XXIII. Angels Among US

I was in first grade when we moved to Wyoming. There were my younger brothers, David and Eddie, and my infant sister, Laura. Another ranch. This time on top of a mountain, where roads are fenced in and open range is a way of life. We had come from the barren plains of Kansas where fenced in roads were also the norm but mountains, trees and much, much, much snow were new.

Harley had decided this year he was going to get our Christmas tree from the mountain. He also figured this would be a great idea for a family outing. Harley often tried to manifest “daydreams” as to how life could or he had hoped it would be. He certainly wasn’t trying to recreate his own childhood experience where Christmas was a somber religious observance with none of the secular trappings. I now look back, from a different vantage point, and give him an “A” for the effort and acknowledge that although he often failed in its execution, I understand what drove him to try and hey, If he hadn’t failed so spectacularly, I’d have no stories to tell. I too have developed a deep appreciation for the drive to create that which I may have not have had, but longed for or daydreamed about.

There was this old Jeep that he used on the ranch. He pilled us all into it one Saturday afternoon and we set out on our quest. He had been on the mountain earlier in the year and knew just where our “perfect” tree stood. Of coarse the mountain was now covered in many feet of snow. We left the main road onto what was probably a rough trail even in the fall. At times it felt like we were going straight up. Going and going and going up.

Mom had been becoming increasingly concerned, holding her 8 month old infant, as we drove higher up the mountain and deeper into the woods. As usual, Harley would dismiss her concerns as “he knew what he was doing”. Famous last words, or almost, of a fool. The snow got deeper. The jeep began to struggle and then it just stopped. We were stuck. There were tears from mom, words about being lost and not found. It was beginning to get dark. For the first time since our little adventure had started I began to become concerned. Eddie was now crying because mom was crying. David and I looked at each other and knew to be as still as possible. No need to give Harley a target for his fear which was now manifesting into rage.

It is now pitch dark and the fuel is running low. Freezing to death has become a real possibility. After a while, and numerous failed attempts to free the Jeep, Harley is preparing to trek down the mountain in the dark back to the main road for help. It is a couple of miles but it was our only chance. I cant imagine how mom must have felt as he got out of the Jeep or the thoughts that plagued her mind.

Suddenly, just after he set off, a glimmer of light appeared below us. An Angel or just a guy who had to see who was stupid enough to try and drive up a snow covered mountain in December. He had passed by our exit point on the main road on his way to town earlier that afternoon. Seeing our tracks leading up the mountain he made a mental note of how foolish it was to be taking any vehicle up that trail at this time of year. On his way home he remembered the tracks from earlier in the day. He glanced at our exit point as he went by and noticed that there were no return tracks coming down from the mountain. Whomever had gone up, had not come down. He followed the tracks up to our Jeep and got us off that mountain. Tears of relief and gratitude now steamed down mom’s face. I think the jeep may have stayed up there until the spring thaw. We moved back to Kansas in the spring…to another ranch.

Six souls did not perish on the mountain that night. Just dumb luck? Curiosity of a passerby? Maybe but then again, the unseen hand may have gestured and the universe responded. Angels have moved in, thru and out of my life over the years. Some I have recognized right away and others not until years later. Many are still yet to be revealed but I know they are waiting in the wings, with folded wings, ready to lift us…ready to be that glimmer of light in the darkest of nights.