Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Truckers and Evangelists

We are back where we started originally. Our purpose here is for our yearly exams and Surely’s as well. The only fun we will have this week is catching up with the kids and their lives. We are so anxious to get back on the road because this is the moment we have been waiting for… the jumping off period of our lives you could say. This is where we will leave the comfort zone of the neighboring states and embarked on new territory. A little unnerving in some ways, but exciting in other ways. We met our neighbors and they are very helpful. They purchased their coach at Colliers as well. They seemed surprise when they discovered we had no plans, no itinerary for this winter. They must have their winter months scheduled, appointed, and planned. We are living for the moment and praying we won’t end up in a parking lot somewhere sleeping.

The meteorologists were predicting a terrific storm for this part of the area so I left West Memphis with that thought on my mind. I drove 300 miles and my derriere feels it. Today we went at a leisurely pace when they announced the storms might come in tonight or tomorrow.

It is a strange feeling to drive up high with the truckers. You get a glimpse into their semis when traveling down the road. It is interesting to see men with cowboy hats on, wearing A-line t’s, and a kitty cat riding down the road on the dash. The majority of them are considerate drivers.

Wehr Ford in Mountain Grove is where I am purchasing my next vehicle. I met one of their salesmen this morning at the campground we stayed. I realize that car salesmen get a bad rap. They are rated right up there with lawyers and crooks. This gentleman (who was in his twenties) was well a gentleman. I got up this morning and my first chore of the day was to wash the windshield of the RV. That is when I met my neighbors, an elderly couple with a poodle who walked like a human. This couple was evangelists. They traveled from church to church spreading the word and they supplemented their income with the sales of their homemade CDs. They sang old time gospel, she on the bass and he on the flat top and mandolin. They were on a limited income but were trying to make the most of their lives. Previously they owned a Coachman motor home but it was a gas hog and they decided to trade it in. The RV Dealership saw them coming you could say and sold them an older model fifth wheel and I mean older model and a pick up truck to small to tow it. They threw a rod and we were fortunate that their vehicle died while pulling onto their lot. They went up to Wehr Ford which is located by the RV Park to see about fixing their vehicle, which I forgot to mention had 200,000 miles on it. The dealership explained to them that a. the motor is to small to pull a fifth wheel, b. the motor is blown and they would take it in as a trade in on a good used truck that will have the horsepower to pull their fifth wheel. The salesman drove the couple back to their RV to think about it. It was later that night that the elderly gentleman found out his brother died and that is when his family found out what was going on them. The salesman also came back that evening to bring them groceries at that time. This morning the salesman returned to let them know that they will keep the same deal but they (the elderly couple) needed to return home for his brother’s funeral. Because the elderly couple did not have a credit card they couldn’t rent a car so a family member rented one for them but they would have to pick it up in Springfield which is a 40 minute drive. The salesman drove them to their car. He figures as do I their time on the road is over. I bought a copy of each of their CDs, the salesman paid for a week at the campground, and they should have enough money to go home on. I will say a prayer for them.

Location:  Osage Beach Missouri

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