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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Saviors in Ohio

I think everyone has had experiences that seem dire, but can be looked back at in a better light later in hindsight.
A recent one for me occurred two Saturdays ago. I woke up at 9:30 a.m. to make the hour-and-a-half-long drive to Bryan, Ohio, just across the border, to renew my license at the BMV before it expired on Nov. 19, my 21st birthday (start thinking of birthday gifts now, please).
Everything was going fine. I made it there safely, got my new license and hit the road, ready to head back to Notre Dame to watch the Irish beat the Sooners that night.
Of course, nothing ever goes directly according to plan. About a half-mile down the road on my way back, my car slowed to a complete stop. I later found out it was a broken fuel pump that caused the problem, but I couldn't get it fixed at that time because no mechanic was open until Monday. So I was stranded without a car 100 miles east of South Bend and two and a half hours northwest of my home near Columbus with nobody nearby to help.
My dad began the drive to pick me up as my car was towed to a local auto shop. I planned to simply wait out the few hours it would take for him to get there by walking to a restaurant in Bryan to grab a meal and watch college football.
But in the parking lot of the auto shop, a middle-aged couple, both wearing Notre Dame sweatshirts, was dropping one of its cars off to be repaired. On the spot, they invited me to their home a few miles away to have some food. We had a great conversation about each other's lives, our families, and, of course, Irish football.
I then helped them move some furniture items they needed transported to a local storage space, and before I knew it, my dad was in Bryan, ready to bring me back to Notre Dame. On Friday, one of my friends was able to take me back to Bryan so I could pick up my fixed car. It, thankfully, worked well.
After all was said and done, I'd wasted about eight total hours of my time - five stuck in Bryan on Saturday and three to drive there and back Friday. It also cost almost $600 to fix my car, which is exciting.
But at least I was able to get to know some great people, which is what, in my opinion, life is all about. Thanks a lot, Bob and Sue. And, oh yeah ... Go Irish.
 


The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.