The Kindness of Strangers

Don Hutson, my fiance, and owner of the Cowboy Solution--an equine-assisted leadership/training program, was traveling back from a seminar in Midland. Not long into his 5-hour drive back to Houston, where he had 13 visitors scheduled to arrive for a training program, his dodge ram decided to come unglued. Literally. I am not much of a mechanic, but evidently parts of the transmission scattered to the hinterlands along the highway--catching the brush on fire somewhere in between the gnashing, grinding and stopping. Don was hauling 2 horses in a 4-horse trailer and driving along at a pretty brisk clip. Luckily, he was able to stop the truck, and trailer, before it sent all three of them to well who knows where. They were all darn lucky. Don's GPS system had been telling him to take a circuitous route around this stretch of Hwy. 87 in Brady. Which we all learned later, would left him completely isolated and alone. Probably he and the horses would still be standing there covered in dust and sweat. Instead--what Don, Sunny and Star found, was the incredible kindness of strangers. First on the scene was an angel--not the kind draped in wings and a glowing halo, but the kind that evidently everyone in Brady, Texas has also encountered when trouble arises. And, thank goodness, she showed up for Don. This woman not only stopped to offer aid, she stayed with the state trooper, until she nearly ran out of gas herself. Then, she rounded up a couple more angels, who drove 30 minutes to pick up Don's horses and take them back to their ranch to stay. No questions asked. Don's truck and horse trailer were towed to Brady--where the truck still sits--while the horses were sped off to spend as many nights as needed in the country. Don managed to find the only truck--a U-haul in Brady and make it back to attend to Cowboy Campout and the 13 guests. We then high-tailed it back to Brady in a borrowed pick-up from friends to pick up Sunny and Star and get them back to Houston for another week on the road for the Cowboy Solution. It would be easy to curse the luck--we've had a lot of curve balls thrown our way of late. But, in this instance it's mighty hard to ignore the kindness and good deeds of complete strangers. As I sat talking to the woman who took in Dons horses--like we were all long lost friends, I was really in complete awe of this perfect stranger. She may or may not know what her help meant to us. And, it is impossible to do any more than say thank you. Don, and many others, have spent the better part of 4 days dealing with a great deal of adversity. And, we could all be put out and downright irritated. Instead, we're all grateful and indebted to the kindness of 3 complete strangers. And, as I have been on so many occasions, reminded that we can choose to the find the good or the bad in any situation. And, today, we choose good.