Her client had been looking for just the right one, and she had finally found it for him. It was a Christmas gift for his wife, and Christmas was just two days away. It finally was ready! Snow was falling as she loaded the precious painting into the back seat of her van, buckled it in with the seat belt, and carefully pulled out of her driveway to make the 14 mile drive to his home for the delivery.
About ten miles in to the drive, the car in front of her signaled a left turn. She lightly touched the brakes, anticipating the slippery surface, but was totally unprepared for the result. The car began to skid wildly, and as she crossed the center line, bearing down on her was a County snowplow!
Time warped into slow motion as she whispered a split second prayer for the painting.
Thinking she would prefer to not to be hit head on, she grabbed the wheel with both hands, jerked it as hard to the right as she could. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact. What seemed like an eternity passed in an instant. No crash, no more sliding. No horn. Nothing.
When she opened her eyes, she was facing the other direction, her car was parked safely on the snow-covered shoulder of the road. No other vehicles were in sight. It was eerily quiet as she began to sob.
She was still shaking when she turned the car around and continued on to deliver the painting. When she got home, she was still choking back tears as she looked up the number of the County. She wanted to get a thank you message to the driver of the snowplow. She gave the clerk the time and location of the near-miss and was stunned to be told there was no driver operating a plow in that vicinity at that time….
As she hung up the phone, she whispered, “Whatever you saved me for, with your help, I will do it!”