Dialing God's Number

I had only a few dollars in my wallet but that didn't mean much to a young sailor in love.. As I watched the snow piling up, I worried about her safety and couldn't believe the small town, as my buddy put it, spread out over several miles. He had graciously offered for me to share gas expenses in exchange for a ride which would get me to within 2 1/2 hours of my hometown where my wife was living. I had called her with his home phone number but that is where the problem started.

You see my navy buddy was planning to leave immediately when he got into town to go see a girlfriend and his parents were out of town for the weekend. He wasn't comfortable leaving me alone in his parents house and had no way of communicating with them so he made me leave. Now it would be impossible to receive the call from my wife letting me know she had arrived and she didn't have my friends address.

The thought of a cup of hot coffee to take away the chill in my bones seemed like a good idea. A Saturday in January after 5PM left few choices in Frostburg. I headed for the nearest bar.

A few blocks away I found a small tavern that I figured would serve coffee. After my second cup I silently cursed my Navy buddy for not letting me stay in his parents house and thought about what I would have done if the situation was reversed.

It was time to move on from the tavern. Back to the cold and the snow. I stepped out into the blustery weather, buttoned my peacoat up to my throat and headed out to look for her.

That is just when I heard the phone ring. I glanced over and noticed an outside pay phone on the porch of the tavern. It was ringing and nobody was around. I am not accustomed to answering ringing pay phones. I don't think I ever answered a ringing pay phone. That night I felt the irresistable urge to pick up the receiver. I grabbed the phone and said "Hello."

A voice on the other side asked for me. It was my wife. She had misdialed my Navy buddy's home phone number and instead happened to dial the number of the pay phone I had coincidentally picked up. Ironically she was across the street in a phone booth at a closed ice cream stand. We still wonder to this day if she really misdialed or if she had dialed God's number.