So life on the coast has been relatively hard of late – no water, a bridge that is causing more headaches, more damage to my car and a deeper dent to my bank account than I care to calculate.
Just another ordinary day in paradise.
I was out and about doing some work – nothing new there – and had parked on the side of the road with my emergency lights flashing while I dashed off to meet someone important about an equally important matter.
I returned to my car, slid into the driver’s seat, turned the key… and nothing. Not even a polite cough. My battery had clearly decided it, too, was fed up with coastal life. There I was, in the blistering February heat, stranded on the side of the road with hazards blinking.
Enter an unexpected angel.
Yoga teacher Simmi Mary pulled over. No fuss, no hesitation – just a warm smile, and incredibly, a set of jumper cables at the ready. I was pretty amazed. Here she was – calm, gorgeous, glowing with that post-yoga serenity – with just 15 minutes to get to her class, yet she stopped to help a damsel in vehicular distress.
She quite literally shed some love and light into my car.
Moments later, along comes Piet van der Hooven from Lazer 911. Not that Simmi didn’t have things firmly under control, but she was running late to teach, so Piet seamlessly took over. A few expert manoeuvres later and – wham – my car roared back to life.
Heroes don’t always wear capes. Sometimes they carry jumper cables.
You’d think that would be the end of my automotive drama for the day. Of course not. This is my life we’re talking about.
Off I go, only to have my bright orange engine light pop on as if to say, “Did you really think we were done?”
A quick message to Deon’s Motor Repairs and the response was immediate: “Come through, let’s check it out.”
Within minutes, the car doctors had diagnosed the problem and I was back on my merry way.
And that’s the thing about living on the South Coast. Yes – the taps run dry. Yes – the bridge rattles our shock absorbers and our sanity.
But then, out of nowhere, someone stops in the heat to help. Someone else steps in, so another can get to class on time. A mechanic says, “Come, we’ll sort it,” without so much as a sigh.
We, South Coasters, have plenty to grumble about – and trust me, Sulky Sue will continue to do her fair share. But we also have the scenery, the weather, the beaches… and, most importantly, the kind-hearted locals who go the extra mile without being asked.
Maybe that’s the real power source around here.
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