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So now what? The car is deader than a doornail. It isn’t going to start and even if it did, there is no way I am going to attempt to drive it again. We need a tow truck. Cell phones out! Nada. We try Katie’s (she has a different carrier), no luck. We now have to rely on the kindness of strangers. I get out of the truck and head for Nederland Middle and High School.

Nederland (pronounced Ned er lend) is a little village at the base of the mountains. This is their middle school and high school. I am wearing my ski clothes. The school looks pretty normal, fairly new, small, except there are no metal detectors. I go to the office and explain our situation. The office lady writes down the number for a local tow truck and points to a phone just outside the office. I say thank you and go for the phone. I have not finished dialing and a girl of about 14 stands next to me. A guy named Ray answers the phone and puts me on hold. Now there is a boy standing next to the girl. They are both looking at me. I am not talking and they want to use the phone. I sheepishly tell them my car died, my cell phone won’t work and I am on hold. I got about the same reaction as if I told them my socks were a little tight.

Ray comes back to the phone and tells me his tow truck is out on a job, he is not sure when they will be back, could be 20 min (if they just need a jump) or 3 hours if they have to tow the car into Boulder (the next real town). He as no way of knowing because CELL PHONES DON’T WORK out here. It’s not just ours, there is absolutely NO service. He asks for a number he can reach me at. What? Cell phones don’t work, there is no number on the mommy phone I am using. I consider asking the girl breathing on my shoulder. I think better of it and tell Ray I will call him in 30 min.

Back to the truck to check on Katie, remember Katie? She is freezing in the truck, she didn’t want to go into the school with me. The heat stopped working back in the skiing parking lot. The truck is about 3 feet in front of the people now sitting in the bus stop. They are staring at us. I convince Katie to go inside, we may have a long wait. The bus stop people tell me I can’t park there. I explain our situation. “Well at least put on your flashers.” I explain the part about the car being dead, this time I add hand gestures. I get the tight sock look again. Katie and I navigate the slushy parking lot in our snow sneakers and go back into the school.

3 hours? We can’t wait that long, they will close the school before that, who knows, the canyon road could be closed by then. It’s still snowing. I need a plan B. I go back to the office lady in search of a phone book. I tell her what Ray said. She opens the phone book and writes down another number “Marvs” she tells me this is the service she and her family use. I don’t say what I am thinking, just “thank you”. As I start for the phone outside the office she says maybe I should use this phone inside the office so the kids can use the other phone. Thank you.

The Marvs guy says he can have someone here in an hour and take us into Boulder. Let’s do it. I get the Ford dealership number from the Marvs guy and call to let them know we are coming. I hope to make it there by 6:00. The next call is to Ray, you remember Ray. I tell him we wont need his truck. He says “aw it’s too late they just left to get you and I can’t call them back . . . because cell phones don’t work out here."