ANGEL IN DISGUISE ….IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD
Who says there are no angels in this world? I believe in God and angels: I also believe there are angels around us who are in disguise. They look like you and me, ordinary people. God sent them to our world for our help. They could be in the shape of a doctor, a bus driver, a teacher, or just someone next door. You never know who they may be or what form they may appear as.
My next door neighbor, Gina, believes in angels too. She is an accountant, a single mother and has raised two boys. Her beliefs became stronger after an incident, or rather, an accident.
Her teenage son had invited some of his friends to his house a few weeks back. Gina and her younger son left the house to give the kids some privacy. Her eldest son, James 17, and three of his friends were having a good time, until one of them suggested to go to his house. James offered his services in driving his friend to his house near Square One. To remind you, this is happening in my neighborhood, which is Derry and Mavis, quite a distance from Square One. Additionally, James does not hold a driver’s license; he only had a G1 at the time. The teenagers got excited and no one tried to put sense into James’s head.
Unfortunately, Gina had left her car home not thinking about such an incident occurring for obvious reason of James’s lack of proper license.
James put all his friends in the car and left home. While they were still in the neighborhood, James thought of just driving inside the Crescent: luck or God’s grace was playing its part here.
He drove around slowly at first, and then picked up the speed in the excitement. The second time they came to the curve of the crescent, another car, speedily driving on the wrong side of the road, was about to come crashing into James’s car. James had to turn all the way to his right in order to avoid a head on collision. He managed to do that, but hit the curb sliding and crushing three trees on his way. The car was so badly damaged between the trees that they were unable to push it down to the road.
Here comes the angel; a man, another neighbor, Ted Phu, who had been sitting outside had witnessed the whole accident and he came to the rescue of these careless teenagers. He tried his best to help them physically, but couldn’t do much. So, he called a tow truck right away on his expense. Ted stayed with the boys till the tow truck arrived and provided his support till the end. James told him about his G1 license and Ted was not shocked since it’s nothing new for a teenager to get excited to drive in order to impress his friends. According to Ted, the other guy was either drunk or was on a cell phone since he was the one who was driving on the wrong side. “He didn’t call the cops, thank God! Otherwise, I would’ve been in big trouble and my mom might have had a heart attack,” says James. James went to a nearby ATM to reimburse Ted for his generous loan. Good thinking, James!
James learned his lesson the hard way. His mom was so shocked that she couldn’t even talk to anyone for a week or so.
“What if the cops had come? What in the world would’ve happened if they had collided or had gone to the Mavis road? What if Ted wasn’t there? I was worried to death thinking about the other boys,” Said Gina. Gina conveyed her gratitude to Ted the very next day, “I was speechless, I cried in front of him, and he understood…I didn’t even have a CAA membership and can’t afford a hike in my insurance.”
Ted is a young guy who used to live at the corner of our street, but has recently moved to another place. Our angel, as Gina and I named him, has spread his wings and gone elsewhere. He must be watching over other kids in some other neighborhood. Wherever he may be, his neighbors are extremely fortunate.
