just a stones throw

     east off easy street and down the st rt. 10 miles is a place i like to drive to occasionally and just look  at what is there. it is in apogee ohio . where charles or chuck hansen  had what some would refer to as a junk yard, but it is where chuck raised  his son terry whose mom edra had passed away in the winter of 55 when terry was born . the old doc couldnt work on both at the same time , so he worked on terry while his mom slowly drifted off. edras aister had come over from mayfield to help take care of terry till he was about a year old. 

     chuck knowing he had to let joan go back to her family and found a migrant woman to come and set with  terry and do dishes and laundry. but terry was not a fast learner and was this was troubling to chuck. he either had to get terry to where he stood for  himself  or he would never last at school. terry was nearly six and ready to go to school now .

     so chuck let the migrant woman go, and started taking terry everywhere with him. and since terry was the way he was he mostly kept close to the old farm his parents left him. this helped terrry a lot as soon the boys scowl was replaced by smiles , and grunts of joy as  terry sat beside his dad in his  57 chevy  tow truck . it was the fanciest one in the county and the heaviest to tow coal trucks out of ditches on cold winters nights. the positve traction rear end helped when towing cars up steep slopes of the hills here in central ohio. and terry would go out with his dad all bundled up and sitting in the middle of the seat . a tool box and food adorned the other end of the seat. and when chuck was out of the truck , he rigged ways so terry could not unlock the brakes or kick the truck out of gear or gun the engine. the only trouble terry could cause was to blow the horn and that would last only as long as chuck would allow it. the 2 way radio would crackle every once in awhile as the sheriff would tell of a wreck or a stop here and there in the county. 

    soon terry was having a blast as long as he listened to his dad , he was rewarded for even the most minor of things, so if his dad didn't spoil him enough  then others did . the town folk seeing terry  along soon caused the whole town to talk..terry soon learned to speak sure and slow, a little bit of a drawl he learned from his dad was copied perfectly.  

     winter had turned ugly again after everyone was certain we would never see snow again , and chuck was having a time with terry , as he had pulled out 4 cars and was going to his fifth when the radio crackled and chuck pulled over to listen to it . the sheriff said he wanted help fast . a car had slipped off the road at morgans creek and was going to fall 40 feet through the trees to the river. he was calling for anyone to help desperately. chuck wasn't far away as much as he could figure, and soon was on his way . terry sucked on a large hard sucker chuck kept for emergencies. chuck topped the hill and felt his front end slide on the freezing rain, coating the surface of the road. chuck jumped out and threw down a flare on the ground to warn other motorists of the impending danger. 

        chuck was edging his tow truck down the steep grade heading closer to morgans creek and soon saw taillights peering through winters leafless  trees and flickering  off the icy coating that now adorned them . the sheriff had his overhead light on sending out beacons of red , marking the scene of  trouble of unknown.origins.  he eased up close to the sheriffs cruiser and looked over at his car but couldn't see anything . 

       grabbing a flashlight chuck exited the vehicle after seeing how well he could navigate with his own feet. his feet slid as he walked behind the cruiser and looked over the edge of guardrail  with his flashlight , he could see a set of tail lights at least 30 feet almost straight down and fresh paint on the corner of the guard rail.

      chuck yelled , 

     " hey sheriff" , and soon a yell was returned . 

   "  hurry chuck turn around and hook onto this car asap , its going in to the creek and four boys are trapped in there. the trees wont let the doors come open and i really afraid this car is going to slip in the drink. oh lord please hurry."  screams could be heard from inside the car as the boys were panicking  as chuck reeled on his feet and was back in the cab of the tow truck  in a flash sitting beside terry and was soon backed around behind  the patrol car . soon the sheriff waddled back up the slope as chuck was soon out of his truck and grabbing his hook and freewheeled his winch drum and started back down the slope again  with the hook  in his hand. 

     terry was alone in the seat of the 57 chevy , his dad was hurrying down the slope and the sheriff was leading the way helping chuck to know where to place his feet on that steep slope. in the shadows of the night and the red light of the kids taillights was all the beacon chuck needed to light his way. and soon chuck was hooking his tow hook on the 47 ford as it creaked on a young pine tree, which was all that was holding the car from plunging another 40 feet down to the railroad tracks from rose well coal mine. 

      chuck had just finished sliding the hook over the rear axle of the car when it started slipping and startled shouts from the kids , urgently hurried all parties. and about 3/4 ths of the way up the tree snapped and the car lurched as the line grew taught and started to free wheel as the car was slipping. and chuck hurried faster pawing at the dirt and almost running as he stood beside the rear of his truck. and just as he reached for the lever to lock the drum the car started again , and chuck grabs the lever and manages to get in gear with teeth grinding and a lurch that shook the 57 violently as he now had the 47 ford in mid air w/ 4 screaming kids . and now 5 as terry was screaming in the front seat. when the truck was jerked as it scared terry from his near sleep waiting on his dad, the sheriff looked at chuck and then at the car hanging down below literally swinging in the breeze with 4 kids in  it , that will surely get hurt if this all goes wry. 

      " well chuck think we need some caution here. what you thinking of doing ?" 

     chucked quickly assessed things and said, " we need to get terry out of the truck . "

     "and " replied the sheriff pressing chuck for answers. 

      chuck yells at the sheriff."you lard ass , get my boy out of that cab . i need to stay here by the controls of my winch.. hurry" the sheriff grabs the passenger door of the truck and opens it not knowing what to expect sees a startled crying terry in the middle of the seat. . and just as the sheriff reaches out to grab him . the truck lurches into the air as it is being pulled backward over the edge of the embankment,  tow truck and kids and all , except chuck who was now  watching his son and the sheriff going over the edge and helplessly being able to do nothing about it.   the truck slid about 4 feet and became hung on the end of the guard rail. stopping everything and reviving the screams from below. chuck yelled at the sheriff to get terry out now. and soon terry was sitting in the nice level warm sheriff cruiser. and soon that cruiser was backed around to the front of the 57 tow truck and soon chuck was wrapping a log chain around the bumpers . by now other help arrived as the fire dept and chief jackson showed up. again terry was moved to another vehicle and even had some firemen keep him entertained . 

 chuck says " what do we do here sheriff.? " 

       " can you pull them up now that you are locked in guard rail" 

      " all i can do is try" replied chuck. 

       he let the clutch out on the power take off , and the winch was locked in it slowest position as the engine on the truck strained and inches became feet and soon other ropes were tied to the bumper and about half way up the slope they stopped and pulled out the 4 seventeen year old men . and when the door opened out came the beer cans. soon the juveniles  were headed up the slope to a waiting ambulance and then to a ride in the cruiser, to jail where there parents were contacted.  chuck finished towing the truck up the slope and then was hooked onto by another tow truck . together they were able to pull the old 47 ford to the top of the embankment with hardly a scratch on the car but the windows were busted out. where the kids were going to jump but chickened out when they couldn't see the bottom of the hill. 

          the local apogee gazette ran the story of how chuck was  a hero that night saving those 4 boys lives while putting not only his life but also his sons life in jeopardy to save these boys. chuck finally agreed with his sister joan to let terry go to a retarded school as they were called then. 

         when chuck came back to the family farm outside apogee . he just slid that old 47 ford off the side of the state route . and parked it there. and it still sits there today as a reminder as to how things can go wrong real quick. 

         terry and the other 4 boys are grown now. one boy was killed in danag in the vietnam conflict. one became the sheriff , and the other the mayor of apogee. the last was a preachers son that night , that soon found a place for his dads religion in his heart and he followed his dads foot steps into community service. terry lived through the retarded school, gaining some skills like trying to write with his right hand being left handed. and terry also followed in his dads foot steps until his dad died and left him alone at 56 . his dad had acquired a considerable fortune in scrap , and left it all to terry. and so items come and go and some people see a scrap yard and filth. terry sees a way of life . and it seems the local government officials have turned a blind eye to terry, and it doesn't do any good to go to church and complain. as usual terry is in the front pew. 

       all though it looks a fright to see someone tear a piece of property up so bad , but it was all  terry could do to just keep,  keeping on. terry's voice was slow and still carried that distinct drawl on into his adult life. never married and never had kids. the clutter was minor and was actually terry's art work and his toys, as he grew older. he placed cars and things in place as he knew where they should be. 

       so sometimes i like to go down to apogee and drive outside of town past the rolling open hills and cattle and come upon terrys junkyard and seeing it impossible disorder , the old 47 ford car and the wrecker , trying to figure out the inner workings of terry's mind , and know terry is ok. one mans junk is another mans treasure.