Last Tuesday I had an appointment at the VA hospital in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Those of you who know me well are wondering where this is going since I never served in any branch of the military.
Those of you who don’t know me well now know that I never served in any branch of the military so I must be up to no good here.
This is my blog so just fasten your seatbelt and hold on tight.
Where was I…oh, yeah, heading up to Muskogee.
I had a load of beds for our veterans to use.
I was told I had to be there by 1:30 pm. So I got to work at 7am. Fueled the truck and hit the road. At 8am my cell phone started chirping like a cricket…not too surprising since this starving writer decided that’s the ringtone that fit me the best.
The fella on the other end said he was calling from Muskogee’s VA hospital. He wanted to know how far out I was. I informed him I’d be there about noon if everything went well.
“But, I thought you’d be here at eight.”
I’m thinking, “must be an Okee.”
We ended that conversation with him saying, “Drive safe and get here as quickly as you can.”
That was my plan all along.
I enjoyed the country scenery that morning and was relieved my phone’s GPS agreed with the VA hospital signs in Muskogee.
As I pulled off the last main road I started getting a bit concerned since I was in a residential area.
“Must be an old military post.” I said to myself.
I had to drive on the opposite side of the road more than once to avoid trailer damage from the tree limbs that were hanging too low for a big rig.
“These Okees in Muskogee sure do love their oaks…and maples and all these other trees.” I drew short of cursing anybody out.
This VA hospital looks like it had been there quite a while. I could almost make out the remnants of a mote behind it near the loading docks.
There was room for about two trucks to unload at a time. I was third in line when I arrived.
A good old boy with a full-sized trailer and over-the-road rig was just fixin to pull out as I surveyed the situation.
All I had to do was avoid driving over the bank into the mote-turned-scenic-valley below me and I’d be fine.
The two box trucks backed up to the dock after my good buddy left. I worked my way to where they were waiting so I’d be lined up to the dock before anyone else came along.
It’s good thing I got there before noon since it was almost one when I hit the dock…but not before almost hitting the mote fence.
The thirteen beds I had turned out to be electric motor powered gurneys. That was good since the trailer was uphill to unload it.
All I had to do at this point was unhook the straps and fold the pads that protected the beds on their gurney journey to the VA.
At about the eighth bed the cricket in my pocket got my attention again.
I hit the green “accept call” button and said “Hello.”
The nice lady on the other end asked me if I could be at our church at 6:30.
I did the math in my head as quickly as I could. “I doubt it since I’m in Muskogee now.”
“Where’s Muskogee?”
I thought everybody knew where Muskogee was…maybe only Okees do. “It’s in Oklahoma.”
Even Texans know where the country of Oklahoma is.
We settled on 7:30 for me to be at Stonebriar. That worked.
I knew the person I was talking to was nice because she’s on the committee that decides who the church will help out when they’re in a financial tight spot. That was me alright.
Things were definitely looking up.
I pulled away from the dock with an empty trailer at 1:15pm and headed back south.
For a reason I can’t recall I flipped the switch to shut the cricket chirp off.
I checked my phone at some point in Oklahoma. My brother Mike left a voice message for me from the country of Michigan.
I decided to call him back when I took a break at the Texas welcome center.
The message said someone made an offer on the family farm. The live call said they’re ready to empty their savings and dip into a 401k to get it. They want to move in on November 1.
Even with splitting things six ways things are definitely looking up.
I used to live my life braced for something bad to happen because I saw too many folks fall apart when that news comes. The way my life’s been the past decade I’ve lived my life expecting things to take an upturn at any time.
I think things are finally taking that upturn.
Now I need wisdom to handle the changes that are about to take place.
Your prayers are definitely appreciated.
Keep smiling. Wade
