Tidbits
Snippets in Life
I had written in a previous column when, at eighteen, I had driven across the country in a VW bug with no heater in the middle of winter.
My wife and recently completed a near full cross country journey from Solvang to Paducah, Kentucky. This time in a full-size pickup with heater and AC. Camping in our RV trailer. You may ask why? I did too. My wife is an avid and excellent quilter and Paducah holds an annual massive quilt event.
I swore I would never drive a long trip like that again, but she wanted to give it a go. Nearly three weeks of road-tripping for a two-day visit seemed a lot. Am I complaining? Well kind of. It’s one thing when you’re 18, quite another when in your 70’s.
And rather than fight the cold of winter this time, we had to dodge tornadoes. I’ll take my chances with an earthquake any day.
Always looking for the positive, I put together a montage of our encounters along the way. I call it tidbits because for the most part they were brief, but it opened windows to people across this great and vast land. And I’m only touching on a few of them.
When we pulled into our KOA campground in Albuquerque, we were exhausted. There was no place to eat within walking distance. I didn’t want to unhook the truck for our one-night stay. The campground suggested an Italian restaurant would deliver to our site. I called and the young man that answered was super kind and helpful. He said our meal would be delivered in sixty minutes. He arrived on the dot. He was very pleasant and cheerful. We talked for a bit, and I tipped him $25.00. You would have thought it was a thousand dollars. He kept thanking us and said it made his day. Their food made our day, it was fantastic.
Our next stop was in Amarillo, Texas. The campground shuttled us to their restaurant down the street. The Big Texan Steak House. Holy cow, and I mean cow. This place was the Disneyland of restaurants. The décor was right out of an old western saloon but massive. And the steaks were enormous. If you could eat their 72-ounce steak in under one hour it was free. I took a photo of that thing. It wasn’t normal.
Our waitress was a bit aloof, but I never let something like that go. I engaged her every time and asked where she was from. Before long she softened. She was from Las Vegas. Her parents moved to Texas, and she loved where she ended up.
I made a commitment to myself a few years ago to engage everyone I met. To leave a good impression, even if it was just a smile. We departed as friends.
One of our first experiences with spring weather in the Midwest was at a campground outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. Upon checking in I was told to keep my ears open for security in case we had to get to the shelter. Shelter! She said they were expecting “some” weather. I sat outside before it got dark and things looked okay to me. Holy poop stain! It wasn’t an hour later the sky unleased rain like I’ve never seen before. The wind blew so hard trees were laying sideways, and the trailer was rocking back and forth. Then the thunder and lightning arrived with a vengeance. I couldn’t sleep. I kept looking out the window waiting for security to make the call. There was enough rain that night alone to take care of California for five years. If California had a place to store it. Next morning, blue skies. Like nothing ever happened.
Our next stop was Branson, Missouri where we slowed down for a couple days. I equate Branson to kind of like a mellow mid-west Las Vegas without the casinos. We attended a couple shows. One was a country comedy variety show. During intermission the actors made themselves available at the front of the stage. I engaged in conversation, as I always do. You can be in Montana, Florida or Missouri, the country is bursting with amazing people. During the second act I was called on stage to be roasted. The lead man told the audience we had driven out from California, and I must have lost a bet or something. When asked where I came from the second comedian looked at me and said he knew the place. As we were leaving the theater the comedian called out my name. He was from southern California and knew Solvang well. He and his wife used to always visit. We had an enjoyable conversation and departed as new friends.
At our destination, Paducah, Kentucky, there was a BBQ guy set up next to our camp site. First night I went over and sat on the bench with him. For the next three days we grew to know each other. He was a well-known local BBQ chef and was good! I ate three nights in a row; pulled pork, ribs, brisket. His wife would join him and along with my wife, as well as other campers, would sit with them for hours. I’m going to miss Mark and Nora.
The most fearful and yet most wonderful experience occurred on one of the most desolate roads I’ve ever driven in America; highway 57 from Dodge City, Kansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I’ll admit I was stressed out every day filled with what ifs. Well, the what if happened. Somewhere on Mars, the trailer had a blowout. As far as you could see there was absolutely nothing. No buildings, no trees, no shrubs. Just dry dirt. The tire iron from my truck didn’t fit the trailer lugs. I was stranded. The few cars that drove by just kept on going. Then a pickup truck swung back around. Two gruff looking men, dressed in well-worn dirty overalls approached us. I went on high alert.
“Do you need any help? They asked.
“All I can get.”
After assessing my predicament, they said they’ll be right back. And true to their word, some twenty minutes later they returned with a hydraulic jack and impact wrench. Five minutes later the spare was on. I pulled out cash; they said no. Pass it along.
If I never believed in angels before, Ben and Charles, father and son cattle ranchers, were truly angels. If it had not been for them, we could still be there. I’ve never felt more blessed and that lucky in my life.
Ben and Charles affirmed my belief America is a great land with great people.
Moral of the story. Love your country. It’s wonderful place to be a part of and is filled with wonderful people. I have sympathy for the marchers and America haters who need to remind themselves of just how good they have it. How good we all have it.
There’s so much to be thankful for and a lot of good people to be thankful with.
Great story I wake up with my glass half full by the time I hit the bed its usually running over expect blessings every day and if the world gives you lemons make lemonade it's all good never dwell on the Darkside when bad things happen it just gives you a reason to make it better.