My Story
This story tells how important it is to surround yourself with good honest people
and reflects how one should act in a crisis or everyday living. It also tells how God directs things and there is no such thing as coincidence.
I was in the Insurance Business in 1968. One Sunday afternoon in July, Dianne
and I decided to invite some of our friends to go the lake and show off a new
boat that I had just purchased.
Everyone brought their kids and we had a lot of fun skiing and riding around the lake.
About 4:00 PM Bryan, our 3 year old son, at that time, was getting very tired
and Dianne had blistered pretty good from the sun, so we decided to load the boat up and go home.
The ramp to load the boat was around the bend from where we were picnicking.
So I asked Dianne to take the car, a 1965 Ford I had just purchased, around to the ramp and I would bring the boat around. Greg, one of our friends said he would ride with me.
As we were approaching the ramp, about 100 yards out, I noticed Dianne was backing the boat trailer down to the water, which she had never done.
She was doing an excellent job backing, but when the car got to the water’s edge,
the brakes went out and she couldn’t stop it. Car, boat trailer and all started going into the water in reverse.
Dianne realized what was happening and grabbed Bryan, who was standing in the seat beside her and jumped while holding onto him. As the car continued to go into the water, it ran over Dianne’s shoulder and dislocated it and skinned her up
and ran over Bryan’s hand and the side of his head.
Seeing what was going on, I accelerated and ran the boat up into the trees next to the ramp. Next to the trees there was a family picnicking and they ran out to help us. Greg, the friend that was with me, grabbed Dianne and held her and I grabbed Bryan, as the car was submerging.
I asked the man that ran up to help, who had already taken his T shirt off and wrapped it around Bryan’s head , if he would take us to the hospital, and he said he was too nervous and upset and handed me his keys to his car.
Had no idea who these people were and I had his car. Greg held both Dianne and Bryan in the backseat, while I drove,
I got about 3 miles from the lake and the car ran out of gas. We were on a busy Hwy 34 going toward Ennis. I jumped out and started trying to wave someone down to take us on to the hospital. Several cars went by before two young men in white shirts and ties stopped and carried us on to the hospital. Their white shirts were bloody by the time we got there. They were obviously either going to or returning from church or a church activity.
After I got Dianne and Bryan in the hospital and settled down, I tried to find out
who all these good people were, that had helped us, and didn’t have any luck. Those two young Christian men just drove off, after they saw we were safely in the hospital… bloody clothes, car and all. To this day, I never found out who they were.
Besides all the help from people we didn’t know, Greg had jumped in and helped
get them to the hospital. Along with that, you remember I told you I was in the
Insurance Business at that time. The Friday before , I had collected about $1500.00 in insurance premiums from my policyholders. That money was in my collection book in the back seat of the submerged car.
The man that had loaned me his car, to take them to the Hospital, was there
when the wrecker pulled my car out of the lake and saw the book with the money. He located my friends and gave it to them.
The following Monday I found out that one of my friends had my book and money. I went to their house and they had my book apart and drying the pages and also my money was scattered all over their house drying.
After a week’s hospitalization, Dianne and Bryan had recuperated enough
to go home.
It could have been a lot worse than it was, had it not been for honest, caring
Christian strangers and close friends that we chose to associate with.
By the way, the Money came out to the penny, none lost, 😊
Post Script:
I feel I need to add what went on with my Christian beliefs, at that time.
I was a believer and still am, but at the time I got mad at God for allowing something like this to happen to my family.
Later in the week, as I was sitting with Dianne and Bryan in their hospital room ( the hospital had allowed them to share a room), the doctor came around to visit and sensed that I wasn’t in a very good mood.
Dr. Hulsey had been our doctor a long time and knew me pretty well.
He asked me what the problem was and I shared my disappointment with God.
By the time he got through with me, he had fully explained how we were blessed to escape this tragedy with their lives and still be a family
Based on that, he said we should believe in him even more now than we did… then I woke up.
We ended up praying and thanking God for all his blessings.
After that I was at peace and things went a lot smoother… Diane and Bryan were soon dismissed from the hospital.