Tailgate News NOVEMBER 7, 2014.qxd
Transcription
Tailgate News NOVEMBER 7, 2014.qxd
Memorable Moment: The time I got stranded on the St. Louis Interstate By JOHN NELSON Tailgate News Editor I write to you on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 4. I don’t know any results yet for Gurdon, Haskell or the counties or states. So this is some pre-election result musing about a trip I took long ago. I was on my way home from Florida via Tyler, Texas and somehow ended up on Interstate 55 outside of St. Louis - searching for my Indianapolis exit to our farm. I grew up with my Dad’s parents, John H. and Marvel M. Nelson, on a farm 2.5 miles west of Hagerstown, Indiana on Highway 38. I was headed home to that farm just before I turned 20 years old back in the fall of 1980. Times were a bit chaotic back then for me, but all of the weird stuff I went through gives me a host of fond memories. First let it be known that I freely admit I was a moody, and probably crazy, child back then. I saw life as a high-geared frenzy and I wanted to be on that shooting star every chance I got. Life in the Fast Lane was not a song to me, it was a way of life. I had no idea I would end up a professional writer at that point in my life. I just knew I wanted to finish college, as I had already finished nearly two years of retirement and only one year of college so far. I was not a lazy kid. On the contrary I had endless energy and guts to the point of realizing within myself that if I did not slow it down I would surely burn my life out pretty quickly. This is why I made my decision to break ties with Florida, Amway, white slavery police work and my dear sweet live-in Alice. Alice was a wonderful girlfriend, but I was 19 and she was 36. I just could not see that age difference in the long run. Amway made me a little money and it might have made me more if I would have stuck around. The white slavery spinner thing I did helped a few young dancing girls get off of drugs and back home to a safer path, but it was a dangerous gig. I realized when the cops offered to send me to police academy down in Florida that the whole thing was getting too permanent and too serious. After all, I was on a retirement sabbatical, according to my grandfather. Grandpa Nelson said a man ought to retire before he chose the line of work he would be stuck with the rest of his life. I did that. I am glad. Since I became a professional writer, and advertising agency owner and producer, all of my former experiences seem like good fodder to draw upon for stories and sales talk. As a matter of fact, I am thinking of some Florida experiences as we speak and already getting in a much better mood. ST. LOUIS AND THE FLAT TIRE I left Florida in September of 1980 and headed for Tyler, Texas to spend a week or so with a girl named Linda Motes before coming on home to Hagerstown, Indiana. Wow, Linda was great. But once again, I was not ready for settling down until I finished my college. So I said my goodbyes to Linda and headed home. I drove north for awhile and got on Interstate 55, searching for the Interstate 70 exit to go toward Indy. Then I heard the old familiar boom. I knew that boom. It was blown tire and I had my material world in a U-Haul and trunk above and behind that boom. I pulled over and began the painful process of retrieving my spare and changing a tire with semi trucks about 2 feet from my body. It moved the jack a few times, that wind those truckers produced. But the thing held. It did not knock it out from under the car. I got the tire changed. Usually when this happened, on my now 45-state journey, the cops would show up and ask if I needed any help about the time I “Mountain Retreat” INCLUDES MILK, EGGS & MUCH MORE! TO MEET YOUR EVERY DAY NEEDS! light a cigarette and grab my cold coffee for a swig, you guessed it. All was right with the world and that was yet another Memorable Moment. Congratulations Gurdon Mayoral Elect Sherry Kelley and Haskell Mayoral Elect Janie Lyman. Best of luck as you lead your communities this coming January. The Tailgate News staff 469-585-9333 or Gurdon: 870-353-8201 BED-BUG KILLER All Natural/No Toxins/Tried/Proven CTN66.US OPEN We now sell silver jewelry GURDON’S GROCERY! Fresh meats, produce, dairy got the tire changed. No cops that day. So I got it changed, took my rubber hammer and got the hub cap back on and started my sewing machine. I owned a 1974 Dodge Dart Swinger with a slant 6 engine. It sounded like a sewing machine, but it was strong. Those old engines were built to last. I put 454,000 miles on mine and sold it for $500. My Grandpa paid $3,400 for it new. Well I got the tire changed and headed on my way, after reloading all the stuff into the trunk etc. When I sat down to Monday thru Saturday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thomas Kinkade’s Sunrise Chapel Thomas Kinkade’s SAVE TIME, BUY HERE! Hours: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Mon - Sat CLOSED ON SUNDAYS Corner of Main & Crayton Streets • GURDON Ph: 870-353-2400 Claudia Garcia Moreno, owner Fresh Beef! Visit our Gallery and discover for yourself why the late Visit us on the Gallery Walk, first Friday night every month! THE TAILGATE NEWS; southarktailgatenews.com *NOVEMBER 7, 2014 art remains so popular to collect... 7
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