Guardian · Ohio
The Stranger in the Trench Coat
My father, God love him, was notorious for running out of gas.
I remember in second grade, the morning of my first communion. Well, that was a real adventure. My mother had proudly dressed me in full white first communion attire: little white dress, crisp white veil, dainty white gloves, shiny white shoes, white prayer book with the guardian angel with the large white wings guiding the two children over a bridge, and my white rosary dangling from my fingers. I mean, I was primed. But sadly, the car wouldn't start. No gas. All my little friends lined up outside Saint Joseph's Church were amazed when I arrived in style that day, all dressed in white, while stepping out of a police car.
Another day, years later, my father was driving me back to college after Christmas break. It was about a two-hour ride to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. It was snowing when we left the house, so we took our time. By the time we pulled up in front of my dorm, there was a full-blown blizzard. I was so worried about my dad having to drive home alone in that bad weather. Assuring me that he would be just fine, he hugged me goodbye and immediately got back on the road.
Years later, he told me the story about what really happened to him that day.
About one hour into his journey home, he turned off the highway to find a gas station. He was exhausted from driving slow in the whiteout conditions. There were huge snow drifts everywhere. He was definitely stranded, and no gas stations or any other buildings in sight.
As he got out of the car to start walking to find help, he glanced in the side mirror. Out of nowhere, this tall man in a long black trench coat and dapper hat, carrying a gas can, approached his driver's side window. The stranger had kind eyes and a warm smile. He said, "Looks like you could use some gas."
Well, my father was dumbfounded, but so relieved. Dad thanked the stranger and poured the gas into the tank. He turned around to give the man some money and to thank him again, but he was nowhere to be found. He just disappeared. He had vanished as quickly as he had arrived.
My father, shocked and a little shaken, got home safely that night. But Dad often wondered if the stranger in the trench coat, the man who showed up to help him, maybe even saving his life, was really an angel in disguise.