This week I lead with a public service announcement. Keep your cell phone charged. A charged phone is crucial for emergency roadside assistance. Imagine being stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire, a dead battery, or worse, in an unfamiliar area. In such moments, your phone becomes your lifeline. It's your connection to emergency services, towing companies, and loved ones who can offer help or reassurance. Rarely, do we find ourselves with no service anymore. Over the past few years, coverage has improved tremendously though there are still areas. I bring this up because this past Friday night, my eldest daughter was returning home from work next to Bass Lake. On her way she was in an accident. She rounded a corner on those windy roads around the lake and came upon several cows in the road. Not having an out to the left, a ravine, or to the right, the forest, she braced for impact as she stomped on the brakes. The impact was severe rendering her car immovable but she was fine (thank goodness for cars that have wonderful safety ratings). Her Toyota Rav4 was totaled. She was obviously shaken. Her first inclination was to get out of the car, since she was in the middle of the road on a curve at night. Smart. Then she attempted to call me. Dead phone battery. Most of the time in our lives, a dead phone battery is an inconvenience, in a time like that it is frightening. She was left to do it the old fashioned way: flag a car down. Not the best back up plan for a young female on a wilderness mountain road in the dark of night. Thankfully, a nice couple stopped but the story doesn’t end there. Instead of getting her charge cord out of her car so she could plug in and call me, she used the phone of the good Samaritan. When my phone rang, I looked like most people do, to see who it was calling. Since it was an unknown number to me, I DIDN’T ANSWER. Thank you, spam calls. She then called my son, who in turn, called me. My goodness, what a night. I am thankful that everyone was alright, except the cow. My daughter now has a backup battery in her rental car and in her purse. She knows, as do I, that without a charged phone, you're left vulnerable, unable to reach or be reached. Cell phones have become so commonplace in our society that we forget the importance of the device in our absolute time of need. Though I will never tell my daughter because she made the right call getting out of the car in the middle of the road. Her charge cord was in the car and the key could still be turned to “accessory mode” so her phone could get power. In the panic stricken adrenaline rush of the aftermath, that thought was lost. So, the bottom line here is to make it a habit to keep your phone charged, especially before long drives. It's a small step that could make a big difference when you need it most. Have a tremendous weekend. (cue Ant Clemons and Justin Timberlake - Better Days)
Until Next Time...
