One of Amy’s characteristics that I love and admire is her compassion for and generosity towards others – both people we know and even total strangers. If she can give something or do something to make someone else’s life a little better or easier, she doesn’t even think twice.
Occasionally, however, that selflessness can create small challenges. Take the other day, for instance. We were driving along a beautiful little stretch of winding dirt road, covering the 20km between the small mountain town of Fox Glacier and our destination for the evening, Gillespie’s Beach… where a free Dept of Conservation campsite right on the beach, a stunning sunset, and a bottle of red wine awaited us. A large campervan approached from the other direction. The road was plenty wide for both vehicles… but my Amy didn’t just share the road with the oncoming vehicle. No, Amy selflessly decided to give the oncoming vehicle the entire road… leaving us (and poor Dougie) in a ditch
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| This is Dougie in a Ditch... Any Questions? |
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| This is Dougie... |
Time: 6:06pm, on a Saturday night, in the middle of nowhere.
From my perch in the passenger seat, I saw us getting more and more perilously close to the road’s edge… but not wanting to be that nagging back-seat driver, I figured Amy had it well under control. But the road’s edge creeped closer still, and then disappeared under Dougie. We started to list to the left, and then very soon we were at a very unnatural 45 degree angle. It’s not so much that we drove off the road… we were going quite slowly. It’s more like Amy just gently parked Dougie in the ditch.  |
| Our Hero: Clark! |
My natural reaction was to want to assess the situation, check for damage, see if we could extricate ourselves. I was a bit concerned that we might have damaged poor Dougie… as he was balancing on what seemed to be essential components of his under-carriage. Like, for instance, his fuel tank. I was even more concerned about the fact that we’re not entirely sure that our credit card will actually provide the insurance coverage for our rental vehicle that we’re counting on. Amy, meanwhile, was laughing uncontrollably. Now, I was prepared to see the humor in the situation… you all know I’m a pretty laid-back guy. I just wanted to make sure first that (a) we were going to be able to get Dougie out of the ditch; and (b) it wasn’t going to cost us several thousand dollars in damages.
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| So undignified for poor Dougie... |
So I hopped out of the van, and, Splash!, landed squarely in the middle of the creek that Dougie’s left wheels now hung above, suspended uselessly mid-air. Amy continued to laugh uncontrollably. I tried placing some cardboard under the rear tire… but no luck. I tried pushing… but no luck. Amy, meanwhile, continued to laugh uncontrollably. Dougie was clearly going to need some assistance to get out of this ditch. And who knew if assistance could be found at this hour in the tiny town of Fox Glacier? Amy, meanwhile, was now laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
We decided to hitch-hike back into town and see if help could be found. A lovely Italian family offered us a lift in their campervan. Although the mechanic at the service station had just left for the evening, the clerk rang him up, and within a few minutes, we were passengers in Clark’s tow truck as he flew down the dirt roads, generally deriding our driving abilities. He attached his winch to Dougie’s under-belly, and in a matter of seconds, Dougie was back on all four wheels, and all four wheels were safely on the road. Clark did a quick inspection, pronounced Dougie perfectly fit, and at 7:06pm, we were continuing down the dirt road to our campsite at Gillespie’s Beach… only this time, I was driving.
We decided to hitch-hike back into town and see if help could be found. A lovely Italian family offered us a lift in their campervan. Although the mechanic at the service station had just left for the evening, the clerk rang him up, and within a few minutes, we were passengers in Clark’s tow truck as he flew down the dirt roads, generally deriding our driving abilities. He attached his winch to Dougie’s under-belly, and in a matter of seconds, Dougie was back on all four wheels, and all four wheels were safely on the road. Clark did a quick inspection, pronounced Dougie perfectly fit, and at 7:06pm, we were continuing down the dirt road to our campsite at Gillespie’s Beach… only this time, I was driving.
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| In plenty of time to enjoy the sunset... |
Into, and out of, the ditch, in one hour flat.
Now, at this point, I was ready to see the humor in the situation. As we enjoyed the stunning sunset at Gillespie’s Beach, I joined Amy in laughing uncontrollably.
Now, at this point, I was ready to see the humor in the situation. As we enjoyed the stunning sunset at Gillespie’s Beach, I joined Amy in laughing uncontrollably.
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