An angel at the right time

To the editor of the Saratoga Sun,

In April my husband and I were called to Laramie to say goodbye to my Papa. He had been taken to a hospice there when he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. My husband and I travel a lot because of his job so we were in Kearney at the time. We left the motorhome (our home) there and drove as fast as we could to Laramie to say goodbye to Papa. This was a terrible time for us, even though Papa was in his 80’s he was very dear to us. We cried most of the way there.

We got to Laramie and were told we could’t go in to be with him but they would bring him to the window where we could see him and wave and try to communicate how much we loved him. Again, very terrible time. It was very cold and I was weeping so I went back to my car and stood there, crying so hard I couldn’t see or talk. It was late, probably around 10 by then. I wasn’t paying any attention to anything and suddenly I felt a blanket being put around my shoulders and heard a woman’s voice speaking to me. She was very sweet and asked if I was OK, did I need help? When I was able to find my voice I told her what was happening. She then took me to her van and put me in the front seat where it was wonderfully warm. My husband came over and asked what was going on. This lady said she was just worried that we needed help. He said the nurse told him the end was close and we needed to get back to the window were Papa was. We all got out of the vehicle and the lady brought all the blankets and coats she had to keep us warm. We stood there at the window, weeping, and the lady praying with us. The nurse indicated that it was over and Papa was now with Jesus.

We went back to the lady’s van where she opened the hatch and moved everything out of the way so that we could all get in the back. She then made us hot tea on a little burner stove and heated tortillas as well so we could have something to eat. She asked where we were going to stay the night was we told her we were going back to Kearney to get the motorhome and then back here to take care of things. She said it might be better if we stayed the night since it had started to snow some. We told her we really couldn’t because we had left all of our debit cards and cash in the motorhome. The only thing we had was a Shell gas card. She said if we wanted to stay, she’d make a phone call and see if she could find us something. We agreed that might be a good idea. She got out of the van, made a call and came back to tell us that the Police Department could help us get a room for the night.

We followed her to the police building where she showed us where to go. While we were giving them our identification and everything, this angel disappeared.

All we know about her is that she said she worked for a small police department about 100 miles west of Laramie. She drove a silver minivan and had a dog with her. Funny, we remember the dog’s name was Buddy. She was about 50ish.

We just wanted to thank her for everything she did to make us feel better and to comfort us. Kind people seem to be rare of at least not as likely to show their kindness to strangers.

There truly are angels among us.

Sincerely,

Ashley and Taylor Washington

Mobile Bay, Alabama

 

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