Who knew how many questions your mind could generate once it got sparked? My mind was racing with questions and thoughts to myself as we got closer to what seemed to be white smoke. We were on the highway, so what more could it be than a car? My main question out of all my racing thoughts was, would we pull over and look into the situation or keep going right past to enjoy the family time that we planned to spend together that night?

We were making our way down the highway on our way to Grand Haven where we planned to see what would probably be our last opportunity to see the sunset for the rest of the year since it was late September and get ice cream from our favorite place that we found that summer before they closed for season. We came around the bend on the highway to where it straightened out again when I started seeing white smoke. As we gradually came closer to the smoke I realized that it was coming from a car on the side of the road. Once we got up to it we saw that they could use some help. We pulled over to the side of the road in front of their car.

My dad who is a firefighter has dealt with many things including car fires. He knew that it was their engine smoking and that if it kept going for too long, heating up by the second, it could catch on fire, and the only way to prevent it would be to cool it down by washing it out. So we made sure to pull up farther in front of them for safety purposes. At that point my dad and I walked to their car while my mom, sister and our red fox lab stayed and watched from the back window. We could see that the lady we were approaching was pouring in some water from a jug that she had been keeping in her car. Apparently this incident kept happening. While we were approaching her we asked her if anyone else has stopped to help her. We were hoping that the state trooper that passed us earlier on the road had stopped and helped her.
She replied, “You’re the first ones besides the trooper that stopped for a quick second and just asked if I was ok.”

My dad and I gave each other a look and we both instantly knew what each one was thinking. Why didn’t the trooper actually get out and help instead of just leaving them there? The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. We really wanted to go and see this sunset, but we knew the right thing to do was to stay back and help them.

I was pouring the water into the engine when my dad pipes up to the lady there, “Will you need a ride home? The way your car is acting you won’t be able to drive it home and it is getting dark soon.”

By this time when my dad said this I for sure thought that there would be no sunset for us and possibly not even ice cream considering we didn’t officially know their business hours, or if they were already closed for the season like many other ice cream shoppes. I finally came to my senses after a few deep breathes. I finished pouring the rest of the water in the jug into the engine so that even after we left it wouldn’t catch on fire.

The lady and the other man then made their way to the car with us. We were then on our way to their house, which they were talking casual with us on the ride.

I was in my own world staring out the window watching the sun get a little lower every time I blinked. I finally tuned in to listen to what my parents and the other two strangers were talking about.

“My brother and I were on our way home because my oldest daughter had been in an accident in Grand Rapids earlier in the day, but then our car broke down and I have two young kids at home all alone waiting for us.” she said this all so calmly, although you could tell that she was in a state of nervousness.

We conversed with each other with casual talk until we got them to their apartment complex. Once we dropped them we started on our way to Grand Haven, although the sun was already half way down. We were all wondering what we were going to do now considering: where we were, and the point the sun was at in the sky.

I didn’t want to go all the way home, so I piped up saying, “Let’s just make our way out there and see what we can see, and then since we’re right there we can go get our ice cream.”

My family agreed and we drove our way over the bridge leading to Grand Haven beach. When we arrived there my sister, Kara, and I jumped out and ran to the shoreline. We had gotten there just in the knick of time. The sun was two-thirds of the way down, letting the tiny rippling waves in the water give off a orange shine caused by the bright sun setting colors. This sight was breathtaking and one of the best sunsets I have ever seen.

When it completely set, we ran back to the car waddling due to having shoes full of sand. We emptied them out because it was very uncomfortable, and we would of gotten in trouble for tracking sand into the car. We then made our way over to the ice cream shoppe. Once we arrived there we were relieved that it hadn’t closed yet, but we were lucky considering that it was their last day of being open before closing for the season. We all ordered the same usual thing, which was soft serve mint ice cream in a waffle cone. Oh, it sure was delicious though! We then all got into the car for the car ride home. We listened to the radio and prattled all about the night as a whole.

Overall it was a good night, and I’m glad we got to help out others that might not of otherwise gotten the help that they needed. Who knows what kind of position or where they would be without us. Although my family and I would have enjoyed seeing the whole sunset, I was proud of our deed. It let me experience first hand that there is more than just me and what I want. I can get more joy out of helping someone than ever being able to actually do something for yourself. I would surely help someone again if they needed help. So next time if you see someone that needs help, help them. Just think that if you too help someone in need it will be a life changing experience also for you.