By Charles Barnard
The driving conditions were horrendous as the blizzard raged. Young Thomas Weller suddenly lost control of his car and found himself in a snowbank. He was stuck. He was stranded. He didn’t know what to do as the blizzard raged on. He waited. He waited. And he waited. After hours of waiting another motorist came by and helped young Thomas out of his predicament. The man would not accept any payment telling Thomas to simply pay it forward. That blizzard and “chance” encounter was back in 1964.
Thomas was just sixteen and being just sixteen he didn’t fully appreciate what had happened to him. Time has a way, though, of working on your conscience if you have a mindset of a champion. According to Weller, “It was a couple years later when I was old enough and smart enough to realize that he very well may have saved my life, so I started my mission to pass it on.” Passing it on with interest is exactly what Weller has done.
Weller’s chosen profession was a mechanic. His chosen mission was rescuing the stranded. For more than 50 years when not working, Thomas Weller has driven up and down and across, and around San Diego highways in search of stranded motorists. Weller would get done work and jump in his 1955 Ford Wagon, “Beulah,” and begin his search letting “intuition” be his guide. He changed countless tires over the years and even rescued people from burning cars on a couple of occasions and all he asked in return was the people would pay it forward.
Weller, who has struggled with depression for most of his life, says that his mission of helping stranded motorists helped him keep negative thoughts at bay. “I’ve always been a deep person and if I could help one person, it helped me. It was beautiful compensation.” Indeed, one of the spiritual laws woven into us is you can’t selflessly help another without receiving spiritual help yourself. It has been repeated over, and over, and over again.
Father time has caught up to Thomas Wheeler. In 2017, he lost his “copilot”, his 17 year old dog Sheela. Soon after the loss of his dog he suffered a minor stroke. In just a couple short years Covid hit and shut down the county. Wheeler began to reflect on his life and his work. Wheeler’s wife was telling him it was God’s way of telling him it was time to slow down. He says, “I can’t run like I used to and I don’t have the balance that I used to. I can’t in good conscience go out there and play on the freeway anymore.” While his days at the San Diego highwayman might have come to an end his impact on people will go on for people have and are paying it forward in their own way.
In the fall of 2020, a GoFundMe page was set up to help Thomas Wheeler get a new set of teeth. In just a matter of days $50,000 was raised once again proving the adage you reap what you sow. When you demonstrate selflessness, you will be rewarded whether it is helping you cope with depression or having people raise $50,000 to help you get a new set of teeth. Time and time again we learn the value of a loving mindset.
Nichols, Erica, and Dewey Keithly. “San Diego’s Highwayman Adjusts to Life off the Road.” San Diego Magazine, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/san-diego-s-highwayman-adjusts-to-life-off-the-road/article_2f674e9e-6fd9-11eb-b80e-73a47576a3f1.html.
