It happened in a flash.
winding down a Rocky Mountain road,
a trio of travelers,
basking in snow-draped vistas
pulled off for a photo or two.

Their tires locked into a snow bank
and after a few futile wheel spins,
the undeniable truth sank in;
they were stuck!

In moments, the slamming of car doors
echoed across the valley,
an ad hoc community of a dozen neighbors
formed, converged and began to dig.

After a half hour of elbow grease
amid vapor clouded exhalations:

      “straighten the wheel,”
           “slow and easy on the gas” and
                “all together  push now,”

the tires recaptured the road.

No one called "meeting adjourned"
but as quickly as it formed,
our ad hoc community
dispersed into the winter chill:
good folks working
in harmony for a solitary cause.

E pluribus unum!