The Amazing Escape
We're sitting in our hotel in Orlando Friday night at around 6:00 PM, awaiting Hurricane Frances, drinking our complimentary Shirley Temples and gnawing on slightly stale pretzels. Glancing around, we see a very crowded lobby. We see through the windows a town that is shut down completely. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. AND, we see a report that Frances is taking her time, and really taking it slowly.
Suddenly, Collin says it. "We should just drive home now." It was one of those moments where a possibility begins to grow in potential. Yeah, I think, why not? The hurricane is continuing to delay itself, therefore probably delaying the reopening of the airport, stranding us longer. Away from wives and children who we want to see very badly. And the prospect of a number of days, without electricity, cramped together with the people crowding the lobby. . .
We have to check our options. How much more will it cost to drop our car off in Philly instead of Orlando? How long will it take us to get north of the hurricane? Oh man. .. and the gas situation. We only have a quarter tank.
Due to the hurricane, the car rental agency is waiving the additional fee. Check! Jacksonville is 2 hours away, and the hurricane won't be hitting that area hard. And Frances is moving only 4 MPH. Check! I think we could outcrawl this storm if we had to.
But the gas? Well. .. no answer there. Definitely not a "check." But Collin and I are optimistic to a fault sometimes. . . Optimistic as in, "Oh yeah the news says that there isn't any gas anywhere? Well, we'll find some somewhere." We have our friend Joe with us too. .. and he's not so confident. But while we're kind of lying around still mulling the decision, I jump up, clap and say, "LET'S Go!" It's 7:15.
10 minutes later we're all packed up and out the door.
The hotel staff can't believe it when we check out. "You're sure? You do know there's a hurricane coming? You realize there is a curfew on the streets?" Yes, yes, yes. .. we just want to go home, we tell them. We have people waiting for us. We're driving away from the hurricane, and away from the curfew.
Are we crazy? The looks on their faces tell us we are. We ignore them . ..
In the car and we're on the highway and on our way home.
Weather isn't yet bad, we're doing fine. Oh yeah, let's make sure to get gas, right? Hmmm. .. first exit. .. all 4 gas stations are EMPTY.
Not to worry, the next exit will have gas. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY.
Down to a quarter tank. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY.
Getting nearer to that terrible red zone that tells you you'd better pull over and find a gas station. Of course, it's assuming that these gas stations would actually have gas.
It's quiet. None of us are talking. None of us are saying the things that all of us are thinking. Not enough gas to get back to our Orlando hotel. We're now in Daytona Beach -- just miles from the coast, and a completely evacuated area for safety reasons. If we run out of gas, we're sharing a small white Oldsmobile for . .. how long? 12 hours? 24? 36?
EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY.
Joe asks, "Anybody have any plans?" I suggest finding a gas station that has gas. I'm the only one who laughs. (Someday they will realize how clever this was.) Collin suggest that should things get very desperate, we could siphon gas from a parked car and leave a twenty under the wipers. . . Yes, we are getting desperate.
There are no hotels in this area. You're not allowed in this area. There are no people in this area. This area is a ghost town waiting for disaster. And we're going to get stuck here.
EMPTY. EMPTY. EMPTY.
Oh, but wait, Collin looks out at one of the completely dark gas stations that we drove past because it looked abandoned. But he wants to check it out a little closer. He runs over to it. . . Comes running back with cautious optimism. Not all of the nozzles are covered and closed. One says it will still take cards.
We drive there, none of us really believing that this would be the one that worked. I slide the card in. . so far, good. It takes. And the nozzle into the car. . . pull the trigger. . . glorious gas! We are transformed into three fools, hooting and hollaring and slapping high fives in an empty, abandoned gas station. Thank you Lord. It's a gaseous miracle.
After this. .. no more hiccups. Wow, we were really rescued from a very bad situation. The roads were abandoned all the way until South Carolina. Fast driving and good times. . .I think we set a record, we were home and surprising our wives and children after just 12 hours of driving.
So there we are, no longer stranded in Florida, and with a pretty miraculous story too!
9 Comments:
God is good all the time! Glad you guys are safe :-D
I will never forget that moment in the abandoned gas station parking lot... screaming with delight, jumping up and down, slapping fives, embracing, and dancing about like we singlehandedly won the super bowl. Thank God that everyone had been evacuated, because if anyone would have seen us and reported our behavior, all 3 of us would have been put away in an institute and studied by psychologists for years to come.
i thought the comment about suggesting a gas station that has gas was pure comedic genious. I would have laughed if I was in the car with you.
I also like the phrase "gaseous miracle"
Wow, that's a good story! Wow again, you were up really early jason! Did you go to sleep early from driving all night and then get up at 7?
Just a funny joke... has to do with a car so I thought of your situation.. don't ask why... I'm weird like that.
Two guys were taking Introduction to Chemistry and did pretty well on all of the quizzes and the midterms and labs, etc., such that going into the final they had a solid A. These two friends were so confident going into the final that the weekend before finals week (even though the Chem final was on Monday), they decided to go up to UVirginia and party with some friends up there. So they did this and had a great time. However, with their hangovers and everything, they overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, what they did was to find their Professor after the final and explain to him why they missed the final. They told him that they went up to UVA for the weekend, and had planned to come back in time to study, but that they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare and couldn't get help for a long time and so were late getting back to campus. The Professor thought this over and then agreed that they could make up the final on the following day. The two guys were elated and relieved.
So, they studied that night and went in the next day at the time that the professorhad told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about molarity and solutions and was worth 5 points. "Cool" they thought, "this is going to be easy." They did that problem and then turned the page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the next page. It said:
(95 points) Which tire?
Jason -- LOVED the 'find a gas station that has gas.' I mean, if I was in the car with you at the time, you'd be walking through Georgia right about now. But from the comfort of my dining room, it's pure comedy.
Joe and Collin have let me know that they did laugh and they are offended by me portraying them as non-humourous thugs. the Look Machine weblog regrets the error.
I think the trouble lies in the fact that you were laughing so loudly at your own joke you failed to hear us.
I think the coolest thing was that right after the three of you had swept into Sunday morning worship, collected your families, and hurried home; Lynn announced that you were all stranded in Florida, and would we please pray for your safe return. A voice from the back announced, "Uh, Lynn? They just got back... I think they drove..." She looked confused, then someone explained that you had all just arrived at the Barn only moments before. Once the realization hit, she smiled, saying that it was the fastest answer to prayer she had yet witnessed. Pretty cool. I was so happy for you guys that I almost cried right there.
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