After I returned home from lunch I took a nap. It was Sunday. There was nothing I could do about my truck so I went to sleep. While I was sleeping Nick and my neighbor’s son-in-law removed the bumper and smashed front fender. Now the truck would at least roll without miscellaneous parts obstructing the tires.

The next morning Nick went to work. He caught a ride with one of the boys he works with. First I went about the business of getting the flats fixed. I then took the truck to a body shop in Ooltewah recommended by Robert the car towing math teacher. After a brief inspection I was told the truck’s frame was bent, in other words totaled. Actually it was repairable but the cost would be greater than the vehicles worth. I was referred to another shop close by that may be able to do it at a lesser cost. The other shop told me the same thing.

Remember Larry? He’s the guy we use to find cars for us. He’s a partner in a pay-by-the-week used car lot in East Ridge. As I drove the wrecked truck home I decided to call him to see if he could find someone to buy it for parts. Your mom, however, spoke with him first. He recommended that we bring the truck to his lot so his body man could have a look at it first. It may be that it could be fixed.

I had to coordinate with your mom to meet me there so that I would have a ride home. I asked Luc if he wanted to go for a ride. He really didn’t want to but I persuaded him to go. Since the truck wasn’t in the best shape I decided to take the back way into East Ridge by way of Graysville and Indian Springs. You may remember that as the way to Granny Baldwin’s house where you spent so much time as a baby and little girl.

Shortly after getting on East Brainerd Road it felt and sounded like I had a flat tire. I pulled over into the parking lot of West View Baptist Church to check it out. I couldn’t find the source of the noise or a flat tire so Luc and I continued on. I was apprehensive now because I was unsure if the truck would even make it to East Ridge. It was this thought that prompted me to reach for my cell phone and the reassurance that it provided in case the truck died. I found that I left it home.

“Luc, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“Okay.”

“Never leave home in a car without a phone, especially if you think the car may break down.” Sometimes dads are such geniuses. Most of what we know comes from the experience of doing stuff wrong.

Suddenly it felt as though I hit a pot hole in the road. Impossible, I thought, because my knuckles were tightly grasping the steering wheel. I was paying careful attention.

“Dad, you just hit a huge bump!”

“No son, I didn’t. The back wheel just came off.”

By an act of God I was able to get the truck over to the side of the road. I wish I had a phone. I found that the lug nuts on the absent wheel were sheared off. Think of it like this. Imagine grasping a lug nut attached to a wheel. Now imagine pulling the lug nut off, not twisting it off, but pulling it off destroying the threads. So that’s why you don’t want to drive a vehicle with a bent frame.

There were some Mexican hombres doing road work nearby and one let me use his cell phone. I called your mom to let her know that I wasn’t going to make it to Larry’s. I asked her to have Larry send me a wrecker.

Luc and I waited for your mom on the side of Highway 41. As we leaned on the guard rail Luc updated me on the local weather conditions.

“It’s hot out here. Why isn’t there any shade around here? This is so boring.” Kids are such a delight sometimes.

By the time we got the car to the lot it was closed so we had to wait until Tuesday to get any information about the truck. I’m no expert but I was certain that the car was beyond repair. I was hoping that Larry could find a junk yard to buy my truck.

The next day, Kenny, Larry’s partner told me he found someone to buy my truck for $500.

The stuff that happened later I’ll talk about later.