Road Angels

There’s a new angel in town, or rather out of town- the Road Angel!

I’m not talking Seraphim or Cherubim status. More like a substitute guardian angel or a REALLY helpful human that you meet at the right time while traveling.

I am not religious. I don’t think too much about God and an afterlife. However, I know there are Road Angels.

I’ve seen one.

I’ve been one.

Once in Lagos, Portugal, Road Angel wings were thrust upon Mike and me when Gail, a French blacksmith, crossed our paths.

Mike and I drove along the coast from Sagre to Lagos. Actually Mike drove, I misdirected. After a confusing roundabout (Are there any other kind?) Mike pulled over on a frontage road behind a dusty van. As we discussed the best route, a tattooed anxious looking stick of a man, knocked on our window. He explained that he had broken down and did we have 10 minutes to spare.

Since he wasn’t sporting a handgun or whip, we figured we were safe. Gail was to deliver ice to a wedding reception in an hour. His fuel pump had failed. He thought he only needed gas. We drove him to the gas station and returned him to his vehicle. After filling his tank with two containers of diesel fuel, his motor started and he was on his way to deliver the ice.

Several times during the episode, he prayed aloud that God would help him. It was a fluke that Mike and I stopped.

Later that day in Sevilla, Spain we met several Road Angels who lent us a hand.

Mike and I drove into Sevilla and parked the car in a public garage. We hailed a taxi to drive us to our hotel – at least that was the plan. Police had blocked off the streets around our hotel. The non-English speaking taxi driver pantomimed that we were to walk the rest of the way.

A maze of plazas tangled us. We hauled luggage and backpacks along confusing cobblestoned streets. Every ten minutes or so we would fish out our map, stop a local, and ask directions. Ninety minutes and a fleet of Road Angels (two shop keepers, a German couple, a young man from Texas and three waiters) directed us to our hotel.