Funny Story

One more thing really quick. . .as we were trying to leave, we got to the light that is about 1/2 a block from our house. The guy who lives on the corner of our circle was there, in the turn lane, with a dead battery (he's a car salesman, so he always has several in his driveway!!) S pulled up next to him, and asked if he needed help. M. parked the car and ran up to get a truck. I pulled behind M. so I could put my hazard lights on and protect his car. We were taking up both lanes at that point. S. was just standing there waiting for M to get back, but all the other cars (from all directions) were just sitting looking at him.

I thought they were mad about his car, so I jumped out and pulled it up on the sidewalk so one lane was open. They still just sat there. I looked around and they were staring at S. I finally jumped out and yelled "Honey--you are in uniform. . .they think you are in charge!!" Immediately he went from neighbor towing car to soldier in charge. He started directing traffic in the intersection (2 lanes in each direction on both roads!) It was so funny!! Even when the light was green, they wouldn't go until he told them to! A guy in an RV was sitting behind my car, and he didn't move, probably because he thought he was waiting for me to go. S. pointed at him and waved him forward (it is funny the difference between anyone else directing traffic and a soldier doing it. Those sharp arm movements. . .) The guy didn't go when S waved, so he took two steps toward the RV and pointed at the guy and the man gunned his engine and started moving!! So funny! The guy was SCARED!!

A couple of seconds later, M got there with the truck and S went right back to "neighbor towing car"and helped get the chain on the bumper and got behind the wheel of the other car. Then we left. I'm sure that for a few moments the people in our area thought the national guard had been brought in to direct traffic!!

One more thing. . . the reason I am always so afraid to go to sleep when S isn't home. As we got ready to leave, I ran next door and banged on the doorbell. Our neighbor is a widower. He was asleep. He had no idea we were being evacuated. Even if he had woken up at a normal time, he would have had time to get out. The traffic would have been bad, but he would have been ok. But--what if?? Our neighbors had decided that if we weren't evacuated, we would have a watch where we took turns staying awake and watching the horizon and the news. But, if you are home alone, you can't get any sleep if you need to be watching!