(this was originally posted on twitter between the hours of four and five am)
finally made it to here. Knoxville. 2am, and it was snowing everywhere. it was beautiful. there was a road that overlooked the city lights.
the view was breathtaking. it really made the drive worth it.
driving back was a bit of an hassle as the roads were slick and the snow clumped to the tires fairly quickly but per usual my superior driving skills (.) <---bemused face, successfully navigated everyone home.
among other things that have made this trip an experience was a chance meeting between two strangers.
i saw a man. illuminated in my highlights. i had been driving for five hours, and was in the hilly part west of nox. it was bitterly cold outside. and he needed a ride.
i've never done anything like this before. i'm not careless. i fully understand the dangers of hitchhikers.
But i also understand that we are called for a better purpose and i would be failing my duty if i did not act...
don't worry Mom, I asked cathlyn to text me every ten minutes asking if i was still ok, so i did my best to be as safe as possible.
his name was curtis and he was a trucker whose car's water pump had frozen. he was headed for his rig. twenty-five miles down the road. he had no one else to drive him. we laughed after he admitted he had even called his ex-wife.
i picked him up four miles into his trek. he was out of breath when he climbed in from running up to my waiting car, his hands, chapped with cold as we shook hands...
the next seventeen miles flew by as we talked about life on the road as a driver, the interior decorations of rigs, husband and wife driving combos (bunkbeds!), and how in arkansas the fine for speeding is $200 for every mile gone over (correct me anyone if im wrong. thanks).
After we got to his rig, I got to see exactly how the bunkbeds unfolded down from the wall by twisting the circular lock counter-clockwise, the miniture fridge, the telly (mb shoutout) cubbiedholed away in the corner, and the crown jewel of it all, a cobra 29 radio.
he called for a radio check, I strained to hear..a voice-crackled across the air, "K-town", beginning of story.
I was smitten.
(btw, the electromagnetic spectrum is a fascinating thing)
Now, although I think that driving a triple digit ride on a day-to-day basis would extremely interesting, I understand that at this point it is not very feasible. Sometimes, we have to wait on the fickle dubiety of life. Oh well, either way I know I will enjoy it.
Closing this story, I probably won't ever meet Curtis again, but during my brief time spent with him, I felt a kinship with my fellow man and my soul wept.
Life is often full of difficulties and hardships. I guess the question is, when the ride's over, what did you learn from it?
this is me, michael. signing off. goodnight
