Our  experience—I was then with Joria and Igino at that time in Italy; Igino was just 4 years old—happened in July 1998 along the autostrada in Florence, Italy. We were heading back to Loppiano from Alitalia in the city after having our plane tickets rescheduled.

Along the highway, the car I was driving burst a tire, so we had to pull over to the shoulder to change the flat tire. To my shock, I realized the jack would not work!

After some time I gave up trying, and decided to seek the help of other motorists by flagging them down. Nobody would stop, as most were traveling over 120kph.

We were getting really worried, when, after about 20 minutes, an 18-wheeler truck slowed down and pulled over in front of us. Being in Italy for just a little over 2 months, our Italian was so limited, nor could the man speak a word in English. So there we were gesturing with our hands, and somehow, I managed to tell him that my jack was busted. He brought out his truck’s jack, but it was just too big and too high for our old 1981 Ford Fiesta. He then gestured to hand him our jack, and after examining it, he exclaimed happily that it was just OK! You could just imagine the joy we all had! I remember Igino jumping and screaming with joy. After showing me how it should work, I gestured that I would be able to manage, thanking him profusely. I remember the gentle smile he had on his face, knowing perhaps that we would be OK. We never knew his name, but from then on, we referred to that man as “our angel”.

We excitedly narrated our wonderful experience to the families in Scuola Loreto. We later learned from our responsibles—Luisella and Sandro Corti—that pulling over to help someone along the autostrada was a traffic violation, since there were the authorities that took care of road issues or accidents. Our “angel” practically risked being apprehended by helping us out off our predicament. It’s an experience we still vividly recall to this day, although this happened 12 years ago.

i-ma ken pintura ent.

Manny Gacayan