In This Issue - Michigan Runner

gone to great lengths to help out, including
towing the dinged car to the owner's choice
of garages in the Lower Peninsula. She was
stopping to say thanks again and as she left I
said, “Boy, that was nice of her.” Bill said
she'd sent a stuffed bear that he'd posted
above his desk.
Bill said he had confidence in the
mechanic, who was a nice guy. We dropped
off my car at the mechanic's garage and
headed back to the tow garage.
The plan and hope was to find another
engine Monday and I'd be on my way home
late Tuesday. That meant I had to stay somewhere.
Bill mentioned two places in
Naubinway, a town at the northernmost
point of Lake Michigan.
While deciding where I'd stay, Bill let me
use his phone. I called my friend, Michelle, to
explain my situation and ask her to feed my
cat. Bill said he had two old cats next door in
his home's garage and took me to meet them.
Then we drove the five miles to Naubinway,
where he'd made arrangements for me to stay
at the Country Girl Diner, which had rooms
for rent upstairs.
On the way to town, Bill said he was
going to eat dinner at a place near my destination
and I was welcome to join him. Not
able to turn down the most-accommodating
person I'd met in years, I checked into the
diner and headed over for some buffet. Bill
introduced me to the two guys sitting with
him, one of whom owned the local golf
course, and I loaded up a plate with food.
They talked mostly about local people and
doings.
Bill grabbed my check before I could
protest. I wandered back to the diner and
spent a few minutes talking with the owners,
Judy and Larry. Later I went upstairs to my
deluxe room; I had four beds to pick from, a
full kitchen and a TV with cable, on which I
watched the Tigers beat the Braves. It was a
neat end to an eventful day.
Following a two-hour easy out/back bike
ride Monday morning, I called Bill. “I called
all over the U.P. and couldn't find you an
engine,” he said. “But I did find one in
Saginaw. We'd have to go down to get it and
it'd add to your bill.” I gave him the OK,
showered and came downstairs for lunch.
About 15 minutes after I'd sat down, Bill
came in. Since I'd seen a car well off the road
in a low, boggy area a few miles from town
on my ride, I asked, “Did you just tow a car
out not far from here?” He nodded yes. I
asked if the driver had swerved to miss a
deer. He said no and pinched his eyes. “He
fell asleep at the wheel. Wow, was he lucky!“
Bill said and sat down to eat.
Following lunch, I spent an hour talking
with Judy and Larry. They had worked for
GM in Pontiac and returned to Naubinway,
where they'd owned their place 21 years.
They did a thriving business in snowmobile
season and had a snowmobile-service building
next door. I remarked how nice Bill had
been and they agreed, citing all the work he
does and told me his age: 79! Their “For
Sale” sign indicated they were ready to move
on, slow down and spend more time with
their kids downstate.
I took a walking tour of the village
before dinner. To the south were three streets
of homes with a marina to the far south and
a large, busy fish-processing plant to the east.
On U.S. 2, with a tended flower bed along
the south curb, were a gas station, four
restaurants, two motels, a realty office, bank
and post office. Next to my lodging was a
full-service store, think mini-Meijers, built in
the '20s with well-worn wooden floors. They
had everything in that place.
After a dinner of whitefish, I watched the
Tigers lose, read and went to bed. Tuesday
morn, I went for another two-hour easy ride
with a deer crossing my path halfway. Bill
called after I returned and said they were
working on my car. Following a breakfast of
pancakes, I asked Larry when checkout time
was and he said not to worry, as he knew I'd
be there until late afternoon. Dang, yet
another gesture of U.P. hospitality!
Around 3 p.m. I heard the rumbling of
an engine outside. A huge Middleton tow
truck had pulled in. I came downstairs and
Bill told me, “Your car should be ready by 5
or 6 but I won't be here. I have to go pick up
a semi in Toledo.”
I thanked him profusely for all his time,
trouble and generosity and off he went - to
pass within one mile of my home on his way
to Ohio. I was told later he'd try to hook up
the semi and return home right away. That
meant a return early the next morn. I could
picture Bill doing that.
At 5:30, Joey, Bill's nephew, called to say
my car was at the tow garage and he'd be
down to get me soon. I settled my room and
meal tab at the diner, packed my bags and
waited.
I thought about the unlikely series of
lucky and unselfish events of the past couple
days. The odds things would've worked out
similarly if I'd broken down elsewhere in the
U.P. made me think some since people and
towns are a substantial distance apart.
Friends, if you're going to have a bad
experience, I hope yours turns out as well as
mine did.
Back at the garage, I settled the repair
tab, thanked them and headed for the
Mackinac Bridge. I arrived home Tuesday at
11:30 p.m. A further upside to my adventure
is the newer engine only has 40,000 miles on
it, saving me from me from buying another
car to replace mine with 197,500 miles.
POSTSCRIPT. Nearly from the outset, I was
unraveling in the Black Bear 100-mile bike
race from Grayling to Oscoda July 29. A
combination of factors — chiefly a hot day,
dehydration and leg cramps — turned an
anticipated good ride into a disappointing
DNF at 86.5 miles.
As I pulled over at a park entrance, so
did a van. Several riders had crews following
them, handing off needed nourishment, and I
figured that’s why the van had pulled over.
A woman emerged, looked down the
road and asked if I needed anything. I knew I
needed help, but didn’t want to come right
out and ask for a ride to the finish, so I
agreed to a water bottle.
A minute later she asked if I’d be able to
make it to the finish. I seized the opportunity
to tell her I was cooked and, yes, could use a
ride, thanks.
We loaded my bike on the top of her van
and I hopped in. She told me her name was
Tina, introduced her four kids in back and
told me her husband was in the race. As I
watched the miles tick off — each one seeming
more like five miles — I became happier
with my DNF.
At the finish Tina told me she was
Christian and always looking for ways to
help others. As I thanked her, I flashed back
to my car troubles five weeks earlier, the
lucky timing of encounters and helpful people
of northern Michigan, and I counted my
blessings again.
Answer: The first Dexter-AA Run
was 15 miles long, symbolic of
Ann Arbor's Sesquicentennial. MR
MACKINAC
ISLAND
Half Marathon & 5.7 Mile
Sat., October 27, 2007
11:30 am
Register On-Line:
www.RunMackinac.com
(810) 659-6493
Howell, Michigan
THE GREAT TURTLE
TRAIL RUN
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M I C H I G A N R U N N E R
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