Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the twentyfifteen domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /chroot/home/a6f7779a/9d7429a5d9.nxcli.io/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6170 {"id":641,"date":"2016-07-10T13:04:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T18:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=641"},"modified":"2016-07-10T13:06:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T18:06:14","slug":"slowly-sliding-into-the-abyss-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=641","title":{"rendered":"Slowly Sliding Into the Abyss…Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slowly Sliding Into the Abyss<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 2<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Late 1962, Early 1963<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Frank Delivers Bad News<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

As I drove home from work that night, well after midnight, I wondered how I would break the news to Sharon, and I shuddered just a bit as I tried to imagine her reaction.\u00a0 Questions with no possible answers kept rolling around in my head:\u00a0 How can this be happening?\u00a0 Here I am, married just a few months\u2026with a child, and another one on the way\u2026and now I\u2019m being sent to some remote radar site in Alaska?\u00a0 What\u2019s happening to me?\u00a0 And, what will happen to us?\u00a0 Where and how will Sharon and the children live while I\u2019m away?<\/em><\/p>\n

Panic began to creep into the pit of my stomach as my thoughts raced, and for a few seconds I lost track of where I was, or where I was going.\u00a0 A car, its driver probably impatient because I had slowly decelerated on the dark sloping two-lane highway, unexpectedly roared by, passing me on my left side\u2014angrily flashing his high beams and blowing the horn.\u00a0 Shaken by his unexpected appearance I instinctively jerked my car to the right, sending the tires on the right side of the car off the road surface and onto the shoulder\u2019s soft sandy dirt.<\/p>\n

On the verge of losing control, my heart raced and I concentrated on being careful not to overcorrect back to the left.\u00a0 Fighting my instincts that were yelling at me to get back on the road as soon as possible, I instead slowly eased the steering wheel to the left letting the right front tire bite into the asphalt.\u00a0 The lumbering and swaying old Chevy jumped back into the lane, all the while narrowly missing a white luminescent highway mile marker.<\/p>\n

Shit!\u00a0 I almost rolled the damn car!\u00a0 <\/em>I said, almost aloud, all four wheels now fully on the road and the nose of the car pointed in the right direction.\u00a0 Just what the fuck I need to do right now, <\/em>I thought, a bit shakily, crash the fucking thing and kill myself!<\/em><\/p>\n

Settling back onto the road I checked the rearview mirror and saw nothing but the blackness of the desert night.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe that I hadn\u2019t even seen that car approaching me from behind.\u00a0 Worse, I hadn\u2019t realized that I had unconsciously let my speed bleed off so much.<\/p>\n

Just then, a creepy thought slithered into my brain:\u00a0 Maybe that would be the best thing that could happen at this point.\u00a0 If I\u2019d rolled the car and died in the wreckage, Sharon and the baby would be home free. <\/em>I thought.\u00a0 So, let\u2019s see; if I died, the military would take care of my burial expenses and she would get some kind of pension, or something\u2014for how long?\u00a0 Hmm.\u00a0 At this point any kind of cash settlement would be good.\u00a0 But, it would have to look like an accident, wouldn\u2019t it? <\/em><\/p>\n

My thoughts were interrupted when my Chevy\u2019s high beam headlights reflected off of one of Winnemucca\u2019s speed limit signs posted just outside the city limits.\u00a0 Because of the wide open spaces between towns, Nevada\u2019s speed limit on the open highways was posted as \u201cSafe and Prudent\u201d.\u00a0 In other words, \u201cGo as Fast as You Want\u201d.\u00a0 Winnemucca\u2019s speed limits, posted about a half a mile outside of town, started at 55MPH, and gradually reduced down to 25MPH.\u00a0 As I adjusted my speed and checked the rearview mirror again for any phantom cars lingering behind me, the morbid thoughts that I\u2019d briefly entertained just a few seconds prior completely disappeared.<\/p>\n

To my recollection, this was the first time ever that I\u2019d entertained thoughts of killing myself, but it certainly would not be the last.<\/p>\n

As I walked into our little house almost an hour after midnight, I was thankful to find that Sharon had not yet turned off the floor heater.\u00a0 Pulling off my military field jacket and hanging it on the back of one of our cheap vinyl-covered kitchen chairs, I moved close to the metal heater\u2019s glowing stone grill to soak up some of its welcome dry warmth.\u00a0 Rubbing my hands together to chase the chill from my fingertips, I was relieved that the door to our bedroom was closed.\u00a0 That meant that the baby had worn Sharon out and both of them were sleeping deeply.\u00a0 Maybe, <\/em>I thought hopefully, I could just break the news to her tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally warming up a bit, I decided to get partially undressed in the front room to avoid making noise in the darkened bedroom and chancing waking up Sharon and the baby.\u00a0 Just as I sat on our one arm chair and was starting to pull off one of my brogans (military boots), the bedroom door slowly and quietly opened.\u00a0 My heart jumped.<\/p>\n

Squinting and shading her eyes against the dim light coming from the kitchen and our one living room lamp, Sharon tiptoed out of the bedroom\u2014gingerly pulling the door closed behind her.\u00a0 She was wearing her favorite knee-length pale blue frilly nightgown, and had her long auburn hair piled into a messy bun on the top of her head.\u00a0 Wrinkling her nose against the glare she pushed her glasses onto her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi.\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi.\u201d I responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow was work?\u201d she asked, as she glided across the floor to quietly sit opposite me on our small two-cushion sofa.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you know,\u201d I shrugged, \u201csame as always, long, slow and boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

I resumed unlacing one of my brogans, and while doing so, felt an uncomfortable twinge of terror and discomfort shoot across my chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this your second or third swing shift?\u00a0 I tend to lose track.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, this was my first.\u00a0 I just got off days yesterday\u2014remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh God.\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u201d She sighed deeply.\u00a0 \u201cMy internal clock is so messed up.\u00a0 Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem, I understand.\u00a0 With the baby and all, I\u2019m surprised either of us know which day it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d she said, leaving her side of the conversation open and incomplete, her eyes drifting off to some point over and behind my head.<\/p>\n

Slowly pulling my brogan off, I finally screwed up the courage and made the decision to tell her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, look.\u00a0 I need to tell you something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm?\u201d she said lazily, her gaze still centered on the wall behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s not good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

She slowly lowered her eyes and centered them on mine.\u00a0 \u201cIs it ever?\u201d \u00a0She said almost inaudibly, shaking her head slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I guess not. \u00a0I don\u2019t know exactly how to say what I have to say.\u201d\u00a0 I sat back into the chair, putting my brogan onto my lap.\u00a0 \u201cBut I have to tell you, even though I feel that it\u2019s just so painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK.\u00a0 Tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I was asked to meet with the station commander before I went up to the hill\u2026and\u2026well, he told me I would have to rotate out not later than this coming February.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRotate out?\u00a0 What does that mean?\u201d\u00a0 She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her two balled-up fists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know I\u2019ve been stationed here in Winnemucca for eighteen months already\u2026and so, the Air Force is reassigning me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 A deep furrow formed just above her nose between her two eyes.\u00a0 I would see that furrow time and again, and more often than not during the span of our short unfortunate marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlaska.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlaska?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, someplace called Tatalina Air Force Station; it\u2019s just outside of a town named McGrath.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd\u2026they\u2019re sending me alone.\u00a0 I mean, no family.\u00a0 It\u2019s a remote assignment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 She looked down at the floor and clasped one hand over the other hand\u2019s fist.\u00a0 It looked very much like she was praying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I mumbled, \u201cI don\u2019t know what else to say.\u201d\u00a0 My teeth began doing a little chattering dance and I wrenched my jaw tight.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t say anything for a long while\u2014I don\u2019t remember breathing.\u00a0 Sharon kept looking at the floor.\u00a0 We remained this way\u2014not speaking, nor looking at each other, for a very long time.<\/p>\n

I would learn\u2014painfully\u2014that these types of moments would eventually become the norm in our marriage.\u00a0 Although I have no doubt that she felt something akin to love for me, and I for her, it is a painful fact that we were never able to get very close to one another.\u00a0 And this first severe strike to our budding relationship easily found that empty breach between us; the breach that would eventually widen, and in the end be all but impossible to close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired,\u201d Sharon finally said, \u201cthe baby was fussy all day and I need to get some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, sure.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get the lights and turn off the heater.\u201d\u00a0 She was already by me and turning the knob on the door before my last words were out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine.\u00a0 Don\u2019t hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I crawled into bed Sharon had her back to me and was curled up in a tight fetal position.\u00a0 I wanted to say something to her\u2014something to soothe her, anything to try to alleviate the somber mood that had descended upon us, but alas, nothing came to mind.<\/p>\n

I slept very little that night; my thoughts, dark and endless, circling and chasing the sleep from inside my head.\u00a0 As the freezing winter sun rose a few hours later that morning, sending its cold yellow rays knifing through the frost-edged window and spilling over our bed, I heard my young wife crying deeply\u2014pitifully bitter tears and soft sobs slowly soaking through the thin pillow she\u2019d wrapped around her face.\u00a0 And in the light of the slowly-breaking dawn, my eyes fell sadly upon the finely-spun auburn hair curling down her delicate neck and lightly freckled back.<\/p>\n

Comforting and soothing words remained locked behind the growing lump in my throat and my tightly-drawn lips. And when I finally found the nerve to say something, my words were cut off by the sound of a deep ragged sigh welling up deeply from Sharon\u2019s chest.\u00a0 Slowly her tortured sigh faded into nothingness, and then her soft wet voice pleaded quietly to the cold unhearing wall, \u201cOh God, oh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u201cNew\u201d Car<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

After a few weeks of working on the hill I learned that radar operators (me) were not very well liked or respected by radar maintenance technicians.\u00a0 Whereas our tech training at Keesler Air Force Base lasted about four and a half months, the maintenance techs\u2019 training lasted a year or more and was infinitely more comprehensive.<\/p>\n

Radar operators received very broad or general training on what made the radar tick, whereas the techs were required to know and understand the working schematic for each different search and height radar, and be able to diagnose a problem based on the symptoms displayed by broken units.<\/p>\n

The first hint I got of the techs\u2019 complete antipathy toward radar operators was when, after working a few weeks on the hill, I introduced myself to one while he was adjusting the CRT (cathode ray tube) on my height finder radar console.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, I\u2019m Frank.\u201d I said, extending my hand as he opened the access bay on the unit.\u00a0 The name tag on his fatigue shirt said, \u2018Rogers\u2019.\u00a0 \u201cHey, thanks for your help.\u00a0 The radar returns were really fuzzy and starting to hurt my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked up, a small screwdriver in his hand and sharply said, \u201cFuck you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, what?\u201d\u00a0 I pulled my hand back.<\/p>\n

He peeked around the console.\u00a0 \u201cI said fuck you, scope dope.\u201d\u00a0 And he ducked his head back in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, what\u2019s your problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re my fucking problem, asshole!\u201d He said from behind the unit.\u00a0 \u201cIf you knew how to adjust your display correctly I would still be drinking coffee and playing pinochle back there!\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the techs also worked on the hill they had their own area well away from the dark room we worked in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, but I just came on shift and the display was already out of focus.\u00a0 So don\u2019t blame me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tech mumbled something that I wasn\u2019t able to totally understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

He pulled his head out from the access bay and said, \u201cAll you scope dopes are fucking stupid!\u00a0 That\u2019s what I said.\u00a0 Did you hear that all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point my temper was beginning to flare and I stood up, pushing my chair back. \u00a0My face burning with anger I said, \u201cLook, you fucking jerk.\u00a0 Take out your hostility on someone else.\u00a0 I don\u2019t wanna hear it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The sergeant in charge of the departing operators\u2019 shift, Kazinski, was suddenly on the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0 I\u2019m talking to both you assholes!\u00a0 You\u2019re both on duty and if you persist I will bring both of you up on charges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Airman Rogers, having thrown his screwdriver on the floor in preparation for hand-to-hand combat, stood up and put his hands on his hips.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah?\u00a0 Well, you\u2019ll have to go through my sergeant first!\u00a0 I don\u2019t listen to fucking scope dopes, no matter how many stripes they have on their sleeves!\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the sergeant was in fact one of those scope dopes, he took Rogers\u2019 comment very much to heart.\u00a0 Pushing me aside, he got directly in Rogers\u2019 face, and in a very controlled tone, growled, \u201cOK, you are just about to totally piss me off, airman!\u201d\u00a0 Then, sensing an air of disrespect in Rogers\u2019 cold stare, he totally lost it.\u00a0 \u201cSTAND AT ATTENTION WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!\u201d\u00a0 This, delivered about an inch from Rogers\u2019 nose.<\/p>\n

Rogers turned kinda white.<\/p>\n

\u201cDID YOU FUCKING HEAR ME, AIRMAN?\u201d\u00a0 Kazinski\u2019s eyes bored into Rogers\u2019 face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d\u00a0 Rogers whispered, then he stepped back and popped to.<\/p>\n

Sergeant Kazinski glared at Rogers for what had to be a full minute.<\/p>\n

Finally, regaining a bit of self-control, he said, \u201cListen to me very carefully Airman Rogers.\u00a0 I will be reporting you to your sergeant as soon as I get back down off the hill, and that should earn your ass a letter of reprimand.\u00a0 So from now on, this is what I will expect from you: When you get a repair order from one of my operators, you come into our radar room, keep your yap shut, do your job, and get the fuck out of our sight as soon as possible.\u00a0 Understand?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen,\u201d Sergeant Kazinski said, in a much more soothing voice, \u201cDo your fucking job now and disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he did.<\/p>\n

This, of course, was an extreme example of the techs\u2019 dislike of us operators.\u00a0 Most of them did just what the sergeant suggested: kept their mouths shut and fixed our radars.<\/p>\n

During one extremely boring weekend day shift, I had stepped out of the radar building to take in some fresh air and to scan the incredibly beautiful landscape from the top of the highest point in and around Winnemucca.\u00a0 Standing on a bed of gravel that marked the farthest point one could stray before coming precariously close to the edge of the precipice, I was deep in thought when I heard someone crunching up the gravel bed behind me.\u00a0 I turned quickly, afraid that one of my shift-mates might be thinking that it would be a funny idea to make like he was going to push me over the edge.\u00a0 Instead, I saw an airman whom I\u2019d previously seen hanging out with the radar techs and on occasion had worked on some of our radar units.<\/p>\n

He was about six feet tall, pudgy, his fatigues looking a bit disheveled and hanging loosely on his rather overweight body.\u00a0 The hand sewn, white cloth name tag over his left breast pocket said, \u201cHardy\u201d.\u00a0 His shoddy appearance pretty much summed up what most, if not all, of the radar techs looked like on any given day.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d I said, \u201csorry, I didn\u2019t hear you come up right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh hey!\u201d\u00a0 He said cheerfully.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019cha doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing, just looking and enjoying Nevada\u2019s wonderful atmosphere during my break.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stepped up, extending his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Tom Hardy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Frank DeLe\u00f3n.\u201d\u00a0 I responded, meeting his hand and receiving a very hardy handshake.\u00a0 (No pun intended.)\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m one of the\u2026scope dopes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, well I don\u2019t like to use that term.\u00a0 You guys do a good job; and to tell you the truth I think I\u2019d rather spend my time looking at a radar scope rather than working on one.\u00a0 Pretty boring work\u2026you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

So for the next ten, or so, minutes we chatted atop that windblown hill, and after we re-entered the radar building, went our separate ways.<\/p>\n

A few days later, while eating my box lunch in the little break room, Tom walked in.\u00a0 He greeted me cheerfully and pulled up a chair across the table from me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Frank, what\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much.\u00a0 Just trying to figure out what the meat in this sandwich is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, ha!\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t eat that stuff.\u00a0 My wife packs me a good lunch every day.\u201d\u00a0 And with that he produced the biggest lunch bag I\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0 The size of a grocery bag, he dug in and began to line up multi-colored plastic containers on the table in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm, your wife doesn\u2019t want you to starve, does she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHa ha!\u00a0 No she doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 Can you tell?\u201d\u00a0 He slapped his ample gut with both of his hands.\u00a0 \u201cHey, aren\u2019t you married too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, your wife doesn\u2019t pack your lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, we think it\u2019s cheaper for me to buy a lunch from the chow hall.\u00a0 A dollar goes a long way in terms of box lunches.\u00a0 But, sometimes I\u2019m not sure what I\u2019m eating.\u201d\u00a0 We both chuckled and dug into our food, chatting easily and comfortably.<\/p>\n

Tom was not the typical radar maintenance guy.\u00a0 He was friendly, sincere, and didn\u2019t seem to take himself too seriously.\u00a0 Our lunches together became fairly regular affairs when we happened to be working the same shift, and I began to look forward to spending time and chatting with him.\u00a0 During one of our conversations I found out that the house he was renting was just a couple of blocks away from the Chevron station where I was working part time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll drop by to chat you up one of these days when you\u2019re working there.\u201d\u00a0 He said when I told him where I worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, I could use the company.\u00a0 It actually gets pretty monotonous there sometimes.\u00a0 Stop on by if you get the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so, one Saturday afternoon as I was responding to the hydraulic bell, thinking it was a customer, Tom rolled up in a dated little beige Nash Rambler.\u00a0 I pointed to a spot next to my car, parked near a six-foot cedar border fence well away from the station\u2019s pumps, and he pulled his little car up to the spot and came to screeching stop.<\/p>\n

We visited for about three hours, our conversations interrupted randomly by gas-hungry customers anxious to get back on the road.\u00a0 He\u2019d been in the Air Force for over six years, and stationed at the radar station for about a year.\u00a0 He was still an E-3, which in itself was odd, given his longevity in the service and his assigned career field.\u00a0 Typically, a radar tech would be at least an E-5 by now.<\/p>\n

He and his wife, Daisy, were devout Mormons with two kids and a third on the way.\u00a0 He regretted re-enlisting a couple of years ago and he and his wife were looking forward to returning to Utah once this four-year stint was completed.<\/p>\n

Although his job was fixing radar units, he confessed that his true love was working on cars.\u00a0 That first day at the gas station he seemed to take a very keen interest in my 1949 Chevrolet fast back\u2014specifically its poor state of repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know,\u201d he said, pointing in the direction that my car was parked, \u201cthat model actually has a great engine.\u00a0 It\u2019s an in-line six that\u2019ll just go forever.\u00a0 Is it a stick?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s got an automatic transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUgh, great engine, but bad transmission.\u00a0 How does it run?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it runs OK, actually.\u00a0 The body is a wreck though.\u00a0 And it needs new tires and brakes.\u00a0 But the motor always starts up, regardless of the temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about!\u00a0 It\u2019s a workhorse!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well I\u2019m not too sure if it\u2019ll be able to go a hundred miles non-stop before something falls off.\u00a0 My mother-in-law gave us the car\u2026we wouldn\u2019t have transportation otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you try to fix it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for one\u2026money.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrap, that shouldn\u2019t be a problem.\u00a0 Anything that car needs we can get through the JC Whitney catalog.\u00a0 And, man, they\u2019re cheap.\u00a0 You know, if you let me work on your car I can help with buying the parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was astounded.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u00a0 How about you let me do a diagnostic on her over maybe a couple of days and figure out what she needs.\u00a0 Then I can compile a list of the parts; like, what\u2019s needed first, and the price, and then we can go from there.\u00a0 What\u2019dya think?\u00a0 Wanna do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026I guess.\u00a0 But really, I don\u2019t have any money.\u00a0 Besides, I\u2019ve got orders to go to Alaska in February, so I need to save all I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect!\u201d\u00a0 He said, enthusiastically.\u00a0 \u201cWe can work on the car in the next couple of months\u2026maybe we can use one of the bays here at the station, and we\u2019ll have it ready to go before you leave.\u00a0 Is your wife gonna stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know for sure, but I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 Her mom moved in to a little trailer home in Reno, and her sister lives in a one-bedroom apartment.\u00a0 They sure can\u2019t afford to have Sharon and Ricky living there too\u2026oh, and we\u2019re having another baby in August.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u00a0 So, what\u2019s the plan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thinking I\u2019ll take them to Houston to stay with my folks.\u00a0 That way my mom can take care of Ricky and help when the new baby is born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere you go!\u201d Tom said, again enthusiastically.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t want, and probably can\u2019t afford, to fly them down, right?\u00a0 But if you drive down they\u2019ll have a car to use while you\u2019re in Alaska.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, Tom.\u00a0 Why are you so set on fixing up my car anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love working on cars!\u00a0 And my wife won\u2019t let me experiment with our Rambler.\u00a0 Aside from the normal maintenance stuff there\u2019s not much to fix anyway.\u00a0 Besides, I need something to keep me busy on my days off.\u00a0 I get bored easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me think about it and I\u2019ll talk it over with my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat!\u00a0 Let me know as soon as you can.\u00a0 In the meantime, after I do a little diagnostic, I\u2019ll start looking at the parts catalog and start getting a list ready of the most important things that I know the car will need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He jumped off the stool he\u2019d been sitting on and headed out the door toward my car.\u00a0 \u201cNo time to waste, so I\u2019m gonna look at a couple things now, if you\u2019re OK with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he busied himself crawling under and over my car the customers started pouring in.\u00a0 While I was cleaning off one of my customer\u2019s windshields I heard Tom\u2019s car start up.\u00a0 As he lurched back onto Highway 40, he waved gleefully and gave me the thumbs up.<\/p>\n

About a week later, during one of my midnight shifts, Tom came into the radar room while I was working one of the height-finder radar positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, got a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTom, I can\u2019t talk right now.\u00a0 I have to concentrate on my display.\u00a0 And if the shift sergeant sees us talking we\u2019ll get our asses chewed out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, I know.\u00a0 This won\u2019t take long.\u00a0 Here,\u201d he handed me a piece of paper, \u201ctake a look at this and then get back to me with your thoughts when you\u2019re free.\u00a0 It\u2019s what I think we need to work on getting first\u2014before anything else.\u00a0 OK?\u00a0 Just come on back to the maintenance section when you\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stuck the folded paper in my breast pocket and got back to concentrating on my display.\u00a0 A couple of hours later I was relieved from my position and headed to the break room.\u00a0 Taking a seat on one of the faux leather, aluminum-frame couches, I dug into my pocket and unfolded the paper that Tom had given me.<\/p>\n

There were only two words written on it: \u2018Need body\u2019.\u00a0 What?<\/em><\/p>\n

My curiosity stoked I got up and went to find Tom.\u00a0 I had never been in the Tech Section of the building and was surprised at the complexity of the area.\u00a0 Long gray metal rows of communications and electronic equipment resembling school lockers, quietly buzzing, sighing, and exhausting warm air through the slotted vents of each unit\u2019s twin doors.<\/p>\n

There were so many units placed in neat rows that after a few seconds of walking in between them the thought of a rat maze came to mind.\u00a0 As I turned down an aisle I heard voices and headed in that direction.<\/p>\n

A couple of turns later I came upon an open area that resembled a large rec room.\u00a0 Chairs and couches were scattered willy-nilly, and to one side there was a large metal table.\u00a0 Six techs, stripped down to their fatigue pants and T-shirts were sitting around the table talking energetically and slamming cards violently onto its center.<\/p>\n

I looked around, looking for Tom, and finally spotted him on one of the couches leafing through an automotive parts catalog.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Tom!\u201d I called out.<\/p>\n

He looked up from the catalog, recognized me, and waved me over.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly cow, man, you found me!\u00a0 Have a seat.\u201d He said, pointing to an empty cushion on the couch.\u00a0 \u201cDid you read my note?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean the two words you wrote?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 No sense in getting too wordy, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, \u2018need body\u2019.\u00a0 That\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYup.\u00a0 The body on your car is shot.\u00a0 The interior headliner is ripped all to heck.\u00a0 The seat covers are shredded.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a couple of rust holes in the floor boards.\u00a0 Shocks, brakes, problems all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, a new body?\u00a0 How\u2019s that gonna happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

A big grin came over his pumpkin-like head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re in luck, my friend!\u00a0 Yesterday, while you were home sleeping off your mid shift, I went to the junk yard at the west end of town.\u00a0 And guess what I found?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me guess\u2014a body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but it gets better!\u00a0 See, you\u2019ve got a 1949, right?\u00a0 And, it\u2019s a fast back coupe, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, so I found a cherry 1950 Bel Air coupe body\u2014two tone, even!\u00a0 And when I say cherry, I mean CHERRY!\u00a0 Listen, the paint is great\u2026well, it\u2019s a little oxidized and needs some rubbing out with some heavy paint compound\u2014but you can do that\u2014and the interior is almost showroom new.\u00a0 The steering is tight, the brakes are practically new, and the floorboards are solid!\u00a0 It\u2019s great, I tell you, great!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can that be?\u201d\u00a0 I said, incredulously. \u201cIt\u2019s in a junk yard!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and that\u2019s the best part.\u00a0 See, the guy who owned the car had just finished rebuilding it in Reno.\u00a0 But he mainly concentrated on the car\u2019s body work and what he neglected was to make sure the engine was sound before he started his trip.\u00a0 Anyway, he was driving it to Elko and was probably pushing it real hard, when \u2018BOOM\u2019\u201d, I jumped just a bit and the pinochle crowd paused in mid-card slam as Tom slapped the plastic sofa cushion flush with his open hand, \u201cthe engine overheated, and he threw a rod\u2026 \u2018POW\u2019\u2026right through the side!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrew a rod?\u201d\u00a0 Not being real savvy with engines I was a little confused by the term.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah!\u00a0 Blew that sucker right out the side!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOut the side?\u00a0 OK, so…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, he had it towed to the junk yard right then and there!\u00a0 Didn\u2019t even ask for any money.\u00a0 Just left it there, called a cab, and left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, all that sounds OK, but how does that help us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I talked to the owner of the junk yard, and all he wants is twenty-five dollars for it!\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great?\u00a0 Twenty-five dollars!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that all sounds good, but it so happens that ten dollars is all I have to my name right now.\u00a0 And that\u2019s before we buy baby food and medicine for Ricky.\u00a0 Does he want to sell it now or can he wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, he can wait until the cows come home; it\u2019s us who can\u2019t wait.\u00a0 Look, time is short and we need to get this project started.\u00a0 So,\u201d he sat back, rubbing his ample belly, \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what: I\u2019ll front you the money for the body and you can pay me back in five dollar increments when you can.\u00a0 Look, that twenty-five-dollar investment is going to save us well over a hundred dollars in parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what happens after we get the body?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSimple!\u00a0 We pull the engine out of your old fastback, which for the most part is OK, then we\u2019ll just drop it into the Bel Air.\u00a0 Of course, before that happens we\u2019ll have to tear it down, then rebuild it with all new parts\u2014then, drop it into the new body.\u00a0 Easy!!\u00a0 And another great thing is that while your fastback has that awful automatic transmission, the body at the junk yard has a manual transmission.\u00a0 You know, stick!\u00a0 That eliminates the need for us to rebuild the transmission on your old car.\u00a0 All we need to do is get an adapter kit to allow your engine to mate with the manual transmission on the new coupe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds complicated and expensive.\u00a0 Besides, I\u2019ve never done that kind of mechanical work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I\u2019ll do all the mechanical work!\u00a0 It\u2019s my dream come true!\u00a0 We\u2019ll completely strip the engine, throw away and replace the old worn parts, re-bore the cylinders, refit them with new sleeves, grind the valves, pop in new rings, rebuild the generator, re-core the radiator, and slap new gaskets on everything!\u00a0 What a cool project!\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to get started!\u201d<\/p>\n

A few days later Tom stopped by my house and asked me to accompany him to the junk yard to retrieve the Bel Air body he had set his eyes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I told you I don\u2019t have twenty-five dollars!\u00a0 We can\u2019t go get it now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, no sweat.\u00a0 I got this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to front the money?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you I would.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll keep a list on how much you owe me.\u00a0 OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

I reluctantly agreed, then I asked him how we were going to get it back to the gas station.\u00a0 He said his little Nash would be more than capable of pulling the engineless car.\u00a0 All I had to do was go sit in the Bel Air and steer.<\/p>\n

The car was all Tom said it would be.\u00a0 It was a clean 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air Coupe; solid body with no dents or scratches, but the two-tone green paint\u2014deep emerald on the top and light pearly green on the main body\u2014was dulled over with oxidation.\u00a0 The slick whitewall tires were almost new and were well worth twenty-five dollars on their own, and the interior was perfect\u2014looking like it had been completely replaced not too long ago.<\/p>\n

The blown engine had been removed by the junk yard owner and cannibalized for saleable parts.\u00a0 Opening the hood exposed a huge open hole surrounded by dangling cables and wires.\u00a0 It troubled me to think that every one of those loose wires would eventually have to be identified and reconnected to something on the rebuilt engine.\u00a0 Where Tom saw this endeavor as a grand project, I saw it as a fearful and unnerving task.<\/p>\n

Once back at the station, Tom explained that the first thing we needed to do was to pull the engine on my fastback, tear it down, and begin its restoration.\u00a0 During this conversation it dawned on me that when this stage of the project began I would be totally without transportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Tom?\u00a0 Uh, how am I going to get to and from work?\u00a0 I won\u2019t have a car until the engine is rebuilt and dropped into the Bel Air.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, no problem.\u00a0 I talked to Daisy and we decided to let you borrow the Nash when we don\u2019t need it.\u00a0 And when we do, then either her or I will chauffer you up to the radar station.\u00a0 When you\u2019re at work Daisy can check with Sharon to see if she needs to go somewhere; then she\u2019ll take her.\u00a0 Also, they must go to the same gynecologist so they can coordinate their appointments.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll make it work.\u00a0 We\u2019re Mormons, and it\u2019s in our doctrine to help and assist the needy.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned proudly.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t so much that I was worried about Tom making everything work, it was that I\u2019d not had a chance to completely discuss the situation with Sharon.\u00a0 She knew that we were going to be fixing up the car but had no idea that we\u2019d be completely without transportation during the repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how long do you think it\u2019ll take to finish this?\u201d\u00a0 I asked, a bit apprehensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that depends on how many parts we need to order, and how long it\u2019ll take to get them.\u00a0 Then we\u2019ll have to see if we can get the valves ground down and the cylinders re-bored within our time frame.\u00a0 The machine shop that does that might be busy, but we\u2019ll see. I\u2019m thinking about four to five weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, that\u2019s a long time for us to be without a car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sweat!\u00a0 It\u2019ll be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom\u2019s bubbling enthusiasm did little to make me feel comfortable.\u00a0 And, as expected, Sharon did not take the news about not having a car very well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this lady that\u2019s supposed to be taking me where I need to go, Frank?\u00a0 And what\u2019s going to happen if Ricky gets sick unexpectedly and I have to take him to the doctor?\u00a0 How am I supposed to get in touch with this woman?\u00a0 Huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

All very good questions\u2014for which I had very few suitable answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Sharon, we\u2019ll try to make it work as best as we can.\u00a0 Eventually we will need to have a reliable car anyway, and this is the cheapest way to get that done, so that\u2019s a positive.\u00a0 Look, we\u2019ll hurry the repair job as much as we can.\u00a0 And besides, Tom and Daisy are Mormons.\u00a0 Their\u2026uh\u2026religion, or something, tells them to do stuff like this.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u00a0 So forgetting about their charity just for a minute, how are we supposed to pay for all of this?\u201d\u00a0 She asked angrily, shoving her glasses back onto her forehead for emphasis.\u00a0 There was that furrow again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ll work extra hours at the gas station, and maybe I can skip buying box lunches from the chow hall every once in a while.\u00a0 That\u2019ll save us a few dollars anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re going to starve yourself too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t be that bad.\u00a0 Sometimes the chow hall sends up apples and oranges along with the box lunches, for us to snack on during our shifts, and they\u2019re free.\u00a0 I can make do with that, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stared at me, her hands cocked indignantly on her hips.\u00a0 \u201cThis project of yours better not take long!\u00a0 That\u2019s all I have to say!\u201d\u00a0 And right on cue, Ricky, napping in the bedroom, started screaming his little guts out.\u00a0 For once I was happy to hear him cry.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The engine was rebuilt, dropped onto its engine mounts, and reconnected to all those random cables and wires by the third day of January, 1963\u2014about a month before I was due to be at my radar site in Alaska.\u00a0 It was just past five in the evening and the leaden ambiance from the cloud-covered winter sun was just beginning to fade into icy darkness.\u00a0 Soft wind gusts flurried the lightly-drifted snow that had fallen early that morning and sent it scurrying across the gas station\u2019s concrete driveway when Tom finally turned the Bel Air\u2019s ignition key to spark the engine back to life for the first time.<\/p>\n

A click, a groan\u2026then, nothing.\u00a0 Again the key was turned with the same disappointing results.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0 I asked, worriedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, nothing.\u00a0 This little heifer (one of Tom\u2019s favorite expressions) is just being stubborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another turn of the key, and again nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, looks like we\u2019re going to have to do this the hard way!\u201d\u00a0 Tom announced, to no one in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the hard way?\u201d\u00a0 I asked, curiously.<\/p>\n

He rolled out of the car.\u00a0 \u201cGet the chain from the wall in the bay and hook it up to the front bumper.\u00a0 I\u2019ll pull the Nash around.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sprinted into the oil change bay and pulled the chain off its storage hook on the wall.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re we doing?\u201d\u00a0 I asked, as I walked back dragging the heavy chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell see,\u201d he responded, \u201cthe pistons are so tight inside their new sleeves in the newly re-bored cylinders that the starter just isn\u2019t strong enough allow the flywheel to turn the engine.\u00a0 So, we\u2019ll have to have the back wheels on the car provide the inertia to turn the engine for us.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m gonna pull your car until we get her up to around fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Then you\u2019re gonna slam the transmission into second gear and pop the clutch.\u00a0 That should force the engine to turn, and allow the plugs to spark.\u00a0 Then, if all goes well, the engine should fire up.\u00a0 When it does, we\u2019ll have to keep it running for a couple of hours or so to make sure the cylinder walls get lubricated enough to loosen up the friction between them and the pistons.\u00a0 See?\u00a0 No problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one thing I liked about Tom\u2014there was never a problem, and I had not the slightest idea what he\u2019d just said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey look, I can\u2019t just drive off and leave the station alone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, stop!\u00a0 We\u2019re just going down this side street for a bit.\u00a0 The car should start in a jiffy and you\u2019ll never lose sight of the station.\u00a0 I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK\u2026I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

I got into the car, turned the ignition on, depressed the clutch, and waited for Tom\u2019s little Nash to pull me out onto the street.\u00a0 Once there, I ground the transmission into second gear.\u00a0 When the speedometer reached fifteen miles an hour I engaged the clutch.<\/p>\n

For a split second I thought the engine had exploded.\u00a0 I was violently jerked back into the seat and my neck whip-lashed.\u00a0 At the same instant I saw that I was rapidly catching up to Tom\u2019s Nash; and in fact, was about to ram him from behind.<\/p>\n

The noise coming from the engine compartment was ear splitting, and in my panic I slammed on the brakes.\u00a0 That little error of mine instantly slowed my car\u2019s forward progress and caused the chain between our two bumpers to tighten back up, threatening to rip our bumpers clean off.<\/p>\n

Regaining my common sense, I depressed the clutch again and released the brake.\u00a0 My car ceased its frontal attack on the Nash\u2019s rear bumper and the chain between us slackened.\u00a0 It was then I noticed Tom\u2019s left arm wildly waving up and down from the driver\u2019s side window.\u00a0 Keeping the clutch depressed and releasing the transmission allowed the engine to run unimpeded, and a little pressure on the brake pedal caused the car to glide to a smooth stop behind Tom.<\/p>\n

He jumped out of his car and did a little dance on the street before hop-skipping back to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYee-haw!!\u00a0 We did it!\u00a0 Hot dang, we did it!\u201d\u00a0 He yelled over the deafening sound of the engine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is it so damn loud?\u201d\u00a0 I yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d he screamed back, \u201cthat\u2019s because we haven\u2019t connected the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe or the muffler.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus!\u00a0 Shouldn\u2019t we have done that before starting it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I guess we could\u2019ve.\u00a0 But then we wouldn\u2019t have been able to hear just how sweet that engine sounds.\u00a0 Great, ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, I did think it was kinda great, but the neighbors who were pouring out of their houses and stumbling onto to their porches, probably thunderstruck and expecting to see a jet airliner crashed and burning on their street, were probably less than impressed to instead see a slightly overweight Mormon doing a Scottish jig over a slack chain strung between two old cars, and a skinny Hispanic kid standing, looking somewhat dumbfounded, with his fingers stuck in both ears.<\/p>\n

Dinner at the Hardy\u2019s<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A week later Sharon and I again had transportation.\u00a0 The car that Tom Hardy literally built from the ground up looked great and ran great.\u00a0 After going through the expenses I found that I owed Tom a little over a hundred dollars for parts and services for the machine shop that had bored out the six cylinders and ground the valves.\u00a0 I knew that I probably owed him at least five times that amount of money for the time and labor he put in to get the car in running condition.\u00a0 My contribution to the whole project had mostly consisted of using rubbing compound and carnauba wax to rid the paint of the coat of oxidation it had accumulated while sitting in the sun in the junk dealer\u2019s yard.\u00a0 Oh yeah, and a bunch of heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

The junk dealer on the edge of town took what was left of the old 1949 Fastback and gave me fifteen dollars.\u00a0 He\u2019d said it was only worth about ten dollars but he knew how much work we\u2019d put into the Bel Air coupe so he kicked in an extra five.\u00a0 I told Sharon that I\u2019d probably give that money to Tom and write him an IOU for the remaining eighty-five dollars, to be paid once I started getting my paycheck in Alaska.\u00a0 She agreed it would probably be the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

We decided that we would invite the Hardys for dinner at our house, but then abruptly rethought the whole idea when we realized that there would probably not be room enough in our house for four adults (two hefty ones), and the two Hardy children.\u00a0 Instead, we asked them that if we provided the food, could we cook and have dinner at their house.\u00a0 Daisy was particularly thrilled at the suggestion as she\u2019d apparently taken quite a shine to Sharon and Ricky.<\/p>\n

The dinner was scheduled for the following Saturday, and although it was still January, the weather that weekend was unseasonably warm.\u00a0 While the wives were in the kitchen getting the meal together, Tom and I sat out on his small deck drinking Cokes and watching his boys play in the yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom,\u201d I started out, \u201cI don\u2019t know what I would\u2019ve done if you hadn\u2019t rebuilt my car.\u00a0 There\u2019s no possible way the old Chevy would\u2019ve made it all the way to Texas\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, don\u2019t mention it.\u00a0 I had a great time.\u00a0 I keep telling you, I love to work on cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I know.\u00a0 But you put in a lot of your money into the project too.\u00a0 So regardless, I plan to pay you back as soon as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPay me back?\u00a0 Are you kidding me?\u00a0 You don\u2019t owe me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you say that?\u00a0 You paid the machine shop, and when we ordered the parts out of the JC Whitney catalog you paid with your money orders.\u00a0 I figure I owe you about a hundred bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, look.\u00a0 This is the way this is going to go.\u00a0 You know we\u2019re Mormon, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Daisy and I aren\u2019t the greatest in practicing our faith\u2026well, because of a lot of reasons.\u00a0 But anyway, she and I had been praying over this and God finally showed us the way to atone for our failures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat failures?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know.\u00a0 Not being good Mormons and me joining the military.\u00a0 Anyway, we made the decision to donate our time and sacrifice some of our money for a worthy project.\u00a0 We had been trying to find something that we could do, we call it doing good deeds, that would benefit someone and at the same time humble us in the eyes of God; and so before we knew it\u2014boom\u2014you came along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure!\u00a0 Don\u2019t you see how it makes so much sense?\u00a0 I got to do something that I truly love, working on cars, while at the same time I\u2019m helping someone that really needs the help.\u00a0 It was like a miracle.\u00a0 Daisy and I spent hours at night in bed talking about how wonderful this experience was.\u00a0 And then to top it all off, she ended up also being able to get in on the good deed by donating her time driving Sharon and Ricky to the store and stuff, and running errands.\u00a0 It was a spiritual coup for both of us.\u00a0 So the way I see it, you don\u2019t owe us anything\u2014we owe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was stunned.\u00a0 Sitting there listening to Tom and watching his face light up as he talked reminded me of how some of the people in the old Pentecostal church back in Houston looked and sounded when they testified about accepting Christ as their personal savior.\u00a0 I was at once grateful and humbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom\u2026,\u201d I stuttered, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I understand what you\u2019ve said, but I still feel that I need to give you more than just thanks for all the work you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what.\u00a0 You can pay me back by driving your little family all the way down to Houston in that Bel Air and getting them there safe and sound.\u00a0 That\u2019ll be your gift to me and Daisy.\u00a0 Now, not another word about this.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go see if the girls have some food ready for us.\u00a0 I\u2019m starving!\u201d<\/p>\n

To be continued…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"