Annie Milliron
Alpha Goddess
I blogged about this last night and thought I'd copy and paste here:
What a day! There are not enough adjectives in Webster's Dictionary or Roget's Thesaurus to describe exactly and succinctly how much this day really "sucked". Sorry for the vulgarity, but nothing else comes to mind at this moment. If it does, I'll edit later!
It all began a couple of days ago. Russell and his troop have been planning a "high adventure" trip to the BSA's Florida Seabase for 2 years now. There is an amazing amount of planning and paperwork to be done, and over the past 2 years, Russell has done a good job of keeping up with all of it. At least, until a few weeks ago. After Pete (his stepfather) passed away, his focus was justifiably on helping his Mother. So it was with mixed relief and trepidation when one of the other troop leaders called and asked Russell if he had gotten the tour permit. And of course, Russell hadn't, but started the process. Normally, for regular camp-outs, these are obtain from the local Scout council office. However, because this was a "major" trip, it had to be approved by the regional office.
This wasn't too worrisome, because at the time, he had several days. Days past, and I'd casually ask him if the permit had arrived. And his answer always was NO! So today, after a 1/2 dozen phone calls to the regional office, which is located somewhere in Illinois, the troop permit was faxed to me, at my office. As soon as I had it in my hot little hand, I left work to come and help him finish packing.
I had thought to stop and bring home sandwiches, because he had been to anxious to eat. We got the third seat into the van, and then came inside, so he could eat and check his gear and paperwork. He asked me to run down and pull his spare scout shirt out of the dryer, which I happily did. And that was when I saw it. There was a pen still in the pocket, and ink had spilled out all over the shirt. Of course, it had been through the drier. I came upstairs to tell him, and he took it pretty well, all things considered!
Once everything had been double checked, he was anxious to get going, so we hurried out to the car. The plan was for me to ride with them to the airport in Columbus, and bring our van back home. So we were finally on our way, and making good time when suddenly, a tire on an 18 wheeler in front of us shed it's "re-tred"... which flew under the car directly in front of us. We were in heavy traffic, and there was no avoiding it. We it it with our front tire, and then it slid under the car, and there were all sorts of horrible noises. But everything seemed alright... for awhile. It was about 15 minutes later when the right front tire went flat.
At first, I wasn't too bothered. I figured they'd easily put on the spare, and we'd be off. I knew I'd have to deal with it, but that wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. So I got my camera out and tried to get a picture of these red-winged blackbirds on fence posts. HA! How wrong I was. Within minutes, between the four men, two lug nuts were broken. I put my camera away. I know realized we were down for the count. One of the other leaders called his wife, and she immediately left to out to get the extra carload. Russell called AAA and because we were on the interstate, we were given priority status. When AAA called me back to confirm, the operator was awesome. She quickly realized that I would soon be a woman left alone on the interstate. She promised me that the driver would be there soon. And he was, thank goodness! I was frantic that he would get their before the others left. However, when he arrived, Russell and the troop were still there. Russell wasn't happy about the prospect of leaving me, but he really had little choice. At first, the driver thought he could change the tire. However, this was not meant to be, when he broke a third lug nut. He was going to have to tow me back to our mechanic. Luckily we have AAA Plus and didn't have to pay for the towing. His truck was massive... it seemed to be to be as big as a semi. I have to confess that I was very unhappy about this turn of events. I was nervous about it I told Russell that he would have to help me get in. Poor Russell was so flustered and worried. Worried about getting all 12 people to the airport in time and worried about leaving me. I know he wanted to stay and make sure I was ok... but that wasn't meant to be. The other leader's wife arrived, and they all jumped in her van and headed off to the airport. He looked at me as he walked away, and I know he was really upset. And I was trying not to cry. I always cry when he leaves for a long trip... and I was anxious. I called my sister in law and she said she'd meet me at our mechanics and drive me on home. So I climbed into the cab of the truck, clutching my cell phone like a life line and waited.
No sooner had I settled in my seat when his cell rang and it was his "just" ex girlfriend. They had a huge argument which included far too much information about her infidelities, etc. He told her he wanted her out by the time he got home and then ended up hanging up on her. He then jumped back out and proceeded to get our van up onto the flatbed of his truck. He then climbed back in and proceeded to tell me about his life story, which was quite colorful. Russell called to make sure I was ok. My sister called and my sister in law called. And in between, I listened to him. His story is a major hard luck story. The poor guy was soooo tall, and skinny. I swear he's about 6 ft 6 and weighs only 150 pounds. That is not accurate, just a guess. But he's had a hard life and looks really strung out.
But as I listened to him, I realized what a nice guy he really is. He's had it rough, and more than likely continue to have it rough. He's the kind of character that you see on the Jerry Springer show or Maury. He's hit bottom 3 times, and is coming back, yet again. It was an interesting ride, and one I'll never forget. I wouldn't necessarily want to do it again, but throughout all the problems and stress, I think I learned a few lessons today.
So thanks to my Sister in-law, I'm home safely. Their plane landed safely in Ft. Lauderdale, and they're staying in a hotel tonight. They will head out to Sea Base headquarters in Key West tomorrow. If you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for Russell's happy and safe return, I would be grateful. And, now, I'm exhausted, and going to bed!!! Night everyone!
