--SLICK WHEELS, KIND STRANGERS~~
[A Vacation Scare became a cherished memory~]

--AFTER spending three years in Fort Worth, Texas, at a Bible college, my wife, Norma, and I moved to Longwood, Florida, in 1973.

--We needed a car and heard about a woman who had a 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1300 that she wanted to give away. When I saw it, I discovered the reason it was free: the motor was in pieces, with parts in the trunk and behind the seats. The owner then handed me three pieces of paper, which turned out to be the only pages she had of a repair manual. The car was a beautiful red convertible, so I decided to take it and work on putting it back together. It took me about three months, but I finally got it running.

A few months later, we drove the Alfa Romeo on a road trip to visit my parents in Charleston, West Virginia. We enjoyed going through the mountains of North Carolina with the top down, stopping frequently for a rest or a bite to eat. After a late dinner one night, it had turned chilly by the time we were ready to get back on the road, so we decided to put the top up on the convertible.

Before getting on the West Virginia Turnpike, we stopped to fill up at a gas station. Norma, who had all the trip money, went to pay the attendant. Except she couldn't find her purse.

"I had it on the trunk lid when we were putting the top up!" she said. "It must have rolled off when we drove away."

What else could we do but explain our predicament to the attendant? Not only was he understanding, he also loaned us money for the gas and the turnpike toll.

Three days later we got a call from the restaurant in North Carolina--someone had turned in Norma's purse. We retraced our route home to repay the gas station attendant and thank the restaurant owners for their honesty.

We never forgot that trip or the kindness of the people who helped us. ~~
--"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

---REMINISCE~~