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| Photo courtesy of ridingthecatskills.com |
A Story from the Life of Dan B.
Ghostwritten by Will T.
The Vacation Crash
Life is the most precious thing on this earth. Unfortunately, you never know when you might be faced with a life or death situation. My family was confronted with one such event in the summer of 1977, and it permanently changed our perspectives on the length and quality of life.
“Help, Help” a screechy, unknown voice uttered. The voice was very faint, and it was not clear whether it was male or female. It was the most agonizing call for help I had ever heard.
The day was July 31st of 1977 and it was the hottest day of the entire year in the state of New Mexico. There I stood with my family in the middle of woods outside of Williams, New Mexico. The small town was unknown to the Bunner family - we were simply travelers passing through and looking for adventure in the vast Grand Canyon.
We drove through the woods attempting to find the cabin we had rented when we stopped observe a peregrine falcon which is native to the area. We pulled over by a sharp curve in the road. Down below the road was a terrifying 15 foot drop. My family and I opened the doors of our rented gray minivan. Slowly, I pulled binoculars out of my backpack. I was mesmerized by the majestic creature perched on a gnarly limb near the top of a large Gambel Oak tree. The bird was brown and when it spread it’s wings, it appeared to be just as big as my youngest child, Erin. No one in my family could seem to take their eyes off of the bird. However, this changed for me when I heard the horrifyingly scratchy voice saying “Help, Help”.”
At this point, I became very skeptical of the voice. The voice continuously repeated its cry for help, and so Instinctively, I began to fear that maybe whomever hurt that creature would try to hurt my family. I cautiously looked over the steep 15 foot drop, wondering where and from whom the sound could be coming from. However, I could see nothing but the tops of smaller trees. With wide eyes, I turned around and found an alternative route down the steep embankment. I slipped several times down the hillside and soon found myself on a dry creek bed. Out of the corner of my left eye, I saw a light reflecting off of something in the distance.
Quickly walking in the direction of the light, I heard the voice which was much louder now. “Toby, Toby, where are you?” When I arrived at the site of the reflecting light, I was horrified.
Sitting in the middle of turned-up dirt and a mangled tree, I saw a green Ford pickup truck. Everything about the car was disfigured, from the broken front windshield to the passenger side door that was completely torn off. The overpowering smell of alcohol filled my nostrils. I walked around to the side of the car and saw the broken bodies of both a man and a woman. The victims looked like they were in their early 60’s and were intoxicated. Only the woman was able to speak, I ran over to her to try to get any information about what had happened. Before she even said her second word, I could tell it was her voice that I had heard from the cliff top.
“We……. uh we uh……” the woman muttered, she could not seem to get the words off her tongue.
“You guys what?” I said partially irritated at her lack of ability to speak.
“We…… we drove off the edge,” she finally said.
“I’m going to get help!” I told her
I scrambled as fast as I could down the creek bed and climbed on all fours up the sharp hill. Once I reached the top I was breathless, but full of purpose. Expecting to see my wife and children, I instead saw a young man around the age of 30. The man spoke softly, constantly blinking his light blue eyes. He said he had seen them from a distance drive straight off the cliff, and had already called for help. After being reassured by him multiple times, I decided that it was in my family’s best interest to leave. I had no desire for my children to experience any more of this situation. We left the scene as soon as help arrived, and we knew the couple was in good hands.
