Recently my wife and I spent some time at Peaks of Otter celebrating our 54th. Anniversary. On a side trip to see the D-Day Memorial we encountered a detour and for the next one and one half hours we were hopelessly lost. To make a long story short, on a return encounter with a flagman we were told to turn around and follow the car in front of us because the lady driver was going to the same place we were. This sounded like a winner. However, although this lady lived in the area west of Bedford she apparently was not familiar with all of the side streets/roads.
When she discovered (as we had earlier) that the flagman’s directions were not very helpful she pulled to the side of the road and shared her frustration with the confusion we were experiencing. She outlined a plan of attack which we were more than happy to cooperate with for we had bounced around Bedford for well over half an hour trying to follow the directions received from four local citizens who had made an honest effort to be helpful. Only later did we learn that their efforts were rendered useless due to a broken water main that not everyone was aware of and which added to the confusion of the original detour.
So we were off again only to discover that again we were driving in circles. This necessitated another conference at which time our lady friend flagged down a passing car seeking information that might get us on the right “track”. It was about this time that we began to realize that our friend wasn’t lost. She knew where she was and how to get to her home but her problem was how to get us to where we needed to be.
Finally she decided that the best course of action was to literally take us home with her since we were both going in the same direction. We followed her to within a mile of her home where she dropped us off at a church parking lot where we waited while she went home and used her computer to make a list of directions to get us the rest of the way home. She refused to accept any money to cover her gas expenses and sent us on our way with a “God Bless You.”
Although we failed to get her name or address we believe she lives about 5 miles SE of the Peaks of Otter on Rt. 43. She may be just an ordinary Christian (if there is such a person) but to us she is an angel!
-Don and Nancy Link,
Mt. Sidney, VA
