The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

This is a story of a real account that happened in the Coulee recently. I will change some of the names to protect the innocent.

A husband and wife ride together to work every day. Except today the wife will be going alone because her husband is home sick. She made the trip to work with little trouble but her day at work was horrible. She was mad, sad and overwhelmed as she left work after putting in even more time at the end of the day. It was dark out already as she made her way to her car. She was not looking forward to the drive home but was ready to be home and leave this day behind her. Not far down the road the sound of a flat tire alarmed her and she pulled over. Yep, a flat tire.

Now this is not just a bad situation for the woman in the story, but the man at home is also panicking now. Sick and at home with no car, his mind races with ways to help his wife. Verbal directions on the phone, directions on how to get the jack and spare tire on a car he has never even changed a tire on. He can hear the frustration in his wife’s voice and his mind scrambles to think of someone to help his bride. The few people he thinks of to come to her rescue are busy or not available and his wife’s situation pains him deeply.

She is trying to figure out just how to do all this when a few people come to her rescue. Juan, from the Melody, is the first. In his clean apron and chef’s attire he comes down from his business to assist her and even offers her his car to drive home. Soon a Coulee Dam police officer arrives and assists, also. Her daughter also arrives, not to help so much, but to be there for moral support. She brings warm clothes for her mother as she waits. Many people the woman recognizes drive by looking but none stop to offer help. The four of them struggle but manage to get the tire changed and the wife is soon on her way.

The wife still has a foggy drive ahead of her, but at least she is on the road now. The husband is breathing easier now, knowing she has been saved by some that did more than was even to be expected. It was an uneasy experience for both of them, but one thing warms their hearts.

When people drop what is going on in their lives to help someone in a bad situation, that is exactly what we should do as a community. Juan left his livelihood, his restaurant where he is the only chef, to help someone. To do a job that he knew he was going to get dirty doing. Is he a hero? Yes he is. At least he is in the couple’s eyes.

This also applies to the Coulee Dam officer. He helped light up the area and assist where he could. He is also a hero, although the job he does every day is a heroic one to begin with, he did not have to stop or stay as long as he did. But he went beyond the call of duty. Helping a damsel in distress if you will. A hero? Yep, who knows what could have happened to the woman if she was on the side of the road by herself, struggling to do something she was not all that comfortable doing to begin with.

The daughter is also a hero. Although she was not the most knowledgeable one for the work needed, she was willing to do what she could, even though it was inconvenient. Warm clothes and moral support were what she had to offer to the situation, and she reached out in a dire time of need.

This is what our area needs more of. If we continue helping each other like this, we can change the world one encounter at a time and encourage people that there are still those out there that care about their fellow man. Thank you Juan, CD Police Officer Brian Walter and a loving daughter for instilling the aura of community back into the heart of a couple of fellow citizens.