CL-October 2024 - 34

RURAL LIVING
Is there food there? I wondered.
" Yes, " he said.
Tow Trucks, the Bee Gees
and Gas Station Hot Dogs
Life on the road can be adventurous
by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
M
any blessed
drivers have
ferried me
to Charlottesville and
back these past eight
months. God bless
every one of them!
Th e idea of having to drive 100 miles
there, on a busy interstate, have tests and
appointments, and then turn around
and brave the 100 miles back home is
honestly just too much for me.
But, shoot - I remember driving
to Virginia Beach in one day when I
was younger. Sometimes, I'd take two
days, stopping to stay with friends in
Richmond before taking to the highway
to make it to the beach the next day.
Th en at some point, it seems, I stopped
going altogether.
Nowadays, the idea of a small cabin
in the middle of the woods, maybe by a
lake, seems much more my speed. Th en
again, I have a nice house in the middle
of the mountains, across from a golf
course, with a screened porch. What
more do I really need?
But I digress, back to the drivers
who brought me to and then home from
Charlottesville.
[ SCENE IT! ]
CL WHEREZ IT?
Look for the CL logo, like the one above, in the pages of this
issue of Cooperative Living. Submit the page number where
you found it, along with your name, email and phone number
to WherezIt, c/o Cooperative Living, 4201 Dominion Blvd.,
Suite 101, Glen Allen, VA 23060 or go online at co-opliving.com
under " Contests. " Deadline is Oct. 20. The winner will
receive a $25 Amazon email gift card.
32 * Cooperative Living * October 2024
co-opliving.com
We had as much fun as possible
on those trips - chatting, sit-dancing
to Barry White and the Bee Gees on the
radio, laughing and enjoying ourselves.
Stepping out of the car at the
hospital's front entrance threw me for
a loop one day. I went to grab my purse
(along with a bag and pillow, of course),
and it wasn't there. I'd forgotten my
purse, of all things! It was sitting home
in its chair. On that trip, I found out that
the last place one needs a purse is at the
hospital. So, lucky me? I guess so.
On my most recent - and hopefully
last - trip for a while, a man who's
become a pretty good friend drove me
there for the second time. It was chat,
chat, chat all the way. He even said
he'd take me to my favorite restaurant
when I was done. Hurray! When I was
done, I called my friend to tell him I'd
be waiting in front of the hospital.
" My car blew up! " he announced.
Th is was the same car that he had
just paid $1,600 to have fi xed the
day before. How could it blow up?
We may never know.
He found a kind stranger to come
pick me up at the hospital while he
waited for the tow truck at a gas station.
So, my fabulous lunch came
down to a gas station hot dog
twirling on a grill, and a bag
of Fritos. Not exactly what I'd
been pining for, but still,
something to eat.
We waited two hours for the
tow truck. I fi gured that when it
arrived, I'd ride in the back seat, and keep
my mouth shut.
But when the behemoth truck showed
up, it only had one bench seat in front.
I was squeezed between two big men,
with toolboxes and oily rags all around
us. And we had 100 miles to go. Not to
mention, I was still hungry. And the truck
was very loud. I hoped we wouldn't need
another tow truck for this tow truck.
I'm glad the driver was a speedy
fellow. I guess no police are anxious to
try to pull over a huge tow truck with an
extended trailer and another car tacked
onto the back. We made it home in record
time, even if it was uncomfortable as all
get-out. Th e driver even backed the
behemoth up my scary driveway; there was
nowhere else to turn that thing around.
My legs were all cramped up when
I fi nally fumbled down from the tall tow
truck. But, I did manage to limp into
my quiet home, onto my porch, and
gobble my usual lunch: chicken salad
and cottage cheese. It was a celebratory
lunch, as I don't have to return to
Charlottesville for another year!
*
To order a copy of Margo's " A Party of One, "
call 540-468-2147 Mon.-Wed., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
or email therecorderoffi ce@gmail.com.
PHOTO BY MARGARET JOHNSON, SVEC MEMBER
http://www.co-opliving.com http://www.co-opliving.com
CL-October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CL-October 2024
