipse. The air was still acrid with the smoke. We got out of our car and in hushed awe saw the total destruction of that car. I snapped a few pictures, just so I would know I hadn’t dreamed the awful scene.
A car pulled up with two young fellows inside. They called to us and we asked if they knew anything about the car and fire. The driver said, “My friend, here, just bought that car 20 minutes ago.” Then a rather timid and shaken boy said, “I lost it all! I paid a friend cash for that car. He told me it was smoking a bit, but it ran well.”
He was driving his newly bought car while his friend followed in his car. He saw some smoke wisps and decided to pull off at the overlook. He parked and got out to see what was happening. His buddy pulled up just as they saw little flames lick at the pavement. He jumped into his friend’s car and they drove to the other end of the parking lot and called 911. Before the fire trucks had arrived the whole car was engulfed in flames.
As they poured out their story, I said, “I hope you thank God for saving your life!” They assured me they did. They said they were so thankful they had stopped to see what was smoking.
Two shaken young men drove away from that scenic overlook. We were reminded of how important it is to pay attention to the nudges God gives us so our lives are not eclipsed before their time.
