by David Hill
Editor
Early on Monday, Dec. 22, Thomas and Genny Grindley of Wichita, Kan., packed their Chevy TrailBlazer with gifts, packages, snacks, suitcases and then squeezed their two children, ages 5 and 2, in for the 850-mile drive to Grandfather’s house. They had dreams of a tranquil ride to Grandpa and Grandma Bray’s home, and resting in their house, nestled in the snow next to the Red Lake River in Thief River Falls. But, it was not to be.
Thomas said their trip to Thief River Falls was to be a surprise to Dr. Jerome and Lois Bray of Thief River Falls, and they left Wichita with high expectations of having fun in the snow of northern Minnesota.
Instead, it rained, and rained and by the time they reached Sisseton, S.D., on I-29 the fog was so thick they had to slow and finally stop. After filling their SUV with fuel, they began the next leg of their journey to Fargo, N.D., but noticed that something was wrong with the power steering. By the time they reached Fargo, N.D., they had no power steering.
Thomas pulled over and put power steering fluid in and began the drive to Grand Forks. When they reached East Grand Forks, Thomas pulled over at O’Reilly Auto Parts at Highway 2 and 220, and put in another quart of power steering fluid.
Thomas said he decided to give the steering wheel a couple of turns. As he did, all the power steering fluid rushed out. They took their broken SUV to Red River Auto, which was located next door.
The mechanic must have noticed the stress this had put on the family because he put their SUV on the lift ahead of a vehicle that was already in the lot. He discovered that their SUV had blown out a seal and ordered the part.
While waiting for the part, the Grindley’s decided to go to the Dairy Queen, which is located nearby and as they were walking to the store, a woman in a van quickly drew to a stop in front of them and said they looked cold and wondered if they needed a ride. They thanked her and explained they were just going next door.
After eating at the Dairy Queen, Genny took their children, “Tag,” age 5, and Quinn, age 2, to ShopKo. Genny said they all needed a break – she from watching “Frozen” too many times, and the children from the confines of their broken SUV.
When Thomas got back to the auto shop, the mechanic and owner explained that the part had arrived, but it was the wrong part for their SUV.
Thomas started thinking about who to call in his family in Thief River Falls. It was during their discussion about what to do next when the wife, and part owner of the shop, showed up. It turns out that she had grown up in Thief River Falls and her sister had been a nurse in Obstetrics and knew Dr. Bray. Right then and there, they offered the Grindley family the use of their personal car so they could get to Thief River Falls.
At 5:30 p.m., and 34 hours after they had left Wichita, the Grindley family arrived in Thief River Falls.
Thomas said that what struck him was the kindness of everyone they met along their journey. As a police officer with the Wichita Police Department, Thomas said he doesn’t always get to see the good side of people. And for the kindness of everyone they met, he said he was very thankful.
Genny, a high school English teacher, echoed his sentiment.
Resting at their grandparent’s home Wednesday, they were still holding out hope for snow, though they would prefer that it not be a problem for their long journey home on Friday, Dec. 26.
Grandma Bray is really excited for Christmas and thankful for the kindness of strangers. Of her nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, only two of her grandchildren and their spouses will not be present on Christmas. “We have been blessed,” said Grandma Bray.
And by the grace and kindness of family and strangers, on Dec. 25, the Bray family, all 33 of them, sat down together for Christmas dinner.