It happened on the way to the cemetery
There is a tradition that dates back to the horse and buggy days, of pulling to the side of the road to let a funeral procession pass by, out of respect for the deceased and the grieving family members. Sadly, it is fading away these days, rarely observed outside of small town rural America.
And so I found myself at the front of a long line of cars with headlights on and hazard lights flashing, on the way to the final resting place for my wife's father. As we made our way through town, cars and trucks driven by young and old alike pulled off to the side of the road until all had passed.
Part of our journey involved getting onto interstate 20 and this is where things got interesting. Other vehicles were passing and merging into the procession, one clueless slackjaw pulled in front of me and then drove for several miles before finally exiting. This had the effect of breaking up the procession, which was going to be a problem for those from out of town who had no idea where we were going. Someone was bound to get lost and this only worsened what was already a stressful situation.
But then I noticed something unusual, no more cars were passing us and, looking in the rearview mirror, I could see that our long line of headlights had pretty much gotten back together. How had this happened when just before we were being swarmed by so many people in their small self absorbed frenzies?
Once we arrived at the cemetery, those who had been at the end of the line filled us in as to what had happened. Two eighteen wheelers had observed what was happening, and blocked the interstate by driving side by side, until we exited. This small act of compassion on their part made a dramatic impression on everybody there that day. Everyone was talking about it, more than once someone would say, "did you know what those truckers did?" I wished there was a way to thank these two nameless angels.
Somewhere out there are a couple of truckers who don't realize how much they are appreciated.
