Adventures I

My friend Darrell is here from Texas. He and I shared an adventure yesterday. There will be more adventures to share as 8 more friends arrive today.  But for now, I want to share yesterday's adventure.

 

 

Darrell can't find parts for his new/old 1956 Chevy Pickup around Texas. I figured there had to be some old junk yards around here....it is, after all, rural Alabama. We started calling. Nothing. All the good ones were gone. (Sounds like guys, huh?)

Anyway, I happened to remember this big old truck sitting on the side of the road on hwy 72 with a sign painted on it and an arrow pointing the way to "Affordable Auto Parts". I actually found it on the Internet and Darrell called. Yep, a voice said said, they have four trucks in the 1956-58 range. "Sure they do" we thought. But, we took off.....Darrell, Hobo and I....in Bonnie's little Jeep Patriot (2WD) . (More on that later).

GPS blazing our way....I thought I knew where we were going, but you need to be safe. We pulled into this gravel 'driveway' that had a little yellow sign that said.....you guessed it "Affordable Auto Parts". This dirt track meandered back into the woods. We were getting close.

We were able to make it up the driveway...carefully...it is a 2 wheel drive after all...and only sits about 3" off the ground. (It was then I realized I should have brought my 4WD Jeep.) Then, there were junk cars everywhere and a shop down the "holler" with four guys in it. Three sitting and one on the phone. We approached the shop....I, two steps behind Darrell....this was his adventure after all.

He said he'd called earlier about a 1956 Chevy Pickup. The guy on the phone pointed to one of the guys sitting down. UH OH.

This guy was about 5'6", hadn't shaved in three weeks, had a hat out of some scary movie, and was sporting about 6 teeth. (Truly). The unlikely thing was that he spoke fluently...in English....intelligibly and with a sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye. He said "Yes, lets go see the trucks" and walked away. We went to the little Jeep and he said, "Can we three fit in"? I said "Sure...Hobo won't bite unless you bite first" and we all jumped in.

Out the drive, down the road and into another "driveway". Well, sort of a drive. It had ruts in it that would challenge our Rhino 4X4 much less the little Patriot. We banged bottom several times and I carefully avoided the Grand Canyon on the left side of the driveway....but the little Jeep bravely made it into the woods....bouncing and jiggling past cars that I once could have owned....from 1949 Fords to 1972 Chevy Novas. Then, we came to a spot where even the little Jeep had to stop.

We walked. I got Hobo out and he walked on a leash with us through poison ivy, water holes, and underbrush past even older cars, finally arriving at "the trucks". (He has now had a bath, as have I)

Believe it or not, the trucks were exactly what our guide said they would be. Darrell found the parts he needed for much less than any Internet parts he'd found. Darrell and our guide had to pull the parts, but with the guide's help, Darrell got exactly what he needed.

These are the type of silly, crazy, wonderful, memories our "Beaver Bunch" friends have accumulated for over 25 years. Bonnie and I met these special, unique people when we lived in Wichita Kansas for two years. We never let them go. They won't let me go now, even though they, thankfully, are not able to fully appreciate the loss of a spouse of 40+ years. They are trying and that I appreciate.

Sure, the dark edges crept back in as we drove home. I wanted to tell Bonnie our story so badly when I walked in the door I could scream!!!! She delighted in listening to the crazy antics of her boys. We were always doing something like this. It was so very frustrating that she wasn't here to tell her. I pray that heaven let's its occupants share vicariously the experiences of their loved ones left behind.

But, I also wanted to tell this silly story to you. Just to let you know that even in the depths of this horrible grief, there are times of fun, if you make yourself allow them to happen. Not joy, perhaps, but fun....smiles....even laughter. From a back woods guy with few teeth and a funny hat, came a sense of humor and an ability to push the dark edges back, if only for awhile.

I wish I could make all the grief of those who have lost loved ones disappear...along with mine. I can't. You can't. But maybe....just maybe we can allow others, without even knowing it, to push the darkness away for a little while.

Does God place people in our paths to lighten the load? I believe he does. From a park in downtown Nashville to the backwoods of rural Alabama there are opportunities for that to happen....if only for a little while.