Yesterday I went for a walk around Lake Beckwith in Colorado City with a friend of mine. I took Finn and Pongo with me and we had a great time. But then on the way home the water pump in my truck seized and broke the serpentine belt! I lost my power steering and the engine quickly began to heat up so I pulled onto the shoulder and raised the hood. Here I am sitting by the side of the road with two goats in the back of my truck and no way to get home. Phil was inaccessible. It was just after 5:00 on a Sunday and he was busy with his livestream. He wouldn’t have heard the phone even if it rang 50 times.

But as luck would have it, a lady who lives just a short distance past my house happened to be driving by and she stopped to see what was going on. It’s impossible not to recognize the crazy lady who drives around the valley with goats in her truck! I asked my neighbor if she could stop by my house on her way home and bang on the window of the room where Phil does his livestream. She said she could do that, but in the meantime it was getting dark and quickly getting cold! I knew it would be a little while before Phil could get his boots on and come to our rescue, so I unloaded Finn and Pongo and began marching up the highway. I’m happy that the road has a nice wide shoulder because the traffic was relatively heavy as commuters came home from work, and nearly everyone drives too fast. But the boys were good and Finn was downright stately. He marched up the highway with his head held high and a dignified air about him. Pongo bounced along beside us, trying hard to imitate Finn but jumping behind my leg in fright every time a vehicle flew past us. We walked about a mile and it was almost dark when Phil pulled up.

Just as Phil arrived another neighbor drove up with his truck and said he’d seen me and the goats hiking up the highway and had turned around and come back to see if we needed a lift. It feels great to know there are so many helpful and caring people in this valley who will stop and offer their assistance when I break down, even when I have goats in tow!