The "Amish Horse Hero" Story

It was an ordinary day. Sunday. We are on our way home from Chesapeake City where we had a great lunch at the Bayard House while watching the large freighters and barges going up and down the C & D Canal. This canal is the third busiest canal for boat traffic in the world. Panama and Suez are the only two that top it. Chesapeake is a small town with a few good restaurants, a dozen or so interesting shops and the neatest historical houses. Only an hour and a quarter from our house so it makes for a nice day trip with friends. Pat and Dale K. went with us today. To get home we must pass across the Octorara Reservoir. This is a beautiful lake that is owned by the Chester Water Authority to supply drinking water to the surrounding areas. As we drive on the road crossing the reservoir we see a horse and buggy in front of the car that is in front of us. "Services must be over for the day," I say to everyone. The Amish meet every other week for Sunday Services. They travel from farm to farm within the church district for their services. Services start at 8:00 AM so they must arrive early. Someone is in charge of the horses and buggies as they arrive. After a three hour service they celebrate with a meal and then socialize. They must have just started to leave the farm as we approached this area. Always makes for slower traffic. But wait! That horse is galloping. They never do that. They always trot. Then we realize that there is no one in the buggy. You can see through the back window and the buggy is empty. Probably the horse escaped from the barnyard while the service was winding down. He's moving pretty fast. He's probably heading home! The guys in the car in front of us have their windows down and are pointing at the buggy. Amazing how the horse knows to stay on the right side of the road.We are almost across the lake now and he must soon head up a fairly steep incline. No way can that horse keep up the pace for long. We start up the hill and start to slow as the horse begins to tire. The car in front of us is almost touching the buggy as they travel up the hill. Then ...... about 25 yards from the top, the passenger in the car in front of us jumps out of the car, slams the door shut and takes off for the buggy. Man, can that guy motor! He hops in the buggy door and grabs the reins. As we reach the top of the hill he pulls the horse and buggy off the road onto the grassy berm. As we pass we can see he has control of the scared horse. Wow, he saved the day. Just like in the movies. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.