tom and jackie

I was visiting with Jim last night when I got a call from Tom.

Tom is another of those people in my circle that I would do anything for. His car had broken down and he needed a pull. I casually asked if he was in my town or the next one over, where Tom actually lives.

He and his mother had driven 300 miles into Oregon for family Christmas, and their little Suzuki had given up the ghost about 115 miles from here. They had driven that little tin can 350,000 miles. It had been a good rig. Tom wanted to know the name and number of a man who owned a wrecker. I didn’t know, and neither did Jim.

So, I said: Call me back in a few minutes, or I’ll call you while I work on this. I asked Jim if his car hauling trailer was empty and available. (My trailer does not have night lights and is loaded to the hilt with firewood right now.)

Jim said his was at his son’s place, but son was snowmobiling in the mountains. But, Jim remembered Alvin had one. Alvin is an airplane owner partner of Jim’s. We called Alvin. He had a car dolly (two wheels that you load one end of the car on and the other end runs on it’s own wheels).

It would work, so I got up to leave to get the trailer (I had to go home first to get my Dodge pickup. Jim opened his tired eyes and said: “Why don’t you take my pickup?”

My Dodge is a single cab, 2 wheel drive. Jim’s Dodge is a double cab 4 door, 4 wheel drive, diesel. Tom and his mom are large people and for the three of us to ride in my pickup would have been very uncomfortable for the middle person, so I agreed.

I picked up the trailer. It had proper lights and other goodies. But before I left, Dot, Jim’s wife pushed a credit card into my hands. “Buy diesel with this.”

So I took off, full tank of diesel. It was just good and dark.

Tom was waiting outside a restaurant in a town so small they don’t even sell gasoline. He was cold, but not freezing (it was 28 degrees). We drove the 20 miles to where the car was stranded.

Mom is not in good health, but she is savvy. She wrapped in blankets and stuffed pillows around her and she had a little warm blooded dog to keep her company and warm her a bit.

This section of highway is isolated with not much traffic. The guy who drives the sanding/snow plow truck stopped. Others stopped to ask if she was OK and if she needed anything. They passed the message on to Tom at the restaurant that his mom was doing fine.

Before we got to where the car was, it began snowing HARD. I was glad to have Jim’s 4wd truck. We got the car loaded (I have never loaded one on this kind of a trailer before and I am mechanically challenged at times), tied down, the lights legally arranged and headed back in a heavy snow storm.

Tom’s mom was a bit cool, but she was warm in all of her clothes. The dog was fine too. They sat in the front passenger seat, and warmed up while Tom and I worked on getting the car loaded. it was snowing hard.

We made it back home without problems, thanks in no small part to that big Dodge with 4wd. I took them home about midnight and agreed we’d finish the details today, after 10!

I left Miriam with Dot and Jim. I didn’t want her to be home alone and I had no idea how long this might take. It was a good decision, though we had to dip to a bit of chicanery to get her to stay.

When I picked her up, the first thing she said is how good it was that I was at Jim’s when that phone call came. How Jim knew where a trailer was we could borrow and how it was so incredibly good of Jim, who lying on his death bed, to act so like the Jim I know and love, not just by loaning us his truck, but even paying for the fuel.

It was late when we got home, but I had to sit and decompress, to think and remember. I am going to loose Jim soon, and it will be one of the saddest days of my life.

I love you Jim for all the goodness you have shown to everyone in your life.

I really really will miss your goodness.