The Runaway Car

A runaway car, a dented Honda Accord, and insurance claims don’t sound like a good day.  This is where our story begins.  Our youngest daughter was in high school at the time and was parked on a side street while attending class.  A family nearby had just put their young children in their safety seats and ran into the house with the car running.  The unmanned idle car started going backward down their driveway. The runaway car hit our daughter’s parked Honda Accord.  Thank goodness the children were fine and the family was very happy to work with us.

Dan took the morning off of work and we took her car to the insurance company.  While waiting for the claim to be settled, Dan and I went to a nearby Panera Bread for breakfast and a cup of coffee.  As we waited, we looked over and saw a couple at a table whose smile and wave invited us over for a visit.  We discovered this was John and Alice.  John and Alice had recently been in our first ballroom dance class through our community college’s continuing education program.  We never really talked to each other in class but now the opportunity arose to get to know them better. 

This was the fall of 2008, and Dan and I had taken a pause in our dancing activities.  We had just finished a major home remodel, a year-long foreign exchange student stay, and the passing of my father.   We were not sure we would continue with Ballroom dancing.   John and Alice changed that.  

John and Alice invited us that morning to join them for an upcoming Ballroom dance event.  We found out that we were neighbors.  They said they would be happy to pick us up for the dance.  

What began as a runaway car was a blessing about to unfold.  We started going to weekly dance events with John and Alice.  Carpooling together.  Dancing together. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years.   Many dances were out of town.  We began to draw closer as friends and enjoyed having someone to do the dance journey with us.  It was nice to always know someone at the dances.  

Dances turned into biking, hiking, and snowshoeing together.  We enjoyed dinners at each other’s homes.  We did weekend dances and overnight activities together.  We celebrated weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries. We met many friends through John and Alice.  We loved every moment of our time together.  

Friendships like this are hard to come by.  They are hard to find.  Maybe you can say one in a million.  All it took was a runaway car.  

 

Dan, Lori, Alice, and John-2009