"You know, my most memorable rescue wasn't in the snow," Frosty began his story. "It was early September 2000. Back then I worked as a tow truck driver. People were finally settling into the new millennia. There was still plenty of partying going on but mostly of the standard miscellaneous celebration type nothing like the millennial celebrations back in January. Regardless of the type of partying, weather, or terrain, there are always people driving off the road. The results can be minor or catastrophic and sometimes completely unimaginable.

"It was 3 A. M. on a weekend when I got the call waking me from a sound sleep. The dispatcher said I was the only one who answered my phone that morning. Fate was at work, otherwise, I probably would not have answered, and I would not have been out on the road that night and so much would have been different.

"The accident wasn't even a wreck. A young couple had been partying and were in too much of a hurry to get somewhere and had ended up off the road in a small ditch. I told them we'd be able to get it out tomorrow, but they weren't going anywhere tonight.

"Then they told me their story. The couple had been out visiting and staying with her sister who lived by herself in a somewhat remote vacation cabin in the region. She and her sister had been drinking rather heavily that night, while he remained mostly sober because this was the night he planned to propose. Unfortunately, because she was not completely sober, she refused to give him an answer saying she wouldn't until she got her perfect proposal. For her that meant being proposed to on her birthday at the top of the tallest building in her hometown.

"The guy being resourceful and obviously in a hurry, immediately booked the only flight that would get them to her hometown just in time to get there for her birthday this year. But that luck was soon thwarted by his inability to find a cab that could get to them and to the airport in time to make that flight. He was beginning to think the Fates were aligned against him. Then the sister who was clearly too drunk to drive, offered him her car keys telling them to leave it at the airport lot and she'd figure out how to get it tomorrow. They were on their way to the airport when they ran off the road. Knowing if they didn't make their flight this morning, they'd be out of luck, the guy was now totally convinced the fates were against him. Little did he know how wrong he was.

"I asked what they'd do if they didn't get there this year. They told me they would put their plans on hold and try for the perfect proposal next year. Crazy right?

"Still, I wanted to help and knew they couldn't get there in time unless we left right away. So, I agreed to take them to the airport and told him that I'd get the car back to her sister later." Frosty paused to take a sip of his beer.

At this point, I had to interrupt. "That was very nice of you, but is that all there is to the story?"

"Hardly, that is just prolog to the actual rescue that took place later that night or more accurately in those early morning hours before dawn. It explains why I was even out that morning. Anyway, I got them to the airport on time. They made their flight. She got the proposal she wanted. They sent me a picture from the top of that building. It was breathtaking. I still have that picture that I suspect some collectors would kill for." Frosty gave me a strange smile.

"Annnd?" I prodded him for an explanation.

"And I assume they lived happily ever after," he finished.

I was beginning to think my efforts were a bust when Frosty tilled his head and asked," Did I mention her hometown was New York City, and her birthday was September 11? She got her proposal exactly one year before the Twin Towers collapsed. Good thing they didn't wait a year. Huh? Fate really was on their side that morning. It was on mine too."