On the road again...
Buddy arrived in Oklahoma
on Saturday night after driving 16 hours from South Dakota , with the camper trailer
following closely behind him. I talked to him on Sunday morning:
"It feels strange waking up in another state. Another adventure, or another chapter in the adventure of this life. The book is almost over, there are not many pages left to fill. If it was made into a movie, it would be like one of those movies that you watch and after the 2 hours spent you say - what, that is how it ends, is that all there is? The popcorn was the best part…:"
After a long job and long stent away from family and home, I
guess that is a normal state of mind. But No that is not all there is, just
work and traveling from one job to the next, and putting up with unskilled workers
and lying subs and crummy weather and hardly any time off. You just need a
little vacation, spend some time in this house you built and with all your
family, and maybe take a little trip without work, and it will all be good.
Besides, even if the story of your life was almost over, it wouldn't
be complete without the chapters we are still waiting for, not the ones you
have ahead, but the stories of Buddy The Early Years - written down for posterity and progeny. All those stories of
growing up in Atlanta, playing ball in the empty lot under the power lines,
making your own skateboard with scars to show for it, riding the trolley cars, growing
up with Two Mama, eating grilled cheese sandwiches at the counter at
Woolworth's, going shopping with your mom in Rich's basement, the pranks your
older sisters used to play on you, building things in the backyard garage/shop
with your dad, building a kayak and sailing it with your friend Chuck, building
the dune buggy with cousin Donnie, spending time at the farm with your grandparents, and this is just a small list of the few
things I can remember.
And it is not the substance of stories as much as how you
tell them, with your natural wit and expressions and phrases. So no, you are
not getting off that easy, not many pages left - well you better get another
notebook out because it ain't over yet.
I have lots of time and lots of popcorn - so let's get on
with this adventure. Oklahoma awaits us, tornadoes and all.
~photo from our 2012 road trip
