It was a rare Saturday that I had off from the store. Between classes at PSU, working in the Speech Communication office and working at the store, I didn't often have time for playing. I decided we needed a drive to the coast. Nellie was working at the store until 3:00, so I grabbed my sons and her kids (Missy and Robbie), plus our dog Soma, and tossed them all in the car. I packed up some sandwiches and snacks, some drinks, and got the car ready. We brought towels and suits and everything we needed for a day in the sun and sand.We left early so we could have a great time. It was such a perfect day: a sunny weekend, a day off, and gas in the car. YippeeSkippee! It jes done get no better dan dat.
As it was early, there was light traffic on the road, even on such a grand day. The old Oregon joke is that summer fell on a weekend; most Oregonians slept late and missed it. But not us! We were heading down Hwy 26, moving past Hillsboro, on past Banks, and passing by Manning. We were singing and laughing and having a great time.
After we left the farming fields, the forest became our view. First some flat lands and then some forest. Not a soul around. Just a great two-lane highway shaded by the canopy of trees. Such a glorious day.
Until the tire popped. And we veered off the pavement. And flat-tire rattled to the side of the road. All safe back there? Yeah. Flat tire! And then I suddenly visualized the newly repaired spare tire sitting on my front porch. Yeah, on the porch, not in the car.
We all sat in the car for a few moments, thinking about what we could do. This is way before car phones--before even those old brick phones. No traffic. No phones. No spare. No nothing. So we piled out of the car and looked around. Suddenly we see a State Trooper car coming east toward us. Missy and I run after it as it passe, waving our arms and yelling. STOP! STOP! and the officer eventually saw us and stopped. We asked if he would call Nellie at the store and bring the spare to us. He agreed and we ran back to the car to spread the news.
We knew we had a wait since Nellie wouldn't get off work until 3:00. We were a good hour out of town. Thank goodness we had those sandwiches and snacks and drinks and towels! So we spread out those towels along the side of the road and settled in. Except my elder son, who refused to get out of the car. He didn't want people driving by to think that we thought THIS was a great spot to stop and have a picnic. Hey. No sense of adventure, that kid ;)
Now, if you have to have a flat tire along the side of the road on the way to the coast, this was the best spot. After a bit of exploring, we discovered that there was a bit of a river behind the trees and brush. So while we waited those five hours for Nellie to come to our rescue, we played in the water, ate our sammies, and drank our drinks. At some point my elder son got out of the car and played with us. Perfect day.The traffic had really picked up during our wait. We found out later that Nellie's oldest daughter had come by with friends and had seen our car on the side of the road. Didn't think anything of it. Kept on driving. We persevered.
And then sometime around 5:00, like Mighty Mouse flying into the scene, Nellie and Bobby showed up carrying our spare tire and dinner. Yes, Nellie got off work and went home, fried up some chicken, whipped up some macaroni salad, tossed bottles of water into the truck, and came to save us. We continued on to the beach with that silly flat replaced with the good one. We settled on the beach to eat fried chicken and macaroni salad.
Nellie, Bobby and I sat on the cooling sand, watching the sun begin to set. The kids continued to play on the beach. And then we all gathered our things, packed up the car and the truck, and headed home. And the adventures continue~~~
peace
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