[insert harry and the potters lyric here]

Ben The Aggie Pilot is my knight in shining armor.  Oh, and “shining” actually works as a double entendre, as he sweated profusely throughout the rescue process.  Interested?  Read on.

…Okay, so my story isn’t actually as intriguing or entertaining as it sounds, but who’s counting?  Anyway…

Last Tuesday I was happily en route to Austin for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with my best friend Elizabeth.  I drove straight there after work, enjoying a nice catch-up conversation with my awesome friend Cameron who’s currently interning with Hope International in Philadelphia.  Usually the moment I turn onto 290 is a great milestone in the journey; it means I’m allllllmost there, with only 45-ish minutes of driving left.  This time, however, that moment (and subsequent moments) went a little like this:

[blah blah blah still talking to Cam]

[temperature gauge instantaneously shoots very far into the red zone]

[message box yells at me: HOT ENGINE TEMP]

“Whoa whoa whoa Cam I gotta go!”

[mild panic]

[pull over, not even technically off 290]

[curse my wardrobe choice of a black shirt and dark jorts]

[sweat]

[fill reservoir with the antifreeze I have left in my car]

[call my dad and try to sound less nervous than I actually am]

[succeed]

[feel VERY NERVOUS in reality]

[try driving my car after letting it cool down for 15 minutes; badness once again]

[get bitten on the foot by fireants]

[fill reservoir with the water remaining in the 7ish partially filled water bottles in my car]

[reflect on how I essentially live "out of my car" and/or "like a hobo"]

[try driving the car again]

[fail]

[wonder who the guy who just pulled up is]

So it turns out the guy was Ben.  Ben The Aggie Pilot.  I was a little wary to even talk to him at first, considering we live in an unfortunately flawed and sometimes frightening world, but he seemed really nice, and he emanated a vibe that he genuinely wanted to help me.  And he did.  About 10 minutes into our time together walking around my car and trying to figure out what the heezy to do, he looked at my hand, saw my ring, and said “Oh, so you’re an Aggie!”  I smiled and nodded yes.  5 or so minutes later I realized (somewhat late, like a total nincompoop) that he’s an Aggie too, thanks to the Association of Former Students bumper sticker on the back of his car.  Eventually — after letting Ben talk to my dad and giving a full physical description of him to Elizabeth, who felt like she had to ask just in case something bad happened — I took Ben up on his offer to drive me into town.  We left my car a safe distance from the highway and talked politics on the way to the Wendy’s at 290 and 35.

I don’t even know Ben’s last name.  What I do know, however, is this: without even knowing that we have Texas A&M University in common, he stopped on the side of the highway in 100+ degree heat just to see if I was okay and if he could help.  Ben The Aggie Pilot devoted over an hour of his time, and perspired a significant amount, for a total stranger, and I know that he would have done the same even if I wasn’t an Aggie myself.  That’s just what we do.

So not only did Ben The Aggie Pilot get me out of a terrible situation, or even provide me with my first real-life example of what “the Aggie network” really means.  He also helped me make the midnight showing with 3 hours to spare.

Which is really a huge blessing, because I’d have been SUPER ticked if I’d made that t-shirt for nothing.