Story Coach Lesson 3: In Transit
The Road Leads Back To Georgia
Snow swirled around me, huge flakes
sticking to my inadequate cap and gloves as I pumped gas into the Blazer. We were taking our son and daughter-in-law
home, back to Georgia. He had just graduated University of Michigan and they
were moving back to where it was warm. I
stamped my feet to get the blood moving; here in Ypsilanti at 6:30 AM, it was
bitterly cold and it was May 3!
“Just
think,” I had said to Dan a mere month ago, “a month from now you all will be
packing to move back to Georgia!”
“A month from
now, I will be back in Georgia,” he replied emphatically.
He
wasn’t kidding! May 1 - he graduated,
May 2 - we packed the truck, in the snow, and now May 3 - we were headed south. Olivia’s cousin Helen, my husband, older son
and I had come a few days earlier to help them pack up, attend the graduation
and help with the move.
Olivia,
5 months pregnant with their first baby, and Helen, a college student in South
Carolina, had started out earlier to give them plenty of travel time without
rushing. The car was packed full with first necessities – clothes, coolers of
food, and Julia, the lovable four year old part lab, part wayfaring stranger.
Dan
waited patiently by the large over-the-cab U-Haul that he would drive the 700
miles ahead. Reese, my husband, and David,
our older son, were inside stocking up on coffee and snacks for the trip. Finally we were ready. Dan and David led the
way in the U-Haul; Reese and I followed in our Blazer, also packed to the roof
with, among other things two ferrets, and a tiny white mouse that I laid claim to
and named Ypsilanti, Ypsi for short. We
were on our way! Head ‘em up, move ‘em out!
Reese
and I had made the trip each fall and spring since Dan and Olivia had been
there. Each time I was amazed anew at
the vast expanse of sky that formed a blue bowl over farmland that stretched
for miles to the horizon. I was used to farmland with a backdrop of mountains
that always seemed nearer than they were. Sky in my neck of the woods was ‘up’
– not all around!
Our
trip was a straight shot, from Georgia through the mountains of Tennessee, up
through Kentucky where horses grazed behind white fences and where we left the
mountains behind. Into Ohio with its flat farms that stretched limitless to the
far horizon and finally into Michigan. The trips were long, taking around 10 - 11 hours with our stops along the way, but always, thankfully, uneventful. Little
did we know this trip would be anything but!
When
Dan was three years old, he announced that he was going to Georgia Tech and be an
architect. He never wavered from his decision and at 18, he entered the “North
Avenue Trade School” as the students fondly call it. Four years later, he had
married his high school sweet heart and they were heading north to the
University of Michigan to get his Masters degree.
Dan
and Olivia had been in Michigan two years. As appealing as the little town was,
as pleasant as the spring and fall months, summer was almost non-existent and
winters were bitterly cold with feet – not inches – of snow. Southern born and bred, neither of them came to
embrace Michigan as home. I was delighted to learn he had a job with an
architect firm in Atlanta; they were coming home!
Reese,
David and I took time off from our respective jobs and drove up to help them
pack up their two years of accumulated worldly goods. They lived in a two story
19th century house with large, airy rooms, and they had managed to
fill it with treasured belongings. We
were fortunate to have Helen and David!
Both are very organized and together they sorted through, tossed out,
categorized, arranged and generally coordinated the packing. The rest of us
followed directions; boxes multiplied near the front door.
Dan
graduated with honors. The day dawned bright and sunny, a beautiful spring day!
The University of Michigan, School of
Architecture, had its own impressive graduation ceremony; the rest of the afternoon we wandered about the
campus, awed at the buildings at this ages-old institution of higher learning.
The next day, we loaded the truck. It snowed. The morning was another spring-like day, but
as the day wore on it cooled off and we were looking for sweaters and jackets.
I was giving the kitchen cabinets one last check when I heard David holler. I
went to the door and looked out.
“What is
it,?” I called to him.
“It’s snowing! Look! It’s snowing!” he
exclaimed.
Barely
perceptible, tiny snowflakes were softly falling. It was snowing! While I
watched, the flakes got bigger and fell
faster until it was a regular snowfall.
It was May 2 and it was snowing!
Olivia had rented a large
over-the-cab truck from U-Haul to haul their worldly goods back to the land of
warmth and sun. It was massive, the
tires looked good, the gas gauge showed full and it was packed. We left Ypsilanti behind and headed south.
The
snow had stopped but we were still in Michigan when the walkie-talkie sputtered
and David’s voiced boomed into the Blazer.
“We seem
to be having a problem here,” he announced.
“What’s
wrong?” my husband inquired.
“Engine
overheated and it’s blowing steam everywhere,” was the undesired response.
“Pull off
on a side road and we’ll call U-Haul,” Reese told him.
We were in
Milam; we had traveled 12 miles!
As
we caught up to them and pulled up alongside, Reese sighed, “Yeah, it’s the
water hose.” He called U-Haul, and after much discussion including, “No, we
can’t unload it!” he reported that they were sending someone out to replace the
errant water hose. They neglected to mention that that “someone” was coming
from Detroit.
Two
hours and a second phone call later (when they thought to mention Detroit)
brought a too cheerful character with the new water hose, which he quickly and
efficiently attached. Thirty minutes later, we were on our way – again.
We made it to Dayton, Ohio before we
heard from the U-Haul again. This time, son Dan reported, “We’re out of gas.”
He had stopped on the entrance to an overpass.
“What?” my
husband exclaimed! “I thought you had a full tank of gas!”
“That’s
what the gauge showed,” Dan answered, “It’s still showing almost full, but we
are not going anywhere!”
We
soon discovered that construction detoured us several miles to the nearest gas station.
We could see it – we just couldn’t get to it!
We purchased the gas (and a gas can) and headed back to the bridge where
the U-Haul waited. A little over three
hours since we left Ypsilanti and we had traveled less than 130 miles!
On to Cincinnati, home of the dancing
pig! At last we were zipping along,
again admiring the far-reaching farmlands, the expanse of blue sky. Entering Cincinnati, traffic slowed, then
stopped. Surely traffic could not be this heavy, Reese and I mused. News came
from David and Dan, ahead of us…a wreck involving several cars had both lanes
blocked. We were
surrounded by 18 wheelers; for the next hour we entertained ourselves by
reading their logos and advertisements and making up new names and slogans for
them.
I could have written that song by Weird
Al Yankovic, “Traffic Jam” -
“Now we're all goin' nowhere fast - Well, I guess that's perfectly clear
I left home five hours ago, And I can still see my house from here.”
Finally
the line ahead started moving and we inched along with our fellow travelers,
through Cincinnati, over the Ohio River and into Kentucky! We almost cheered!
It was
always a pleasure traveling through Kentucky. It is such a pretty state with
horses grazing in green fields, the mountains, gentle undulations of soft greens and blues.
Closer to hand, alongside the road, bare cliffs rose straight up, large
boulders hanging precariously to
the side. Sometimes they turn loose, causing an avalanche of rocks. In the
mountains past Lexington, that is exactly what we ran into!
The
road ahead was closed; we could see emergency workers swarming over the area like
so many ants, working to clear the roadway. It was clear that it would not be
open for many hours. We followed the long snaking line of cars down a dirt road
to our next detour. Darkness was
settling around us on the mountaintop, the moon providing the only light. Another
adventure!
This detour took us several miles from our
expected route, and added another hour or so to our already extended trip. All
was not lost; headlights picked up deer and raccoons in the brush alongside the
road. A canopy of stars shone brightly
in the black night. It was incredibly beautiful!
And so we wound down and around and
into Tennessee. Almost home! We had been
on the road 16 hours. We were fatigued, weary and drained but excited to be so
close to home. We did not know that one more unexpected incident lay ahead.
Just south of Knoxville, we rounded
a curve and saw the most unwelcome sight: “Bridge out – Detour.” Oh no!
Another diversion – another ‘short-cut to go the long way ‘round.’ Wasn’t
there a song titled “Detour”? If I had known the words, I would have started
singing.
Once again, we followed the few cars ahead,
and found ourselves on a back, two lane country road. At least we were in Tennessee
and getting closer to our destination!
The farther we drove, the more familiar the surroundings and finally
there ahead was the beautiful ‘Welcome to Georgia’ sign!
Georgia was home to all of us; we were all
born in and had lived in Georgia all our lives. Georgia is a beautiful state,
with mountains and beaches, it is home of Coca-Cola, “Gone With the Wind” and
Ray Charles. The winters are mild, the summers hot – even spring and fall have
their own season. “Georgia On My Mind” is more than a song to us; it is an
anthem. It was no wonder that Dan and Olivia wanted to move back to Georgia!
I
feel that, for some, a place becomes a part of you, and no matter where you
are, your heart, your home is always there. Like the song says,
“Other arms reach out to me, Other
eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see - The road leads back to you.”
And so, Dan and Olivia
wanted to come home. Home to the South, to Georgia - where the pace is slow,
the people friendly, the tea sweet. I
understand. It is in their blood; it is in mine.
For us, no trip has ever had more calamity,
more mishaps, more detours. I marveled that despite each new difficulty we
encountered, it was met with good grace and a spirit of adventure. Even after fatigue
set in, no one complained, no one lost his temper. Was it because, no matter
the obstacle, our road was leading us back to Georgia? “Still in peaceful
dreams I see - The road leads back to you.” I do believe so.
It was 2:00 AM, 19 ½ hours since we
left Ypsilanti, when we pulled into the gated community in Atlanta where Dan
and Olivia’s new home was located. We had made it!
Inside
we found Olivia sitting on an air mattress that friends had brought over.
Despite the late hour, they were wide awake, catching up on happenings of the
last two years. We had stories of our own to tell and over Cokes and cold
pizza, we entertained them with tales of our long journey and each state’s adventure.
Sitting
there on the floor, surrounded by my family and friends, I unconsciously hummed
the tune “Georgia” and thought of the words - “Georgia,
Georgia - A song of you
Comes as sweet
and clear As moonlight through the pines.”
My heart filled with joy and contentment to be right here, my children back where they
belonged, where we all belonged. The long journey was over; the road really had
led us back to Georgia!
Note:
This is a true story, told just as it happened in 2005.
“Traffic Jam”
was written and recorded by Weird Al Yankovic.
