It was bound to happen: our first road emergency since purchasing our 1993 motorhome 2 months ago and driving more than 1,700 miles.

We feared the worst; that our RV would be towed to a garage while we waiting for hours (or days) as it was repaired. Nothing of the sort occurred

After driving three quarters of the way home to Cleveland from N. Michigan, I noticed that the rig was not shifting out of second gear. We had just merged onto the highway and the engine was revving like crazy.

I immediately threw on the hazard lights, made my way to the right lane, dropped the speed to 30 mph and prayed for a swift exit.

While I drove, Kim diagnosed the issue via the interwebs as a transmission issue, likely a fluid deficiency.

After pulling off the highway we checked Google for the nearest service station. Bear's Auto Repair just outside of Toledo was one mile away. I called and the receptionist explained that they were booked through the week, but she would ask the owner anyway.

Ken Bear said, ‘Sure, bring her in.’

Within moments of pulling up, an employee came over to the RV, checked the fluid levels and confirmed that it was bone dry. What I didn’t know was that owner Ken was already underneath checking for leaks.

After his employee added a couple qts of fluid, Ken hopped into the rig to run an electronic diagnostic test on the system. But he wasn’t done. He asked me to take him on a test drive to confirm that the truck would properly shift through all the gears.

Kim and the dog went for a walk while Ken and I took a drive in the RV through the rural part of town. In order to cycle through all the gears I had to get her up to 55 mph, pretty harrowing given the two-lane country roads.

She drove like a dream and we headed back to the shop chatting about his many RVs back home. When we landed, I proceeded to pull out my cash. Ken would accept not a single dollar. I said at least let me tip your employee. Again he balked, saying he pays him very well.

Instead, he said, just donate some money to your favorite cause. And we did, to the @ACLU