All week, my mom and I debated about what to do for labor day. My sister had made plans for the family to go camping, but those fell through because the camp grounds closed. (Wildland fires were in the area, and they were shut down.) A few other ideas were bounced around, but in the end it looked like everyone would be going in different directions.
Friday came and we still were not decided, but mom had gotten news that her brother (my uncle) was in the hospital, and not doing well. They were going to try him on dialysis, if it went well, he might live to see the new year, if not, well, they gave him up to two weeks. With that in mind, I told mom we should use this opportunity to get out of town and go see him while he is still among the living. It would mean more to him and I to actually talk a bit than to pay respects at a funeral. Dad has been working near there, and had hoped we would all get to come se him, so she finally agreed to the idea and we all packed for a short trip to Yuba City California on Friday night.
Saturday morning we left early. Two hours into the trip, mom got a call. Dad had drove down from Eureka and was in the hospital with uncle Doyle already. Dialysis that morning had gone okay, Doyle was looking a bit better. Then we got another call. Doyle had taken a turn for the worst, he might live long enough for us to see him. Then another call Doyle had passed away. The trip suddenly changed from one where we were going to visit Doyle, to one where we needed to take his sister (mom) down, and we all needed to be with the family. Then she got another call. My sisters nephew, Carl, had been hurt in an accident. No details. Latter we got more. Carl had passed away. The young man had been out riding motorcycles with some friends, two of them had gotten tangled up, Carl was injured and died soon after, the other man was still in a critical condition.
We arrived late Saturday in Yuba City. We were able to connect with Sterly, Brandon, Steven and their families... we also paid a visit to Bert, Doyle's wife. I was glad we had made the effort and taken the time, in spite of the sad circumstances. Monday came and it was time for us to head back to Idaho. I had promised my daughters something of a camping trip, so we took in a short detour off the main roads and climbed around a mountain for a couple of hours before continuing on home.
Out on HWY 395, Nadya started asking for a pit-stop. We skated through the small town of "Likely" without seeing any place we wanted to stop, so we pushed on another 20 miles and pulled into a Rite Aid parking lot. Upon getting out I looked down and saw that the front tire was almost down to the rim. It was FLAT! We had everything onboard that we needed to change it except a lug wrench! And while there were a surprising number of small businesses open on the labor day in the small town of Alturas, not one of them sold anything like a lug wrench. I found a station with air, and got the rim off the ground, but the tire's side wall was already damaged and the tire a complete loss. Then I found an engine shop with one door cracked open. The mechanic was there on personal business, but he helped me swap out the flat for the spare. I thanked him with a 20. Least I could do for saving us from being stuck overnight in Alturas!
So we lost two on the way up. We lost one on the way back. The loss on the trip back pales in comparison to the promise of young life taken by tragedy. It pales in comparison to the loss of a good man, though elderly, in failing health, Doyle was one of the good guys, and this old world just doesn't seem to have as many of those as it used too. We grieve the loss of one more. Our grief is tempered by the sincere hope and faith that both these men, young and old though they were, had both found the saving grace of our Lord Jesus, and that today they are both in a better place. Our prayers go out to their families and friends. May God's peace be with you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment