Now the thing about hitch hiking is that you can stand at the on ramp forever and not get a ride. And walking down the interstate is even worse, as for one that's illegal, and for two, who wants to slow down from seventy to pick you up?
Best way for rides was to go to a truck stop. Find an independent trucker - the company boys won't give rides, because of insurance this and company regs that - and ask them. Better yet, ask them after they've had a meal and feel happy. This is the best way to get rides, and they're usually going a long ways.
However, I was outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and I was doing it the worst way - walking down the interstate. I was only doing that for there not having been a truck stop at the last exit, and there being no traffic on the on ramp I had been patiently waiting at.
I figured then that I'd walk to the next exit. The next exit might have a truck stop. Or it might have more traffic. Or someone might see me and take pity on me. Worst case scenario, a cop would stop me, and after verifying that I wasn't a criminal, give me a ride to the next exit!
Halfway to the next exit, to my surprise, an 18 wheeler tractor trailer whooshed passed me, then the brake lights flashed and he was gearing down from whatever high speed he'd been going. Knowing that backing up would be quiet a chore, I started running towards the truck that was still in process of slowing down and pulling over to the shoulder.
I admit, I was a bit nervous. Sometimes when you're a young hitch hiker, you get a wrong type try to pick you up, and in those cases, the ride is going to end as fast as it started. And for the life of me, I could not figure out why any trucker would bother to take the trouble to pull off on the side of an interstate for a kid like me.
However, my fears were put to rest at once. Terry offered to give me a ride as far as he was going, and then when we got to talking, shared with me his faith, that I had not really heard of before. That he belonged to the Seventh-day Adventist church. I at least knew they were Christian, and I was raised Methodist, so that immediately let me know why he had picked me up.
He was being Christ-like. He was being a Good Samaritan. But it was funny, he acted like that was an "of course", though I knew from my life and travels that for most Christians, that is not an "of course".
Well, after a few hours and a good meal and good conversation, he shared with me what he was really hoping for. A partner to help him make some extra money. Some one to drive while he slept, then sleep while he drove, and that way twice as much money could be made. And he'd pay me $1,000 a month, plus meals, plus I'd be sleeping in the sleeper cab.
I loved the offer, but I had to decline. As I told him, I appreciated it, but I didn't know how to drive a tractor trailer. He said, "That's okay, I can teach you!" I said, "No, it's a bit worse than that, you see, I don't know how to drive stick shift!" He said, "Oh, that's okay, it's easier to learn on a truck!"
I privately kind of doubted that! It was his truck though, and after making triply sure that he knew I knew nothing, I said I'd give it a try. To this day, I believe that I am the only person who learned how to drive a stick shift on an 18 wheeler tractor trailer!
So that summer, I rode with Terry. As he was an independent, he could pick whatever he wanted to haul, and since he knew I wanted to see the nation, he picked his load on the basis of where I wanted to see next. We might be taking chicken guts from Arkansas to a mink farm in Wisconsin, and widgets from Wisconsin to California and something else back again to Tennessee and then to South Carolina, Florida or wherever!
Yet each Friday, the truck would be parked and turned off by sunset, and for the whole of the Sabbath, we'd not haul anything anywhere. But no matter what the city, no matter what the State, we'd be attending Sabbath school and Sabbath services on Saturday!
That was all more than 25 years ago, a lot has happened since then! But Terry was one of the reasons that when I found myself in need of a new church home, that I tried the Seventh-day Adventists! He was a great example, and by his Christ-like actions, a great Samaritan and witness to the faith!
No comments:
Post a Comment