Josiah and I were on the way out to the ranch. A car was stopped in the middle of the road. We followed the line of cars around it until we saw the driver motioning for help.
He looked like a bit of a shady character when he ran up and asked if we had a tow-line. I did, and told him I'd give him a tow. Once we got the line hooked up he asked if we could stop at that store about 200 meters ahead. "Just for a minute", he said.
I thought that was where he wanted to go, or maybe he would try to get some gas there. He came running out with a glass bottle of clear liquid considerably higher in alcohol content than gasoline. It was about nine o'clock in the morning.
We evidently weren't where he needed to go, so he got back in the car and honked for us to keep towing him along. Soon he honked again, got out and motioned for us to get off the blacktop road and take a dirt road to the right. He assured me the place was 'close'.
About 600 meters down this bumpy dusty road he honked again, got out and showed me a gap in the fence I should drive through to park his car directly behind his felt tent home.
I was relieved there was another gap in the fence on the other side where we could drive ahead out of his yard and back the way we came.
The man's name was "Turuu". He was very grateful, and asked me my name, and shook my hand. He wondered if Josiah was my son. Then he asked what I did. This was my big chance to let him know I had something that could help him more than a tow.
Fortunately I had something with me to explain this without sounding preachy. I gave him a card, which explains what Celebrate Recovery is, and where we meet. This seemed to satisfy him without looking very close at it.
The last thing he said is that his Mongolian countrymen wouldn't stop to help him. 'They're bad', he said. Then he corrected himself, 'well some of them'.
I'm sure if we hadn't have stopped some Mongolian would have eventually stopped or towed him. Or maybe he would have had to walk a couple miles back to the gas station.
But would they have stopped at the store for vodka? God only knows.
