Ramblings..........Nevada County Life...........November 07.....

By Diane Sawdon

Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of year. Mother Nature always paints such a glowing masterpiece with her brilliant brush strokes of red, orange, yellow and purple. It seems like each morning another colorful surprise awaits me when I glance outside. I know that soon my garden will be sleeping and this last splash of glory thrills my soul. Autumn, and the gathering of nature’s bounty and the sharing of it with loved ones is the spirit of my favorite holiday---Thanksgiving! Just a few days ago I was violently reminded of how blessed I truly am. We were traveling to Truckee with very good friends on HWY 20. It just so happened that on this day Cal Trans was diverting big rigs off of HWY 80 due to road work and the big rigs were flying down HWY 20 with reckless abandon. Unfortunately, we just happened to be the first car on the scene of an overturned big rig. The dust was still furiously circling around the carcass of the truck, the engine was still running, the wheels were spinning, diesel fuel and oil were spewing out and flowing down the road, and a man was screaming in acute terror and pain because he was pinned under the cab of the truck. My husband tossed me the cell phone so I could make the fateful call and he scooped up the flares and started dashing up the road attempting to stop traffic while our good friend of almost forty years, Tom, went to the aid of a complete stranger. After what seemed like forever, the emergency vehicles appeared, traffic did come to a grinding halt and we were finally told we could leave. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the drive going through all sorts of “what if” scenarios. “If” that truck had flipped the other way, “if” we were two or three seconds earlier, “if” the fuel and oil had caught on fire, if, if, if.........at the end of the day, we hugged each other good bye just a little tighter than usual. On a brighter note, I have the sweetest story to share. While spending a very long morning at the doctor’s office with my Mother, I was sitting in the waiting room trying not to look at my watch and instead trying to concentrate on the plot of the book I brought with me. An older gentleman came in and approached the receptionist window. He was bent over with age, but he had the voice of a lion and he was there to demand answers for his wife of many years. It seemed that his wife had had a breast biospy the week before and they had waited and waited to get the results from the doctor. His anger and frustration were etched in the lines of his face as his voice grew louder and louder demanding that the doctor come out and speak to him. He returned to his car and brought his wife into the waiting room. She was using a walker and smiled at her husband, her Knight in Shining Armour, as she entered the Waiting Room. He announced to all that they would stay until they received an answer from the doctor or the moon turned blue! I was quietly cheering for him, but I doubted that he would get the results he so passionately desired for his wife. Believe it or not, a nurse came out and spoke very quietly to both of them and then she returned to the sacred doctor territory. By this time, everyone in the waiting room was observing the drama and we were all holding our breath for this special couple. When the nurse returned, she announced that the biopsy was negative and all was well. The entire population of the waiting room clapped and cheered!! Hollywood could not have scripted it better. With a twinkle in his eye, the man told his wife they would go and have a celebratory lunch---at Subway---and she could have a sandwich with all the trimmings!!! It was the very best ending to a very long morning. May you have many blessings for which you are thankful. Happy Thanksgiving.........