Sometimes we encounter an epic day, one that slows us, banishes distractions, restores perspective, reminds us life is precious and should be treated that way. When a child is born, fear overcome, or tragedy averted, we become grateful.
On these days, as John Quincy Adams wrote, “Gratitude, warm, sincere, intense…fills the soul to overflowing and scarce leaves room for any other sentiment or thought.” C.S. Lewis said, “Gratitude exclaims, very properly, ‘How good of God to give me this.’”
That is how I felt today. Last night it rained, the rain froze, and turned to snow. By morning, the whole world was sugar-encrusted – but I was late for a gun show, where I planned to meet people and talk rights and rifles.
So, paying no mind to Nature or God’s invitation to slow, I grabbed my coffee, threw on a coat, jumped in the car, and headed out to greet the world.
First hint that today was not the day to move fast came quickly. Navigating my dirt drive, my SUV had no traction on the powdered ice. Having driven on snow all my life, the mini fishtails were entertaining, and on my car plowed, undaunted. As we do on days like this, coffee found my right hand, left held tight the wheel.
Second hint came at the first stop sign, which – despite all the advertising – did not stop me. I slid a hundred feet toward it, by it, and nearly bought the opposing snow bank. Quickly recovered, I swigged my coffee and carried on.
The next stretch was “long and winding,” like the Beatles song, a backwoods road. In six miles, it would find civilization, where plows and sand made travel easier.
My mind was not where it should have been. It was already at the armory, looking at old guns and new, historic, antique, and new, all worth talking about.
My mind was bouncing over random topics, as my car bounced over frost heaves, frozen twitches in the road. The trees were beautiful, snow still falling, road not well plowed, but who cared? I wanted to make up for lost time, so I clutched my coffee.
That is when it happened, the minute and a half that made this day epic, almost catastrophic. Somehow, the heaves, breezes, and my speed – combined with black ice – suddenly changed my world – especially concentrated my mind.
My car – a 4-wheel-drive – went from navigating the bumpy, iced road in a traditional, front-forward way, to navigating it at a 90 degree angle, passenger window the new windshield, my side the tail, and then spun another 60 degrees.
Instinctively, unable to unclutch the coffee, my left hand went into survival mode, working to manage wild fishtailing. Time stopped, and the heart almost did. I was watching trees pass in front and behind me, then beside me, behind and in front of me again, as 180-degree fishtails continued, apparently unstoppable.
My speed was wrong, the ice was wrong, the snow gave no traction, was even deceptive, and was still falling. Car swung hard left, hard right, left again, right again, left once more, then hard into – but not over – the right snow bank. That hard hit seemed to snap sense into the car, and into me.
Fishtails from that moment on were of a sporting kind, each one less dramatic than the last, until the car finally rolled to a complete stop. Prayers poured out of me. By God’s grace, there had been no oncoming or following traffic, no snow plow.
When the episode ended, I nearly collapsed. My prayers began at that first big fishtail, continued throughout, and intensified with the snowbank, behind which were countless trees. I sat there for some time, collecting my breath and wits.
Sometimes, as the Good Book says, God looks after fools, has mercy on them just because. If the goal was to teach, I sat there and absorbed the lesson.
In time, I got to my destination and had a thoughtful, but quiet day. On return, I found a chair, said some prayers, and read a bit of C.S. Lewis, whom I admire. His works grab me now and then, did today – including “Mere Christianity” written in WWII.
Some days we are made grateful, slowed, even forced to stop, reevaluate things. A loving God asserts Himself, gets our attention one way, then collects it in another.
As C.S. wrote, “You cannot go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” We can all do that, in a thousand ways.
Today, He slowed me. Sometimes we have an epic day, one that banishes distraction, restores perspective, and reminds us life is precious and should be treated that way. Today was one for me. I pass it forward, without the fishtails.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
