"A River Ran Through It"
The windshield wipers were going just as fast as they could go. The wind was howling, and flashes of lightning streaked across the sky. My sister Jan and I were in the back seat of the family Cadillac while my cousin Greg drove, and Shirley worked the map from the passenger’s side. We were just not that familiar with Kentucky and it was clear to me that we were lost.
Caught in a tremendous downpour in unfamiliar territory caused the tensions to be high, and I was starting to feel a strong sense of foreboding. I ventured a request asking if we could just pull over. “No” came from Shirley as Greg chuckled at my distress. This was more than a fright.
Everything in me knew we needed to stop the car. I considered asking again but I doubted that it would help. The foreboding built up within me and it was unshakeable. I knew I would soon not be able to resist calling out. Something was terribly wrong!
“Stop the car!” exploded out of me about as loud as I could yell it! Greg slammed on the brakes cursing, and Shirley turned my way to express her displeasure, and I knew it was going to be harsh, so I braced for the slap that was sure to come.
Suddenly, Greg started tapping urgently on Shirley’s shoulder and pointing out the front windshield. She looked and just froze.
I cautiously scooted forward in my seat so that I could see. Looking out over the hood of the car and following the headlights through the rain where the swollen river raged, I could see where the bridge was completely washed away leaving only the jagged edge of the road where the bridge had been.
We all sat and stared at the river rushing by, knowing that we would never have survived had we not stopped the car. This was a clear brush with death.
Greg slowly backed up and turned the car around. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could. I objected, stating that we needed to stay there in case another car came this way and ended up in the river as we had almost done.
Just then, a pair of headlights appeared coming our way; and soon an officer’s car pulled up beside us. He had been sent to check on the bridge. He pulled up beside us, seeing the bridge was out.
Greg briefed him on our experience and asked for directions out of there. The officer provided us with the directions, and we left.