A Timely Warning

A true story by Frances Edington

Do you have a guardian angel? I do, and I know I do through experience. Let me tell you about one such experience.

Many years ago, I spent a couple of winters living in a community high in the Catskills of Upstate New York. My assigned duties sometimes took me into the city, as on the morning in question. My appointment was early, which meant I had to leave soon after five, so I booked a car and collected the keys before I went to bed.

During the night, temperatures plummeted, as I realised when I went out to collect the car early next morning. The ground was icy so I walked with care; even so my feet suddenly slid from under me and I fell heavily on my right wrist. I staggered to the car and sat in the driver’s seat, leaning forward over the steering wheel until I recovered from the pain and shock.

At that hour the car park was deserted but as I sat, I saw a woman come out of the building; almost immediately she slipped and fell. I then became aware of the acute pain in my wrist and the realisation sprang into my mind: this was a slap on the wrist to bring me to my senses. The conditions are far too dangerous to drive.

I took that slap on the wrist as a timely warning. I got out of the car, locked it and handed the keys back to the receptionist. Please tell Security to lock the car park. I said. It’s far too dangerous for anyone to drive in these conditions.

That day, the only two people I knew who attempted to drive, both slipped off the road. Fortunately, neither was hurt but their cars were slightly damaged. But those incidents brought to mind the journey I’d have had to take to join the highway into the city – winding, unsalted roads through dense hilly forest. If my car had also slipped off the road, it might well have been hours or even days before they found find my, by then, frozen body.

Guardian angels are always on the lookout for us but we need to heed their warnings and act on them, as I did on that occasion.