Editor,
We are writing to let the entire community of Winnemucca know how much we appreciate the kindness and generosity your town showed us during the course of a stressful over-night stopover on Sept. 13 - 14.
We were driving from Truckee, Calif., to Elko for the sole purpose of adopting a dog, a sweet little Welsh Corgi by the name of Wrangler, who was being fostered outside of Elko. We had actually attempted the trip a week before, but had car problems about 5 miles east of Sparks. After having our fuel pump replaced, we made a second try at it.
We planned to spend the night of Saturday Sept. 13 in Winnemucca, and had reservations at the Town House Motel. The trip to Winnemucca went smoothly, and we were warmly welcomed Saturday evening by Ana Marie, the proprietor of the Town House. We met her dog as we checked in, and told her the reason for our trip. She was an absolute delight.
We got up very early Sunday morning, and had a delicious breakfast at the Griddle. The staff of the Griddle were kind enough to invite us in, let us sit down, and pour us a couple of cups of excellent coffee, before they were even officially open.
After breakfast, as we were preparing to check out of the Town House and make the drive to Elko, we discovered with dismay that our vehicle was leaking gasoline - the repairs had not been done well, it appeared!
We broke out the local phone book in our room and started making calls. We were very fortunate to get a hold of Blake Lambert at the Tire Factory. Blake told us he would see if he could get a mechanic to open up the shop and look at our car. The fact that anyone would even talk to us about opening their shop on a Sunday morning was amazing. Blake called us back a while later and told us he had a mechanic to look at the car if we could get it to his shop, only a couple blocks away. WOW!
We started the car, only to have the fuel line blow completely, pouring gas all over the newly-sealed parking lot of Ana Marie's motel. We were horrified, and close to having a complete stress-induced melt-down.
There happened to be a tow truck parked right across the street from the motel. Figuring we had nothing to lose, we called the number on the side of the truck, only to reach - guess who - Blake!! He quickly got a driver come pick up our vehicle and tow it to his shop.
We talked to Ana Marie, at this point not certain if or when our car would be fixed. She kindly allowed us to stay in the room past check-out time, since we had no place else to go at that point. She was warm and comforting, and assured us that if anyone could help us get on our way, it was Blake.
And she was right. A couple hours later, we looked out the window of the motel room to see Blake driving our completely fixed car back to us! It was like a gift from Heaven. In addition, just to prove that Winnemucca is the nicest town on the planet (in case we had any doubt at that point), Blake gave us a business card with his authorization for 4 free tacos from his taco stand, Taco Time.
We made the drive out to Elko, adopted our wonderful dog Wrangler, and began the westward trip home to Truckee. We weren't sure if we would be up to the 5+ hour drive back to Truckee, and decided to stop back in Winnemucca to have some tacos at Taco Time, and make the decision about staying one more night or going home. After having some tasty tacos, and finding out from the kind folks at Taco Time that Blake feeds many stranded people whose cars need repair, we decided that we could keep going and make the trip back home to Truckee - but not without marveling at the kindness and generosity we had just experienced.
Sometimes, difficult circumstances are a blessing, because they allow you to see and experience the innate goodness in people. That was our experience in Winnemucca, and we will never forget it.
THANK YOU to Blake, Ana Marie, the Griddle, Taco Time, and the entire community of Winnemucca!
Phil and Loré McLaren (and Wrangler, too)
Truckee, Calif.
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