The first thing I did once I got settled into my daughter's car was to look in the rear-view mirror. There she was, my little, Sofie, sound asleep in her car seat. Sophie's my grand daughter. She's almost two-years-old now, and she's my best buddy. It had been a little over two weeks since I'd seen her and I had really missed her.
I just kind of stared at her for a while. There was this perfectly innocent little girl sound asleep and totally unaware of why we were meeting in St. Mary's for lunch and completely unaware of how close she had come to losing her dad today.
You never really know when you're going to get one of those phone calls, do you? It was about 10:30 or so this morning, I was about to leave Manhattan and finally make it home. Really, I'd been ready for a while, I was just kind of hanging out with the guys. We had been talking about our kids and how they had all grown up, married, and moved away. You know, that kind of stuff, when my cell phone started ringing. It was my daughter, Misty. One of the guys named, Hudson laughed when I told him who it was. He said she probably knew we were talking about her.
What's up kiddo? Dad, Travis has been in a bad wreck. He rolled his work truck a little west of St. Mary's on hi-way 24 and I'm on my way. I talked to him and he says he thinks he's okay.
Okay, kiddo, I'm on my way. I grabbed my lap-top and coffee cup, told the guys what happened and hit the road. I didn't know what I expected to find and wasn't sure what I'd do once I got there. All I knew was that my kids were in trouble and needed my help.
Travis, my son-in-law, had been heading west on hi-way 24 and was just coming into the little town of Bellvue when he slipped off the right shoulder, he probably over-corrected and sent his truck into an out of control slide across the oncoming lanes and rolled the truck into the ditch. Luckily, the truck came to rest on it's wheels and was sitting half way in the ditch and half way in a corn field.
Travis was outside the truck when I arrived. The cops and EMT's had already left by the time I got there, so I pulled over the the edge of the road and talked to him. He assured me he was okay. I knew he was shook up and just wanted to go home. But I also knew he didn't want me to know that. So I didn't argue with him when he told me he was going to stay and help his boss clean up the mess and told me not to worry about him.
With that said, I hopped in my truck and headed up to where my daughter had pulled over when she arrived. She was about to lose it and asked if I'd stay in her car to keep an eye on Sofie. I assured her It'd be my pleasure.
I sat there watching her sleep in the rear-view mirror and thought to myself, Sofie girl, we dodged a really big bullet today. Funny thing is, you'll never even know it.
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Kevin, glad to hear Travis is OK. That is scary as hell. We'll give him, Misty and Sophie an extra prayer or two tonight. This is the reason I give Daniel and Lori a kiss every morning before I leave even though they are still sleeping. You just never know.
ReplyDeleteNo, you don't, and that's what's so scary about those paticular phone calls. You're almost always caught off guard.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are and it doesn't matter how important you think you are either. Sooner or later we'll all will that unexpected call. You know, the one that changes everything.
One thing I'm beginning to understand, too, is that,the older you get, the more likely that phone call is to come.
Thanks for stopping by, Hawks. Tell Lori and Daniel I said hi...
Nice to see you posted "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" along with this. No song I know of captures the lonliness and responsibility you feel when you're out there driving something huge. My dad, another old-time trucker, speaks the same way about that song.
ReplyDeleteEven I get things right every once in a while, Fred.
ReplyDeleteDad, thanks again for being in the right place at the right time. You knew that I needed you even though I said I didn't. Why do we do that anyway? We call people to tell them that we are in trouble and then tell them that we are okay.
ReplyDeleteHawks, I love that you kiss your loved ones before you leave. Someone once told me that my 'goodbyes' are too long. That's okay by me because you really never know when it will be your last!
Sofia didn't wake up until we had left the scene and met Dad for some lunch which she was happy to do once she realized that her pa pa was there!
We did dodge that bullet, with some help of course! Travis is just fine. He really did walk away from the horrible wreck without even a scratch! Thank you to God
Dad, I love you.
And I love you too, Kiddo. I'm wondering who the "someone" you're refering to is.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for being at the right place at the right time. Hell, I gotta get it right every once in a while. I'll be home tomorrow night. See you then...
I came by to find your entry re: room 235, and found this latest entry. God, I hate those kind of phone calls. I'm glad to learn that this one turned out okay.
ReplyDeleteI know whenever Tom and I would drive by an overturned truck, we'd wonder if the driver made it out okay...
All my best and warmest wishes to your family.