Experiences That Changed Our Lives Look Book Project Issue 16 Home Page

Photo: Andreas Bauer The other cars were passing our car, creating a really scary sound in this dark October night. Suddenly, my son asked loudly: "Is there a ghost, mom?" My Old Van Rani Ho from Vietnam Last October, I went fishing with my husband and our kids at Long Beach. Our son was about ten years old, and our daughter was about four. On the way to the beach we were talking about fishing. Suddenly, there was a bad smell and a noise coming from our van. My husband stopped the car and checked it. My husband tried to fix it, but he couldn't do it. The car wouldn't work again. He planned to call some friends, but it was too late. It was about 11: 00 p.m. They were asleep. I steered the car while my husband and my son pushed the car to a near safe place. My baby was screaming in the car. Our car was parked under some very big trees, and the air around us was very cold. The other cars were passing our car, creating a really scary sound in this dark October night. Suddenly, my son asked loudly: "Is there a ghost, mom?" I was shivering with fear, but I calmed down saying to my son, "Oh no, there is nothing here. We will be fine and the towing man is coming to pick us up now." After that, we waited for that man. In the dark, we heard a big noise behind our car, and a big man came forward to the car window. That scared our kids more. They hugged me. At first, he looked dangerous, but he had a sweet voice. After we negotiated, he agreed to pick us up and bring the van to our house. However, in his car there was not enough space for my whole family. He was kind and said: "Don't worry, endure a little. I will drive you home as soon as possible." On the way home I thought about the next morning. How could my kids get to their Vietnamese classes, and how would I get to the supermarket to buy milk for my baby. I was tired and I dozed off while the towing man was talking with my husband. We got home about 1:30 a.m. My kids looked tired, and we hurried to go to bed. Fortunately, my van was fixed in a day. Now I know the importance of the car. This event also always reminds me to buy spare dry milk and food just in case an emergency happens. This story was selected from Julia Karet's ESL writing project at Chaffey Community College: The Look Book Project More things that changed our lives: I Never Give Up | A Car Accident | Art Classes Broaden My Life | My Wallet Don't Trust Everybody | The Year of 1999 | An Accident on Christmas Day Return to: Experiences That Changed Our Lives | Issue 16 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics .mag@gmail.com