my friday the 13th

today has been a day that can only be described as friday the 13th. really weird.
today, i had 2 stops to make in the johnson city area and take them to paris landing state park. no big deal, just a long day.
as i have aged, at times, i get very emotional. their is a song by michael english called "the prodigal son". i have grown very attached to this song and today i listened to it over and over for almost 2 hours. there is a story here i will not dive into, but when i hear it, how i long for one more moment with my dad. so much i want to tell him, about how right he was and how dumb i was for thinking i new better on everything.
anyway, later into my trip, the john denver song, "poems, prayers and promises" played and lots more emotions came back. i can't cry and drive. it's not professional!!!
i always prayed to God to just let me live long enough to see my children accept christ and be baptized. that was all i needed then he could bring me home. well, they have, and i am still here. driving up I24 into clarksville, i decide to call my mom. i am in paris, tn. and my nephew lives here. he only met my brother, his father, one time and that was by accident. i always felt like he got the short end of the deal never knowing his father. dirty laundry will not get cleaned here.
anyway, my mom has his phone numbers and i really had a strong leading to visit him while i was here. my mom did not answer so i left a message on her answering machine something like this,"mom, sorry to bother you. i am on my way to paris and i need jonathan's phone numbers. i want to call him and try to visit. love you mom". simple enough, right. well, not too long after that, i lost cell phone coverage. as i am driving along, listening to john denver, i could not help but praise God for the wonderful life he has blessed me with. 4 wonderful children. loved and been loved by some good women (and bad). finally found a job i love. where i live, gotta give him credit for that. it is awesome. my health is good, i have some wonderful friends. seen some things along the way that both touched me and humbled me. today, most everywhere i looked, i could see the hand of God. oh, and i am happier right now than i ever have been in my life. if it all ended now, i would be so selfish to complain. hold all these thoughts.
i get to the hotel, drop my passengers off, and go to my hotel. i am staying in another hotel about 15 miles away. i still have no phone service.
anyway, i get checked into my hotel, and when i get my laptop out, plug in my laptop, and call my youngest 2. no answer so i call their mom. she does not recognize the number calling but answers anyway. i said "hey, just checking on isaac and grace and make sure they have this number". she starts asking me about the tree, how bad was i hurt, was everybody else ok, where i was, and on and on!! of course my reponse was, huh?
my mom, bless her heart, is 84 and lives alone. when she listened to the message, she "heard" me say, "i have hit a tree, i am hurt, everybody else is ok" and that is all she heard.
well, she starts calling me back, doesn't get me for about 2-3 hours. she calls the neighbors. they all come over. they know i am pinned in the bus, after hitting a tree, and i am calling to tell my mom bye. they all start calling. she calls my ex's house, leaves 2 frantic messages (which the kids hear and freak out cause dad is probably dead). they both call my office, the owner answers, and hears frantic calls from 2 different women. he gets online, tracks my bus by gps, and it is sitting still with the engine running. he calls my cell, no answer. he activates the drive cam, and he can tell i am where i am supposed to be, but not on the bus. weirdly, i am sitting with a big tree in front of my bus. he calls the park rangers, police, and has an apb put out on me!!! so, now not only am i dead, or dying, but i am wanted by the police. in the meantime, while all of this is going on, i am driving, listening to "poems, prayers, and promises". kinda creepy, huh?
no, this is not a spoof. it really happened. i have the witnesses to support all of this.
until next time...