Dancing with the Big Rig...
It was a cold and foggy Northern California winter day.
A misty rain pelted the windshield of my 1965 Plymouth Fury III.
I loved that car – but not nearly as much as I loved
my wife Beverley and our two small sons, Garrison 5 and Galen 3. Bev knew I would be late for supper that day – after school teachers meeting.
My mind was preoccupied with the meeting I was going to at James Rutter Junior High School. As president of the Elk Grove Teachers Association that year, I was to chair the meeting; the agenda items bounced in and out of my consciousness. Up ahead, as I approached the Truckadero truck stop, I could see the fog had thickened…I slowed to accommodate. I had driven past Truckadero hundreds of times over the years; it was always a very busy place with 18 wheelers sometimes blocking Stockton Boulevard as they criss-crossed each other while weaving into and out of the busy truck parking area without incident. Today however, would prove to be different.
The slap-slap of my windshield wipers kept time with the cowboy tune jumping out of my car radio…the bass was pounding and I was oblivious to any eminent danger; and then, out of the dense fog cloud I had just entered, I saw the trailer of the semi truck sideways in the road, totally blocking all lanes – only 20 feet from my windshield! There was no way I could avoid hitting it…no time to stop…no time to steer away – instant panic! I screamed His name three times…my voice shrill and loud as I called out…God! God! God! I knew I was about to die…and then everything slowed down.
I was now in a different time zone…it was as if the chaotic next few seconds came at me in extreme slow motion. All my senses were heightened and I was acutely aware of each audio and visual event, frame by frame, sound by overlapping sound. Seamless reality.
As my white knuckles gripped the steering wheel, I realized the entire front end of my car was already going under the belly of the 18 wheeler’s trailer – I clearly saw the huge spare tire that was horizontally bolted to the underbelly of the trailer…I saw the tread design as it moved slowly towards my face. I both felt and heard the impact of my hood being crushed and devoured by the massive frame of the trailer.
The exploding windshield glass joined the crescendo of terrifying sounds as the top of the Plymouth’s roof was being rolled back and ripped from the car’s frame. In that same slow motion instant, in my right peripheral vision, I saw the approaching rear dual wheels of the trailer just inches away from the passenger side front door…and then came the most amazing sound…as though from another dimension…it was Loud, Clear, Reverberating – like the single toll of a large church bell…struck hard once and then allowed to ever so slowly drift away to silence. Silence yes, but that sound of silence brought an abiding peace as well.
Amid all the carnage, that had just happened, I found the meaning of solace. A peace that passes all understanding – soon everything went black.
Then instantly, it seemed, I was back. The very next sound I heard was a gentle tap-tap-tapping. The sound transitioned to a feeling as tiny droplets of a gentle rain caressed my face…suddenly this refreshing and welcoming feeling was replaced with anxious and excited voices.
“Are you alright?!”- said one. “Call an ambulance!” – shouted another.
I then became aware that I was lying on my right side in the car’s front seat; slowly additional thoughts sequenced into my conscious mind…the steering wheel was gone as was the roof of my car – and the passenger side door was pushed 10 or 12 inches into the car’s cabin. The impact of the big rig’s rear dual axles, as my car went under the trailer, had spun the car 180 degrees around and tossed the heavily damaged vehicle into the ditch. My next realization was the clear knowledge that I was alive!
“Hear, put this coat over him,” said a man’s voice shaking with emotion. I later learned that this was the driver of the big rig and he was clearly concerned for my safety. I never got a chance to thank him. So I will do it now – Thank you sir for caring.
Soon thereafter the police car arrived. By then, my headache was ratcheting-up and my ears were loudly ringing but with assistance, I climbed out of the demolished car. The police officer put me in the back seat of his patrol car – out of the rain – and I sat dazed and thankful that my life had been spared.
Then the ambulance arrived.
“Yes I’m sure.” I told the ambulance driver as he questioned me, “I’m OK, and all I want is to go home to my wife and children.” After carefully checking me over, the EMTs agreed to my request – finding nothing more than a few shoulder abrasions and a goose-egg knot on my head.
“Unbelievable…the lead EMT exclaimed…you are one lucky man!” But I knew better. By saving my life, God had blessed my wife with a lifetime husband and my sons with a devoted father, simply because I called out His name in the midst of the mayhem.
The officer delivered me to my home after completing his report. At the front door I was greeted with open arms by my amazed family as I told them this story…that was 43 years ago.
There is more. The very next day after my dance with the big rig, our home phone rang…it was my wife’s dear mother, Deaun Leisy calling from her home in Idaho. Her poignant question took my breath away…she asked, “What happened to you yesterday Gary? I had a terrible spirit of foreboding that came over me in regards to your safety. I went to my room and knelt in prayer on your behalf and stayed there until I felt that spirit lift…I know you are OK now – but please, tell me what happened.”
And so I told her the story written here. We then compared notes as to the timeline that Mom Leisy had spent in prayer – allowing for the California/Idaho time zone difference - it was exactly the time that my car was being destroyed by the big rig.
Coincidence? You decide…but my heart testifies otherwise.
I am now 71 years old and have enjoyed a long and blessed career as an educator; many hundreds of students have sat before me and I tried to teach each one important life skills with words and deeds. Their reading, writing and arithmetic lessons were married to philosophies and wisdom's learned both from the Holy Scriptures and from life’s empirical evidence. I continue to learn life’s lessons…and each new dawn brings a fresh commitment to look for the sights and sounds of God at work all around me.
I believe God spared my life that day.
Yes I do believe in miracles…and I do believe I experienced one…but that is not the sole purpose for telling you this story. It is said that we often look for God too high up and too far away; my hope is that you and I will continue to look for Him in the now, in the ordinary, in the beauty of a child’s face or in a sunset that shouts His omnipotence…and yes, especially in the unexplainable.
That day, dancing with the big rig, changed my life completely. Each new day I anticipate God showing up and always thankful but not surprised when He does… “Seek and you shall find, ask and you will receive” are not merely Bible verses for Sunday sermons, they are guideposts, trail markers, for every action taken and each attitude displayed. What are you asking for with your attitude and actions today?
My prayer for you is simple: Ask anew, ask for good things, ask for God things and experience the joy of abundant living. Ask, receive and dance with Jesus!
Leaning on His everlasting arm, I remain. Safe and secure from all alarm, I rest…One day at a time Sweet Jesus – let’s roll. Onward and Upward.
---Written by Gary F. Hartman, Ed.D.
A misty rain pelted the windshield of my 1965 Plymouth Fury III.
I loved that car – but not nearly as much as I loved
my wife Beverley and our two small sons, Garrison 5 and Galen 3. Bev knew I would be late for supper that day – after school teachers meeting.
My mind was preoccupied with the meeting I was going to at James Rutter Junior High School. As president of the Elk Grove Teachers Association that year, I was to chair the meeting; the agenda items bounced in and out of my consciousness. Up ahead, as I approached the Truckadero truck stop, I could see the fog had thickened…I slowed to accommodate. I had driven past Truckadero hundreds of times over the years; it was always a very busy place with 18 wheelers sometimes blocking Stockton Boulevard as they criss-crossed each other while weaving into and out of the busy truck parking area without incident. Today however, would prove to be different.
The slap-slap of my windshield wipers kept time with the cowboy tune jumping out of my car radio…the bass was pounding and I was oblivious to any eminent danger; and then, out of the dense fog cloud I had just entered, I saw the trailer of the semi truck sideways in the road, totally blocking all lanes – only 20 feet from my windshield! There was no way I could avoid hitting it…no time to stop…no time to steer away – instant panic! I screamed His name three times…my voice shrill and loud as I called out…God! God! God! I knew I was about to die…and then everything slowed down.
I was now in a different time zone…it was as if the chaotic next few seconds came at me in extreme slow motion. All my senses were heightened and I was acutely aware of each audio and visual event, frame by frame, sound by overlapping sound. Seamless reality.
As my white knuckles gripped the steering wheel, I realized the entire front end of my car was already going under the belly of the 18 wheeler’s trailer – I clearly saw the huge spare tire that was horizontally bolted to the underbelly of the trailer…I saw the tread design as it moved slowly towards my face. I both felt and heard the impact of my hood being crushed and devoured by the massive frame of the trailer.
The exploding windshield glass joined the crescendo of terrifying sounds as the top of the Plymouth’s roof was being rolled back and ripped from the car’s frame. In that same slow motion instant, in my right peripheral vision, I saw the approaching rear dual wheels of the trailer just inches away from the passenger side front door…and then came the most amazing sound…as though from another dimension…it was Loud, Clear, Reverberating – like the single toll of a large church bell…struck hard once and then allowed to ever so slowly drift away to silence. Silence yes, but that sound of silence brought an abiding peace as well.
Amid all the carnage, that had just happened, I found the meaning of solace. A peace that passes all understanding – soon everything went black.
Then instantly, it seemed, I was back. The very next sound I heard was a gentle tap-tap-tapping. The sound transitioned to a feeling as tiny droplets of a gentle rain caressed my face…suddenly this refreshing and welcoming feeling was replaced with anxious and excited voices.
“Are you alright?!”- said one. “Call an ambulance!” – shouted another.
I then became aware that I was lying on my right side in the car’s front seat; slowly additional thoughts sequenced into my conscious mind…the steering wheel was gone as was the roof of my car – and the passenger side door was pushed 10 or 12 inches into the car’s cabin. The impact of the big rig’s rear dual axles, as my car went under the trailer, had spun the car 180 degrees around and tossed the heavily damaged vehicle into the ditch. My next realization was the clear knowledge that I was alive!
“Hear, put this coat over him,” said a man’s voice shaking with emotion. I later learned that this was the driver of the big rig and he was clearly concerned for my safety. I never got a chance to thank him. So I will do it now – Thank you sir for caring.
Soon thereafter the police car arrived. By then, my headache was ratcheting-up and my ears were loudly ringing but with assistance, I climbed out of the demolished car. The police officer put me in the back seat of his patrol car – out of the rain – and I sat dazed and thankful that my life had been spared.
Then the ambulance arrived.
“Yes I’m sure.” I told the ambulance driver as he questioned me, “I’m OK, and all I want is to go home to my wife and children.” After carefully checking me over, the EMTs agreed to my request – finding nothing more than a few shoulder abrasions and a goose-egg knot on my head.
“Unbelievable…the lead EMT exclaimed…you are one lucky man!” But I knew better. By saving my life, God had blessed my wife with a lifetime husband and my sons with a devoted father, simply because I called out His name in the midst of the mayhem.
The officer delivered me to my home after completing his report. At the front door I was greeted with open arms by my amazed family as I told them this story…that was 43 years ago.
There is more. The very next day after my dance with the big rig, our home phone rang…it was my wife’s dear mother, Deaun Leisy calling from her home in Idaho. Her poignant question took my breath away…she asked, “What happened to you yesterday Gary? I had a terrible spirit of foreboding that came over me in regards to your safety. I went to my room and knelt in prayer on your behalf and stayed there until I felt that spirit lift…I know you are OK now – but please, tell me what happened.”
And so I told her the story written here. We then compared notes as to the timeline that Mom Leisy had spent in prayer – allowing for the California/Idaho time zone difference - it was exactly the time that my car was being destroyed by the big rig.
Coincidence? You decide…but my heart testifies otherwise.
I am now 71 years old and have enjoyed a long and blessed career as an educator; many hundreds of students have sat before me and I tried to teach each one important life skills with words and deeds. Their reading, writing and arithmetic lessons were married to philosophies and wisdom's learned both from the Holy Scriptures and from life’s empirical evidence. I continue to learn life’s lessons…and each new dawn brings a fresh commitment to look for the sights and sounds of God at work all around me.
I believe God spared my life that day.
Yes I do believe in miracles…and I do believe I experienced one…but that is not the sole purpose for telling you this story. It is said that we often look for God too high up and too far away; my hope is that you and I will continue to look for Him in the now, in the ordinary, in the beauty of a child’s face or in a sunset that shouts His omnipotence…and yes, especially in the unexplainable.
That day, dancing with the big rig, changed my life completely. Each new day I anticipate God showing up and always thankful but not surprised when He does… “Seek and you shall find, ask and you will receive” are not merely Bible verses for Sunday sermons, they are guideposts, trail markers, for every action taken and each attitude displayed. What are you asking for with your attitude and actions today?
My prayer for you is simple: Ask anew, ask for good things, ask for God things and experience the joy of abundant living. Ask, receive and dance with Jesus!
Leaning on His everlasting arm, I remain. Safe and secure from all alarm, I rest…One day at a time Sweet Jesus – let’s roll. Onward and Upward.
---Written by Gary F. Hartman, Ed.D.