I thought I would start with my new location and the definition of such. It was a major operation to get here to my new home. I packed my used van a 1999 Honda Odyssey the day before I left. I put each box and container in the van as puzzle pieces. I was so happy that I got everything in. I left at 6 am on July 1, 2016 with my furry companion, Rosie the Kitty. After driving 338 miles, approximately 6 hours, my van started bucking like a bronco! I pulled over, shut off the van and turned it back on but it wouldn’t shift up past 3rd gear. So, I straddled the side of the road and plugged along, bucking and going 40 mph watching the approaching cars and trucks going 100 mph in my mirror alarmingly. I would pull over and roll on the side of the road for about 10 miles until the next exit. I got off the road and the van would not even hardly go. I pulled into a dealership, up to the service door. The nice man named John, checked my transmission fluid and it was fine. It was higher than it should be and that was a sign that the transmission was gone. He tried to back it up to assess the state of the transmission and the reverse was gone. I went into the dealership with Rosie and tried to get another vehicle. No such luck. Here I was, stranded in Salem, Illinois (yes, there is a Salem Illinois and no  had no ides where I was until I asked). I am standing there by my now defunct van, crying. For what in the world was I to do??? I asked a lady coming in to get her beautiful classic car worked on, what town was I in? I went to another dealership and a “Buy Here, Pay Here” place and the answer was “No” and “No”. I even tried to rent a car but the Enterprise wasn’t a real Enterprise. It was such a small town that they did not even have one car to rent out. I opened the door and here was that lady again. She put me in her car and explained that John, the Service Manager at the other place was her brother. She drove me back by my van and told me that she was going to get a ride back to the house to get her other car and that she would be back. Lo and behold, she came back with a big Buick SUV. She said lets get as much of your stuff in and I am going to drive you the rest of the way to Mayfield. WHAT???!!! Do you realize that it is about 2 1/2 hour drive? She said that yes, she knew that. John said “She comes by it honestly. My Dad would drop everything to help someone in need out.” I seriously did not know that there were still people in the world like this. We had a really nice time. She wanted to know all about me and she told me about herself. I turned out that she did not live in that town any longer but in in Illinois suburb of St. Louis. She was only in town that day to help her Mother. She normally only came to Salem on Monday’s and Wednesday’s. It so happened that she could not come on Monday and so came on Friday instead. She was going to bring the classic car in to John to be worked on earlier in the morning but was delayed. No one could have orchestrated my rescue down to the minute that I would be outside her brother’s work, crying, at the same time she drove up and parked next to my van. Some would argue that God did not watch out for me since my van broke. I would beg to differ since He designed my rescue.

     She would not allow me to pay her for driving me. Plus, she took me to Wal Mart and bought me some groceries and other stuff I would need and said think of it as a house warming gift. I said “Driving me the rest of the way was enough of a gift for me!!” What I also thought was funny is that I played French Horn in Jr. High and it turns out that she plays French Horn in the symphony! Only God would send a French Horn playing angel named Diane.