My son was traveling from Oklahoma to South Louisiana to meet me for the holidays. About 200 miles from his destination he phoned to say that his clutch had finally given up the ghost and he was stuck on the side of the road.

Gathering my wits about me I told him to keep safe and wait for me. I should be there in about three or four hours. I had to rustle up a trailer and make the trip from Lafayette to Shreveport and it was already 2:30 that afternoon.

I finally arrived around 7 p.m. Ever pull an empty trailer at 70 mph? Oh, you can do it – for about 20 miles. After that your nerves are completely rattled from the sound of the trailer bouncing behind you. When U-Haul says 45 they mean 45.

Oh, did I mention that he had broken down on the interstate; in a curve? Only one car stopped to see if they could lend a hand; and a trooper showed up while I was there, about five hours after his breakdown.

I think Son was happy to see me, but we still had a lot of work to do. The truck was immobile, so we had to push it on to the trailer. At 22 my son is in good shape. A person over twice his age would be very envious, and I was. Despite his young muscles, there was no way we were going to get the truck on the trailer without intervention.

A quick trip to a big box hardware store yielded a come along winch and we finally got the trailer loaded amid the blurr and wind of 18-wheelers buzzing by.

A three-hour trip south to my brother’s auto shop was done, and we considered how to remove the truck from the trailer since the winch would be of little use now. Remember that magician’s trick where he pulls the tablecloth from under the dinnerware without disturbing a piece? Yeah, like that. I told Theo to hold on, and I gunned my truck slipping the trailer neatly out from underneath.

Brother said he’d only seen one other clutch so completely demolished, but the truck was fixed. Holidays were enjoyed, and Theo is now in business with better wheels.

On my way up there, aside from trying to ignore the clanging behind me, I thought about Theo sitting and waiting. There was little else for him to do. Nothing was close by; the hardware store was six miles back. Thankfully, he had packed water and snacks for the eight-hour trip, and his Ipod had a decent charge.

I kind of feel like Theo sometimes; no, actually, I kind of feel that way a lot lately. Remember my house for sale in Florida? Well, I sure do. Yeah, I’m the one waiting on the side of the road for that buyer to come and rescue me. I’m just as isolated as Theo was with just the basics, and I’m waiting here while my family waits there. The only thing wrong with Theo’s truck was the clutch; the only thing wrong with my house is the market. It’s going to take one heck of a mechanic to fix that.

This waiting stuff gets old real quick. People will tell you that I’m a pretty patient man, and for some things I’m cool with waiting, if I know for a fact that the waiting will be worthwhile. One of the many reasons that I knew Pamela was a perfect mate for me was that she could be ready for a date in ten minutes. I’ve seen her do it many times.

Selling a house in ten minutes is a great trick. Something I’d probably pay a lot to see – if it were my house, of course. But the ten minutes is up. Long time ago it was up. Even in glacial time this clock has ticked.

Meanwhile, the interstate is abuzz. Kids are going to school, I’m working at my job, dinners are being made and the mortgage is being paid.

One of my favorite quotes that I refer to often when life gets like this is from John Lennon: Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.

Pamela’s over there with the boys. The other kids are either married or in college making their other plans. I’m doing the solo gig here and realize that I’ve got to put aside these plans and start catching up with life.

Oh don’t worry, the plans are ready, and I’ll still be waiting for that wonderful reunion. But until that day of our grand resettlement I’m going to open that fiddle case again and give it another shot.

I’ll be damned if I’m going to let those 18-wheeler buzz me again.

• Is it me or is it tiring in here?
• Fuzzy math

Categories: What was I thinking?