Johnson Comes to the Rescue Of Stranded Travelers at Coburn’s
By John Freitag
  

This summer Brian Johnson of Strafford was one of the main workers putting together the new dock at the Lions Club Pond, and recently, he was the one who came to the rescue of a couple from Texas who were stranded at Coburn’s Store.

About a week ago, your Strafford correspondent, on a last minute errand for his long-suffering wife Lisa, came into the General Store just before closing time. There, by the telephone, was a nicely dressed middle-aged couple with suitcases and baggage tags, trying to use the phone by the cash register to call a taxi. They looked like fish out of water.

It turns out, that they had flown to Vermont to pick up a vehicle they had found for their business over the Internet. Unfortunately, according to them the vehicle was supposed to have air conditioning, something that was vital for their part of Texas, but when they got ready to purchase the vehicle, they found no air conditioning. After they refused to buy the vehicle, the seller had taken them to Coburn’s Store in South Strafford and told them to find their own way home.

When they asked where the taxi stand was and got blank looks, they then asked about a hotel in town. No luck there, either! The reality they discovered is that taxis don’t even come out to Strafford.

As the hands on the clock neared the 6:30 p.m. closing time, Melvin Coburn was beginning to look a little anxious, wondering what to do. It was then that Johnson, who heard their woes while waiting his turn at the checkout counter, stepped up to the plate and offered to take them to a motel near the airport in West Lebanon. They gratefully agreed and off they went.

Johnson later said it was one of the slowest trips he ever made to the Upper Valley, as they got caught in a heavy downpour. When he apologized for driving so slow, the couple gamely replied, "It doesn’t much matter to us. It’s not like we have any where to go."

The upshot is that Johnson is the winner of this fall’s helping hand award. We can only hope that when we are in a situation where we are dependent on the kindness of strangers, they will have as good a heart as he does.

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