A friend indeed

Something jarred this story loose from my memory bank the other day, and it brings to mind two essential facts for everyday living. 

Well, they are to me, anyway!

My friend and his wife and kids were coming back from Ocean City late one night when they were involved in a car wreck in Cambridge, MD.  Cambridge is a fairly big town on the Eastern Shore, maybe a couple of hours from here and two-thirds of the way to the beach.  Sitting there at a red light, their car was smashed into by some dude.  The details of all this are hazy to me, but for sure, my friend was the hapless victim.  His car was a total wreck, so there he was in a police station late late at night, wife and three kids and luggage and beach stuff and no way home.  Trailways was not going to be an option.

He called his neighbor back home, and that fellow got into his car and drove on down there to get them.  And when they were a block from the police station, he pulled out an unopened pint of Southern Comfort and passed it to my buddy, saying, "Take a slug."

Now I am not saying that alcohol is the cure for all that ails us, by any means.  Take a listen to any country song to see what I mean.  But, a little medicinal shot of hooch can help the soul at times.  I say, a little shot.  It's good for shock and stress. I guess.

That's lesson #1 for me, and I've kept it in mind over the years when helping others in distress.  But thought #2 is, how great is it to have friends and like that!  As the old song says, if you've got friends and neighbors, though your house may be tumbling down, you're the richest person in town.

And if your house is tumbling down, better make friends with a carpenter!