How a flashlight saved my life

When I first left home to go to college, my mother was very strict about security. I can’t really count all the lectures I endured on security, which, while well-intentioned, weren’t really topics that interested me terribly when I first left home. Of particular interest on my schedule were the many lessons on driving safety. Mom liked to talk non-stop about how I should always keep my car well stocked with emergency supplies like flashlights and blankets because “you never know what’s going to happen.” I ignored that advice, but before I left home, Mom made sure to fill my vehicle with plenty of blankets in the trunk and a foolproof flashlight, a DC flashlight, two Pelican LED flashlights, and a mini maglite kept in the glove compartment ( along with all appropriate batteries.)

I rolled my eyes, but could never clean the glove compartment. Since life has a way of being, eventually my mother’s words came back to haunt me the night my mini jersey saved my life.

I was driving down an old country highway (one of many in the great Midwest) one night after a party, and to my great annoyance and surprise, I had a flat tire. I parked on the side of the road, cursed my luck, and opened my glove compartment. This time I had no choice but to listen to Mom’s wisdom, as the country road lacked public lighting. Looking at the options, I finally chose the mini maglite, mainly because it was the closest. Testing the batteries, I opened the door and pulled out onto the side of the road.

I was unfortunate enough to have my flat tire on a stretch of road that stretched between two wooded areas. I thought that since I was on a pretty deserted road, it would be easier and faster to just change the tire myself, rather than waiting for roadside assistance.

I nonchalantly walked to the trunk of the car, and when I was about six inches from the trunk, the light from my mini maglite caught the unmistakable brown and black markings of the wood rattlesnake.

Timber rattlesnakes are rare in this particular part of the Midwest, and it wouldn’t have even occurred to me to look for some kind of snake, if I hadn’t had my trusty lantern companion on my hands.

Backing up carefully and slowly, so as not to disturb the snake, I opened the door and returned to my car. I used my cell phone to call roadside assistance that I had previously mistrusted.

It took nice people an hour to find me, and all the time, all I could ask myself is what if I had really been bitten by that snake? Had it taken so long to find me while the rattlesnake venom took its toll on my body?

I’m sure they would have, and for that reason, I’m sure my mini maglite saved my life.