Stranded…For An Hour

Last week while having dinner with a few friends in downtown Huntington, the heavens opened up for at least half an hour and dumped inches of rain on the sleepy little town. After waiting it out for a bit in the restaurant, it appeared to have let up so we made a dash for our cars. We still got thoroughly soaked. My friend Brittany and I both headed east toward our respective homes when we were foiled by floodwater in all the underpasses out of town. We headed on through town for the only way out heading east that doesn’t involve an underpass (the town was named after a railroad tycoon, after all), and were stopped by more than three feet of standing water in the main street out of town.

We stopped to come up with another plan, and decided to head several miles west to get on the interstate. We headed out and Brittany ran over a giant branch in the road that ripped the plastic piece under her car that protects the underbody, so we pulled into a gas station on the corner. Which was a good decision, because as it happened, the street heading west was chock full of water, too.

So there we were, stranded at the gas station, looking like a couple of drowned rats on our hands and knees under the front bumper of her car. And would you believe nobody stopped to help us? Where is chivalry? Not in Huntington, West Virginia, I assure you.

All in all we were only at the gas station about 30 minutes before the water began to recede a bit and I was able to get us out using a few back streets that were on high ground.

Here’s what I learned. Had I been in this situation alone, I would have been frustrated, beyond annoyed, and ready to scream. I likely would have been nearing panic attack territory being trapped alone. But with Brittany by my side, we were cracking up at the absurdity of the situation. (“Look! Everyone is driving the wrong way down the one-way street!”) Not only that, but I got home and felt like I’d participated in some sort of mid-life adventure. My evening ended up nothing near like what I had anticipated. Next time, I say let it rain. Just stop and ask if I need help the next time I’m up under a car, ok?