Oh, Little Town of Saugatuck

The-True-MeaningIt could have been just another bitter, blustery cold winter evening but this night would become a very special one for my wife Anne and me. We wanted something more during this yuletide season.We needed something to ignite our Christmas Spirit. With just a few days till Christmas, we decided to journey up to Saugatuck, Michigan thanks to our local Vidette Times that had given us their, "ONE TANK TRIP" for Christmas week. Anne and I had traveled so many times before to this quaint little bayside town nestled just off the beaten track of super hiways, but those were pleasantly warm summer weekends. We cherished our many memories of Saugatuck. We often visited a variety of interesting art & craft shops while searching for new treasures. We enjoyed fun in the sun days on nearby Lake Michigan beaches, and quiet nights snuggled up at an intimate bed & breakfast that pampered us. Then there was a small music shop that was always piping interesting recordings into the street.

We were quite surprised to read that this little village had gone all out with street & shop decorations galore to entice winter guests to visit their festive sights and possibly dine at any one of their fine restaurants. All this to help their lagging winter business I suppose.

So...off we went into the dark, snow covered night on our two hour trek. Just short of our destination we needed a pit stop pulling into an almost empty rest area. For safety's sake I decided to escort my wife to the restrooms. As we stepped from the car into the bone chilling frigid winds we couldn't help notice the snow crackling beneath our shoes as we trudged up the path to the shelter.

Just as we made our way through the entry door my wife turned to enter the LADIES' corridor when I glanced and suddenly spied a young woman rocking a baby bundle in her arms under a hand-dryer. I was somewhat puzzled but continued on into the MEN'S room. Another surprise greeted me as I came upon a young Latino man again using the hand-dryer in such a way as to leave little doubt as to what he was doing. I could see that his blue hands were numb and shaking from the cold.

I felt compelled to strike up a conversation with him as I also used the dryer for the usual reason. He, his wife, their young baby and his wife's sister were traveling from mid Texas on a journey to Taverse City, Michigan (about 4 hrs more) to spend the holidays with family. Problems befell them since they left three days before. First, the heater core blew out in their 4-door rust bucket Buick at the outset leaving them with no heat. Then they slid off the roadway into a ditch just earlier thus costing them the last of their funds for a tow truck. Now, broke, cold and hungry they still hoped to complete their journey.

I left the restroom and met up with my wife just exiting and immediately explained the plight of the young family. While sitting in the comfort of our warm car, I turned to Anne and said that we should do what ever we could to help this family that had crossed our path. But what? I remembered I kept two blankets in the trunk but I felt compelled to do more as I handed them the blankets. They, like most travelers, weren't so sure they could trust this guy with the blankets and a friendly smile. At first I suggested my wife and I would be willing to drive them in our car all the way to their destination. They graciously refused saying they didn't want to impose on us. I then struck on an idea that Anne and I would drive the baby and the aunt into town in our warm car while the husband and wife followed in the old Buick. This, finally agreed upon, we headed back to our cars. I waited for the old Buick to follow when I finally noticed the young man fumbling with a rear door that would not close. Discovering a broken latch, I remembered some wire in my trunk and I quickly jerry-rigged the rear doors closed. Thinking all was right I started back to my car only to catch a glimpse of the young man shivering once again and attempting to warm his hands in his armpits to no avail. I remembered a pair of old winter motorcycle gloves that just happened to be in my trunk. These were no ordinary gloves. These were my very favorite gloves that had seen well over twenty-six years of poker runs, trips around Lake Michigan and thousands of miles of just pure cruisin'. In an instant I had no hesitation what to do next. I retrieved them and handed them to him saying, "You take good care of these! There yours now."

Finally on the road, we headed into the town of Saugatuck. As we slowly made our way toward the hamlet the Christmas lights became a glowing beacon of yuletide glitter. The colorful lights aglow everywhere but, Alas!! Our mission was to, "find room in the inn," so to speak. Several minutes passed and it began to look hopeless when.., there, in the distance, was a motel with it's vacancy sign shining bright. We pulled in followed by the old Buick. I walked up to ring the bell and a young lady appeared and let me in. I tried to explain the family's plight and asked for help with a reasonable rate for the night. She smiled and gave me a more than fair price.With key in hand, I led the wayfaring family to their room. Handing the key and some cash that I had, I shook his hand and said, "Feliz Navidad" and then quickly left. Back in the car Anne and I felt extremely right with our "night of sharing".. the true spirit of Christmas. In the comfort of our car we felt a warmth that only this evening could have given us. We had found the "Spirit of Christmas" we were looking for in the little town of Saugatuck.

Later, after taking in the sights of Saugatuck, we decided to get a bite at "Billy's Boathouse", one of our favorite eateries. We settled in and ordered our dinner and continued to share our happenstance encounter. Our waitress couldn't help but over hear our conversation and simply smiled saying what a wonderful Christmas story. After dinner I went looking for our waitress who seemed to have disappeared. Finally I asked the bartender if he could help. He grinned an all too familiar smile and said the waitress shared our recent encounter with the rest of the folks in the restaurant and then he turned and said, "The dinner's on us! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!"

On the way home that night we smiled from time to time and occasionally squeezed hands. This was our favorite Christmas gift ever. Oh, and by the way, I never missed those old gloves. They found a better home.

May the Good Lord Bless You With An Opportunity Of Sharing The Christmas Spirit Such As Ours.

A Blessed Christmas To You & Yours, Jim & Anne Cullen