by Rich DuBose
In November of my freshman year in college Linda invited me to go home with her for Thanksgiving, which I happily accepted. At the time my parents lived near Orlando, Florida, so it was a long way for me to go home. Her family lived in Hinsdale, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). I wanted to meet her family., so it was a no-brainer. Even though we had only known each other for a few short months, it felt natural to go with her.
It was great to meet Linda’s parents and siblings. Her dad was a Physical Therapist at Hinsdale Hospital, and her mom was a nurse. I met Linda’s two brothers and two sisters (who were spread out grade-wise along the educational spectrum, with Linda being the oldest. When I met everyone, her youngest sibling, Lori, was 10 years-old.
Her family's commitment to education was impressive, and their desire to treat others with compassion and kindness was obvious. I knew I was with people who loved Jesus and who wanted to make the world a better place.
Going For a Drive
One thing happened during this break that in retrospect was kind of funny. On Saturday afternoon, Linda and I took a drive into the country to visit the boarding school where she spent her junior and senior years of high school (Broadview Academy). It was great to be introduced to that part of her history and to see the setting.
On the way back to her house we passed an elaborate estate with museums, gardens, and a golf course called Cantigny Park. I learned later that it was the former estate of Joseph Medill and his grandson, Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publishers of the Chicago Tribune. It was a favorite area for Linda’s family to visit during her growing up years, so we drove in to take a short walk and view the gardens.
It was toward the latter part of the afternoon when we arrived and the park would close at sunset. So we tucked that bit of information into our heads as we headed off to see the park. It was late November and was pretty cold (with some snow on the ground), so we didn’t walk too long. After being in the park for an hour or so, we got back into the car and drove toward the entrance. By this time the sun had set and the light that was left was the sun’s afterglow bouncing off the clouds.
When we reached the front entrance it was closed. Locked! Talk about surprise. We were stunned! How could they do that? To make matters worse, no one was around. I quickly realized they must have thought everyone was out of the park, so they closed everything up and left. This was before the days of cell phones, so we had no way to alert any one of our predicament. We were locked in Cantigny Park, about 30 miles from the warmth of Linda’s home, in a cold car, which was rapidly being enveloped by darkness. We were driving an old blue 63 Ford that Linda’s family fondly referred to as the “Blue Bomb,” because it was kind of on its last leg. For whatever reason, the car’s heater didn’t work, and it was cold.
For a moment, put yourself in my shoes. I was visiting Linda’s family for the first time. I had met her parents and I was enjoying getting acquainted, but now I had gone with their daughter for an afternoon drive and had gotten locked in a park after closing hours. I had no way to contact them. There were no businesses nearby. As I surveyed my surroundings, I saw a large formal looking house across a field that was covered with a couple of inches of snow. Beyond that was another house that had a long driveway coming to it from the main road (the one we needed to get to). The cogs in my brain were turning, if I could somehow get over to that other driveway I would be able to reach the main road. So, I got out of the car and walked out into the field to see how firm the soil was. It felt hard.
I’ve heard it said that it’s sometimes better to be decisive and make a wrong decision than to be indecisive and stuck in limbo. That thought was running through my head when I got back into the car and told Linda about my plan. I figured if I could get across the grassy area to the other driveway I’d be able drive out to the main road. The car had snow tires and there wasn’t very much snow. So, revving the engine I aimed the car across the field toward the distant driveway.
Everything went fine until we got halfway across the field, when we started fishtailing and losing momentum. Then we stopped forward movement and the wheel started spinning in place. We sank down to the axles with the tires half buried. Great! Now we were locked in a park after closing hours, and stuck in the middle of a field. Things were definitely not moving in the direction we needed them to go.
I got out of the car and walked around it to assess our situation. It wasn't very pretty. Linda sat inside shivering. I got back in the car and told her we needed to pray, because I had no clue what we were going to do. We needed a miracle.
The porch light was on at the large formal house I had seen earlier, which could either be a sign of hospitality or of an attempt by its occupants to keep the robbers and wackos away. I took my chances and stepped onto the porch.
After ringing the doorbell I wondered if anyone was actually there. Suddenly a well-dressed man opened the door and allowed me to explain our plight. Let’s just say he was not amused, evidenced by his colorful language and expressions of disgust. After saying he would contact someone, he shut the door and left me peering into the night. I slowly walked back to the car and got in. Linda had an old army blanket that had been left in the car for emergencies, and was wrapped up in it. I joked with her about trying to explain to her dad the next morning why we had the spend the night together.
Fifteen to twenty minutes went by before we heard the sound of a distant tractor getting closer. Never had a tractor sounded so heavenly. “Swing low, sweet tractor, coming for to carry us home.”
The man driving the tractor was super positive and apologetic. I tried to apologize for getting stuck in the field, but he blew it off and said it was the security guards fault for not making sure all the people were out of the park before closing it. Then he told me something that left me speechless. He said a few months earlier someone else had gotten locked in the park, and they too had tried to reach the other driveway by driving across the field, only they were driving a large tour bus and they got stuck. Suddenly I didn’t feel so dumb.
Relieved and thankful to be on our way to Linda’s home, the stress that had built up slowly ebbed away. I would not have to try and convince Linda’s Dad and Mom with such a tale of being locked in a park all night!
That experience taught me that life is unpredictable and that no matter how good your intentions are, there will be detours and challenges along the way. So we need to save our stress and angst for the really big stuff. But that’s the problem, it all seems big when you’re in the middle of it.
Rich DuBose writes from Northern California
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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.