Don’t Just Sit There

Don’t just sit there! I could hear my father’s words ringing in my head.

My 1977 Honda Civic stick shift with no AC was stalled on the railroad tracks (don’t ask why I was stopped on the tracks, I know I know, that was bad driving).

I could hear the freight train approaching, and I tried again to start the engine. Ruh, ruh, ruh, ruh. Nothing. The train was slow, but it was still coming.

Options ran through my head. I could keep trying to start the engine. I could get out of my car and watch the train wreck. I could try to push my car off the tracks. Don’t just sit there! I heard again, Do something.

I opened the driver’s side door, put the car in neutral, and started pushing and steering at the same time. Train coming. Car not moving.

I pushed harder, don’t cry I told my 16-year old self, and I pushed and yelled like I was having a baby.

Out of nowhere, a guy in his 50’s yelled keep pushing, and he got behind the car to help get me out of this mess I had gotten myself into. But the tires were stuck in the grooves of the train tracks. Now the freight train was honking his horn, long and loud.

A young girl, barely older than me, jumped out of her car and started pushing. Get in!! Behind her came a young guy in a business suit, pressed white shirt, and he started pushing. The car rolled over the tracks, finally, with one person steering and three people pushing the car past the Railroad Crossing. I popped the clutch and the car started as the train passed behind us with the long horn quieting as it passed.

I don’t tell you this story to remind you not to stop on railroad tracks, though that is good advice for a young driver.

I tell you this because it is what got me involved in politics last year. Watching what was happening in our country, was like waiting for the inevitable train wreck. I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore.

I saw US Citizens storm the capitol of their own country. I saw riots in the streets, brother against brother, friend against friend. Things like discussions on abortion and vaccination status divided the country into left and right, there was no middle.

I remember my dad’s words: Don’t just sit there, do something!

I did something. I joined SAM. What is SAM? Watch this, it’s well worth two minutes and twelve seconds of your life.

I couldn’t have avoided that train wreck alone. It took the help of total strangers working together towards a common goal. Without the interference of those people, the pending disaster would have become reality and many people would have been impacted by it.

If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved, don’t just sit there, e-mail me. We’ll talk. Deb_Albers@Yahoo.com