This story is taken from the book “Walking In HIS Shadow” by J.P. Howard
THE POOR MAN’S RIDE
Back in the days following World War Two, and during the Korean War, hitchhiking was a common way for many members of the armed forces to go from one location to another. The public just seemed to rally to the cause to help by giving them a ride.
There were two such close encounters I experienced that, looking back, were close calls. One was a trip from my military duties in Washington, D.C. to Savannah. It was a Friday and the work day was over at 5:00 as I changed into my “Navy White” uniform and made my way out to the highway and extended my right hand with my thumb-up seeking a ride. A man and his wife picked me up as I told them I was headed for Savannah, Georgia. They told me they would take me as far as North Carolina. That would be a good start, I thought, because it is rare that someone would be going to the same location I was headed. Without questioning where they would drop me off I happily jumped at the opportunity of this ride. The day was getting dark as I entered their car. Darkness soon set in as we progressed and the conversation was a mixture of small talk about family. I did not watch the route this driver was taking, but while going through one on the many small towns along the way, he turned off the main highway and was traveling on a road I was not familiar with. He pulled over at a filling station and said they were going to turn off another road going west and it would be best if I got out here so I could obtain another ride on down to Savannah.
“Where in the world am I” as I mumbled to myself. As I turned to go in the gas station I realized it was closed for the night. Across the road, sitting about twenty yards back from the road was a concrete block “Night Club” with flashing blue neon lights advertising beer. Apparently this dive was a ‘drink and fight’ hang-out bar for local toughs and “Red Necks”.
I stood there, dressed in my Navy Whites uniform with my little ‘ditty-bag’, waiting anxiously for some traffic to come by. This dark and lonely night was starting to worry me as five minutes grew into twenty minutes – and still no cars were in sight. It was at this time I experienced some fear creep into my heart and I uttered a silent prayer for God’s protection of me. At that time two men came out of the bar across the street and lit a cigarette and talked to each other. One looked across the road and said something to the other while pointing at me. They stared at me for a few minutes and then went back into the bar. Then they came back out with several other guys and the group started walking towards me. For the first time fear encompassed me and I knew I was in trouble and needed help to get out of this situation. At that time a car seemed to come out of nowhere and pulled up next to me. This was the first car I had seen in quite some time and it was headed in the direction I wanted to go. Inside the car were two young black men with two girls, all complete strangers. The driver said, “Sailor you better get your ass out of here! If you would like a ride you better get in quick – those dudes are bad!” The choice was made instantly as I jumped into their car and we sped off into the darkness of the night not knowing where I was, who I was with, or where I was going or even if this would be a worse choice that facing that gang. My mind was rushing from one scenario to another and I ask myself, “was I picked up by four Angels or was I getting into a situation much worse that an encounter with a bunch of drunken “Red Necks” who probably could have beaten me to death?
As it turned out God was with me all along and sent me these four “Angels” to protect and comfort me. After explaining where I was headed they offered to take me to a little town on a major highway about 40 miles away where plenty of traffic flowed towards Savannah. They would accept no money for their driving me to this location. It was at that time I felt the true presence of God’s answer to prayer as I gave them many thanks for their good deed. I quickly obtained another ride on down to Savannah and prayed and gave thanks along the way for the richness of God’s love, blessings and His saving grace. I learned a good lesson from this experience and that is that God’s Angels come in all colors, genders and ages.
A similar incident occurred sometime later when I was seeking a ride from my Navy Base in Maryland and headed for Savannah. This time I was offered a ride down to South Carolina by a very nice young couple. As the shadows of the day faded away into the darkness of the night they took a detour off the main highway without my knowledge and let me out in a small town. It was getting late and everything in this small, stop-in-the-road, towns seem to close down with the setting of the Sun. Without the city lights these little towns become extremely dark and very lonely, especially if you feel lost and are depending on some strange car to stop and give you a ride. That feeling is somewhat frightening.
As I stood there in the silence of this lonely dark night I heard the sound of a motorcycle with a “gutted” muffler coming my way. As the driver of the motorcycle saw me he slowed down very slow and stared at me and then gunned his engine as he drove on down the road. A few minutes later I hear the sound of this motorcycle coming back and he slowed to a stop across the road from where I was standing, but left his loud, non-muffled motorcycle running. He said, while still sitting on his bike, in a demanding and threatening way, “Sailor if your not gone when I come back I’m ‘goanna kick your ass”. At that time a second story window opened over a small grocery store, which was closed for the day. The store was next to where the bike was parked, when a gruff old man yelled out to the driver of this motorcycle, “Bubber, leave that boy alone and ‘git your self on home, ‘ya hear?”. At that command the man gunned his motorcycle and sped off into the darkness. Several minutes later this old man came out of his home which was located above his store. He was still putting on his shirt and said to me, “Son, my wife was worried to death about you and has ordered me to give you a ride over to Highway 17 so you can find yourself a ride to wherever you going, so ‘get in the car’. He grumbled for the next thirty minutes as he drove me over to Hwy 17 where I caught a ride on down to Savannah.
An Angel had appeared again, this time in the form of a little old lady awoken from her sleep by the loud noise of a motorcycle, and an old man who was just obeying his wife’s orders. Was this brought on by his wife’s orders or, as some would say, just a coincident? God’s answer to prayers is certainly the only answer, because I do not believe in coincidences. God, in His holy love for us, has a way of making His presence known in every situation we face on our journey through life as He delivers us from danger and harm. He certainly did for me as described in these stories.
Though I doubt I will ever see any of these Angels again in this lifetime, I will forever be thankful for God’s steadfast love, mercy and shelter, and grateful for the friendship offered by these strangers, acting as God’s angels.
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings”. Psalm 36:7