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ALL BECAUSE TWO PEOPLE FELL IN LOVE
It was a warm summer night in 1999. I was attending school in Cedarville, Ohio but was home for the summer in Bakersfield, California. Life was good for me! That night, my brother Mike and I had been to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Mexicali! We were making the journey home on a windy country road that comes in and out of contact with the rapid-filled Kern River when we pulled up to the scene of an accident.
There was a truck turned upside down in the river and a man overboard! The pick-up was flipped upside down at a spot so treacherous, the Olympic kayak team practiced there in the winter months because the water was warm. It was an amazing sight!
I wondered how anyone could walk (or swim!) away from what we were seeing. It was dark and we could see the truck, submerged and still running. We could hear the water rushing all around it and the headlights illuminated a tree under the water nearby.
Soon after, my mom was on her way home from church and pulled up on the scene. “I’ve never seen anyone go off into the river at this turn!” she exclaimed. And that was after living in the area for 25 years! “He must have been going very fast!” As we began to ask questions of those who had gathered, my brother quickly realized he knew the guy who had crashed! It was none other than Rex Calderwood!
Mike not only knew him, but also his brother and parents, all of whom quickly arrived at the spot. His mom shook her head in disgust and disbelief. “He’s a lucky kid,” she said. Then over and over again, we heard her say, “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.” Eventually, her emotions changed to anger and she declared, “It’s a good thing he made it out, cuz I’m gonna kill him when I get home!”
What a way to meet your future mother-in-law, huh?
Meanwhile, Rex’s dad stood silently in his slender 6’4” frame, holding his hand perched on his hip while waiting for the tow truck to arrive.
Thankfully, Rex’s brother, Shawn, was a strong swimmer because, without reservation, he swam carefully into the warm current and dove into the truck to retrieve Rex’s valuables from under the front seat, like any good brother would.
I later learned that, amazingly, Rex’s friend had been able to kick a window out and both of them had swum to safety, escaping with only minor cuts and bruises. It is truly a miracle that they both swam away from that accident.
{more stories are coming soon!}
