Guardian angels come in many guises

Driving back from Cape Town along the coastal road through Muizenburg, we turn on to the N2 highway. As we do, the front right tyre goes flat.

There is a petrol station two kilometres away. Maybe we can ease our way there. But soon it appears not, not without shredding that tyre. Only one thing to do. Pull well off and change the wheel.

We have not had to do so on this particular car before. We open the boot, take out the spare, find a wheel spanner and the jack handle. But where is the jack itself? It is certainly not there.

A blue car passes, then reverses back to us. A large man gets out. This is a dangerous place to break down, he says. A policeman was stabbed to death near here, just days ago. Do we have a firearm?

We don’t. But does he perhaps have a jack that will fit our car? He doesn’t. VW tools and Toyota tools, chalk and cheese. Then will he take our daughter Katherine to the petrol station to get help? They set off.

We turn to the vehicle instruction book. Perhaps the jack is elsewhere. It is. Under the front passenger seat!

As we struggle to release it, a truck pulls up and two men get out. They take over. Remove the jack, set it in place and raise the car. A small problem. The spare, when in place, is low on air. But it should see us to the petrol station.

It doesn’t have to, for another truck pulls up. This one has all sorts of equipment on the back, including an air cylinder. The two occupants undertake that part of the operation. And not only do they inflate the tyre but, afterwards, find and attack the source of the flat.

Last week, the hubcap on that wheel was stolen and the culprit interrupted in the process of stealing the other three. But, in removing the hubcap, he had damaged the rim. So, on a tight turn, it was able to leak air.

Out comes a large hammer and, later, an even larger one. The rim is beaten back into shape.

Our daughter and the first Samaritan arrive with a mechanic from the petrol station and a universal jack, but the job is done. The job, and more.

In this turbulent age, who says there are no guardian angels?