The Odyssey - Van that is Part 1

At 6:10 AM on Friday morning, Adam, Phil & I headed towards Groveland, IL, to see the fellow Band of Brother, Eric. Little did I know the journey we would have under our belts before the weekend ended. For you see, we left with the knowledge that in 48 hours we would be travelling back to Auburn because of meetings and such, Adam and Phil had to be a part of on Monday.

So we headed up north to where the ground is flatter and the corn stalks were being harvested. In a near town, preparations had been made for the Morton Pumpkin Festival. A parade was planned as was a 10K/2M race. Pumkin Ice Cream, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Blizzard from DQ, Pumpkin cake, Pumpkin donuts even pumpkin chili had all been prepared for a festival of unseen porportions of this southern man's eyes. The closest thing I could think of was a cross between the lee county fair and the Loachapolka Syrup Soppin'. But even that pales in comparsion.

But alas I am ahead of myself, for the time had not yet arrived to enjoy those pumkin delights for we three brothers had to experience bonding and growth. I drove till we stopped for lunch just outside of Nashville. Then Adam took over. Now we all know that it is slightly wierd at first to ride in the passenger seat of your own car but I eventually dozed off. I awoke a couple of times and things were going well. Then the last time I woke up, it was because the car had just stopped. The engine quit. Nothing. So Adam so expertly eased over on to the side of the road and then I panicked. I felt responsible that my Camry in which I had trusted so many times had quit. I felt embarrassed for I knew that compared to my fellow journeymen, I knew nothing about how to diagnose much less fix. I tried to compose myself multiple times but the stress and panic was crashing waves of thoughts upon me. "We are not going to see Eric, What the crap am I suppose to do?, why did this always happen to me?" I am 29 years old after all, I should know how to handle this in a calm, experienced way. So I did the only thing I knew to do. I called my Dad. Now my father is not a mechanic and he always seems to handle things so calmly and nonchantly that it is annoying to those who are panicked. But I called him and since he works at a toyota dealership, he transfered me to service. They inturned gave me the phone number to the service department in Paducah. I then spoke to man named Scottie. Scottie told me that he would call a tow truck and we would go from there.

When Ray's Wrecker Service called, the receptionist giggled when I told that there are 3 grown men in this car. She said, "it will be tight." While we were waiting for the wrecker, my stress level had leveled off and my proximity to a tearful breakdown had subsided till my brother Phil decides we should pray. Tears flowed all during the prayer. But I was able to dry them up before he finished, I mean after all, 3 grown men stranded on the side of the road and one of the crying is not cool. Eventually the wrecker arrived and this guy got out of the truck and without saying one word began loading my Camry onto the truck. Eventually Adam saw that his name was Chester. Chester was a man of few words. We eventually squeezed into the cab and headed into Paducah.

We arrived at the Toyota dealership at around 3:30. The person in front of me at the counter was being told that the mechanics get off at 4:00. The waves of panick were flooding once again. The ideas of a quick fix were thrown out the window. So I tried to call Entreprise, you know the people who will pick you up. They were out of cars. I could not believe it. The flood waters had once again reached the level in which I wanted to shut down. But I could not. Thankfully while I was dealing with Scottie finding out about my car, Adam found a place that would pick us up and give us a good deal. So pretty soon, Buddy drove up and took us to Rent-A-Wreck. Not necessarily an confidence inspiring name for a rental place but they were extremely nice. and gave us a great deal on a Honda Odyssey.

So around 4 o'clock we were heading once again toward Groveland. Thought of eating Momma Rosy's dinner were out the window, sitting next to that quick fix idea. So we stopped in Marion, IL at Fazoli's. It was great comfort food for me.

We arrived at Groveland around 10:30 that evening and I was drained. I just wanted to go to bed. But first I had to hug Eric. Once he put his arms around me, all the stress of the day just vanished. For I had arrived "home" I was at a place where I could relax and sleep.

The next morning, Eric, Adam & Phil were running in the 10k and I was running the 2 mile. (hey, I know my limits) So we spent that morning getting to race and by 8:30 all of us had run across the finish line. My deepest thanks to the lady orginially from Lagrange, GA who allowed me to stick with her for the first mile or so. Eric's dad, Steve, brought his bike and rode with the others. He also made sure I did not miss my turn.

Next post: The Pumpkin Festival Parade & more