Two boats and a helicopter. . .

You have probably heard this one several times, but in case you didn't: There was a flood. As the water rose, a boat came to a man's house and they said get in and we will carry you to safety. The man said, "I have faith in God, move on." The water continued to rise, and another boat came to rescue him. Again he replied, "I have faith in God, move on." The water continued to rise, and now the man was standing on the roof of his house. This time a helicopter came, and they pleaded for the man to let them carry him to safety. He replied, "I have faith in God, move on." Long story short, the man drowned. When the man got to heaven, he asked God why with all of his faith and prayers the flood was allowed to take his life; to which God replied, "I sent two boats and a helicopter." So, why the tired old joke? Be patient.

I drive a 1994 F-150, perhaps the finest vehicle ever made, which has both a front and a rear tank. Well, last night (the coldest night of the year thus far) the tank ran out as I was going up a slight incline about a fourth of a mile from my house. Thinking I could make it farther than I did, I hesitated to flip the switch to the other tank; using up the gas that remained in the fuel line. (I'll try to tone it down for you non-gear heads.) So, the engined died: truck pointing up hill on a narrow street. With in a minute, a good Samaritan stopped to see if I needed some help. I thanked him for stopping and sent him on his way, thinking the truck would start any second. Five minutes later, a police man stopped to see if I needed help, thinking the truck would be over its bout of stubbornness any minute, I said thank you, but I'll be fine. Shortly after that, I ran the battery down trying get the engine restarted. About an hour after my truck died, my brother came to my rescue, and I was able to make it the final quarter of a mile to my house. What's the moral of this story: I turned help away twice and I spent an hour in the cold, less than a quarter of a mile from my house; because things didn't happen the way I thought they would.