Trucker

This happened back in the 80's when I was maybe 8 and my brother was around 2. We were tanking a road trip with my mom to visit my aunt and uncle who lived in a small town hours away in the mountains. We didn't drive the most reliable car and got a late start on the 5 hour trip.

Sure enough, our car broke down about halfway there as it often did. We were stranded on the side of a highway with dark quickly approaching, just a woman and two young kids. This was before the time of cell phones and there was no exit in sight.

After some time a real charmer (eyeroll) state trooper came by and said he couldn't offer us much help but he'd call us a tow truck then drove off. My mom was furious at the time that a state trooper would leave a mother and two young kids stranded on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere but couldn't do much about it as he insisted that he couldn't stay with us.

Well we waited and waited and tow truck didn't come. Finally someone stopped but it wasn't a tow truck, it was a huge 18 wheeler shipping truck. Out jumped a scraggly long haul truck driver complete with a trucker hat and long beard. He asked what the problem was and quickly offered us a ride to the next motel. My mom thanked him but says she'd really prefer him to call us a tow truck with his CB radio.

Conveniently enough, the truck driver said his radio was broken so he couldn't make the call but he'd be more than happy to drive us to the next motel. My mom thought and debated as the darkness was enclosing upon us and as she debated a pit formed in my 8 year old stomach. Every hair was standing in my body and I grabbed my moms arm and holding back tears whisper shouted into her ear "NO!" She didn't immediately listen because it was getting scary around us and so far he was the only one who had actually stopped, aside from the unhelpful cop.

I didn't know why but I just knew we would never be seen again if we got into that mans truck. My mom continued to consider her options and by now I had tears running down my face, although I was afraid for the trucker to see. I quietly pleaded with my mom "no, please no, we can't go with him" until she finally told him thanks but no thanks, still not knowing what our fate would be on the side of a pitch black highway miles from civilization.

The trucker tried a few more times to persuade my mom but probably realized that I was going to be a problem. He finally drove off and almost instantly a tow truck showed up and brought us to a rest stop for the night. I have never been as scared as I was that night and my mom still tells the story of how I probably saved all if our lives at 8 years old.