trip to sequoia . ch. 22 cont.

Ch. 22 (cont.)

   

    And she did later that night after talking to her a few minutes she transferred me to Lee who told me his side of the how they ended up getting knocked clean out of the state. Then he asked if I would come the next day and bring them back to my place so he could recoup a little bit and find another vehicle before going on again.  I said yes and that I would be there in the morning around 11 if ok.  They said great as that was the checkout time at the motel they were at. They said they could rent a vehicle but saw little need as I was close and they needed some time to heal before going on.

      I left early in the morning and took Babe and Susie with me. They became bored quickly and headed for the back of the little Hummer I hardly drive and enjoyed the comfort of air conditioning I hardly use, as they slept most of the way . After I was past Columbus, Ohio and headed south on I -71 towards Cincinnati, the land flattened out and cornfields became more prominent. I was beginning to enter the land of corn imagining young imps edging out of cornfields hacking people to death like the Stephen king novel ‘Children of the Corn ‘. I thought to myself what a warped imagination that man has, and after spending time in a cornfield in my youth I could see to some extent the fascination he held with the corn. I just hoped ‘Christine’ didn't come up behind me on the interstate and shove me across the median and into a cornfield where a group of ravenous kids would bust the windows of the Hummer and reach in and grab my arms and pull them out of the window and chop them off with a garden scythe.

     Then as I look back in my last conscious moments I see ‘Christine’ stop at the top of the bank of the interstate and an Ohio state highway patrolman steps out and nods approvingly at the children grouped around my car devouring parts of me as he speeds off and leaves me blood red in a field of green fodder. I snap myself back to reality and realize I have only about a half hour to go to my destination of Oxford, Ohio. Now I know why I don’t spend to much time travelling down long roads alone as I smile to myself. I amaze myself with my own imagination at times, but now I was looking forward to seeing Ann and the injured Lee as I pass one crossroad and then the next, till I come to a medium size city with a hospital and up the street according to Ann’s directions was the No Tell Motel. A seedy little place with several small bungalows attached at the hip so to speak in a long L shaped line.  I quickly found room 11 and knocked on the door and Ann opened it and then I saw Lee’s leg as he sat on the bed with a what looked like a serious abrasion and a row of stitches just below the knee. Ann was changing the bandages, after Lee took a shower and soaked the dried blood off. His leg was bare up to his denim shorts and when moving it he would grimace with pain. I said; “How’s it going gimp? “ Ann and Lee laughed.

    Lee said.” Better since seeing you. Never thought an ugly face would be so welcome. So what do you think of our accommodations here at the No Tell Motel. There is a reason why they call it that. And it isn’t because they won’t say who you were sleeping with, it’s because you may not want anyone to know you ever slept here. I named the cock roaches by the way there I Cuntswaylow and Pedro . They did a little six legged dance when the electric went out last night as if on cue. Guess the guy who owns this place must have spent some time in prison. I was going to send Ann to the office to complain, but I have seen to many motel movies to put her in that kind of danger. “

    I laughed and said. “Amazingly I just had a Stephen King moment myself and we are not even in the heart of corn country. You need to stop in Peoria Illinois.”

   Ann asked. “You mean it’s worse than here?”

   I said. “Yes the fields are alive and it’s not to the sound of music. It is the sound of corn leaves rattling against each other as they rustle in the wind. Then coming into Peoria from any direction leads you into this big hole with gothic corn inspired architecture. In a rain it is an eerie experience.  Think they have to much oxygen out there from all that growing corn. But an experience I did live to tell you about. I ended up there by accident as I made a wrong turn in St. Louis heading back to Ohio. No wonder Abe Lincoln was so tall he had to stretch to see over the corn to find his way to Washington. “

   “What a colorful explanation as to why we have a tall ex-president.” Ann laughed.

    “So you guys ready to go?” I asked . Ann explained she needed to dress Lee’s leg with a fresh bandage and they would be ready to go. They had no luggage having arrived here straight from the hospital with only the clothes on their back. Lee’s pants were tore from the accident but Ann managed to find a dollar store and found a pair of shorts for Lee before making him a pair of blood stained cutoff shorts. They lay in the waste basket along with blood stained bandages. It looked like there was some sort of carnage here as I looked around at their shabby at best dwellings and decided the blood looked good and expected from a place like this.  We turned in the key at the office and the manager flashed a toothy grin and ‘a you all come back soon greeting’.     

        We were off to the impound lot. Susie made up to Lee right away and had to be watched as she started to lick at Lee’s leg sensing he was hurt. Ann rode in front with me and helped me with directions.

    The impound lot was also a scene out of a horror movie as each wrecked car stored behind the chain link fence told a story. One with bullet hole with little yellow circles around.  A police evidence marked in white shoe polish on the window, with a large sign on front window saying “do not touch’ telling a story of dark dread by just looking at it . We didn't ask but was shuffled on down the line of misshapen and bent autos, spent from incidents leading them to their final placement here. At the end of the line was the V. W. van Ann and Lee worked so hard on. I took pictures and then Ann went about grabbing items out of the van and shoving them in the Hummer soon filling the rear of my SUV. Forcing Susie and Babe into the backseat with the now idle Lee as he looked on watching us helplessly.. I helped Ann till we had rifled through every hiding spot.  In some cases, the rear of the van was bent and distorted so bad, as well as burnt that removing anything was useless. The box of engine parts looking new were scattered throughout the inside of the van showing the force of the impact.

    Lee and Ann found it an emotional event and regretted leaving the van to its sure demise of a scrap yard, but I would have to agree with them they were lucky to be alive considering the damage. Then they told me of their celebrity status as they were the lead story on the local television show last night as they watched some before lights out at the No Tell Motel. A video of the scene and a brief interview of the truck driver who hit them ,as he achieved a somewhat celebrity status for having a fire extinguisher and helping Ann and Lee out of the van after crashing and spoiling their plans of a flawless trip to the Sequoias . It was the least he could do to put out the fire and keep himself  free from negligent homicide charges  , but to make him a celebrity of sorts and interview him was a like a slap in the face to Ann and Lee . Pedro and Cuntswaylo clapped four of their six legs as they stood on their hind legs and  applauded the misguided heroism of the truck driver as they also watched the TV, screen before scooting across the face of it  leaving trails of their conquest as Lee described it.

     Ann spoke with owner of the towing service exchanging information regarding insurance and assured him the title would be forwarded to him for scrapping out the van. We were off through the cornfields and soon on the interstate and home to my place to allow them to recuperate.  An unsaid sigh of relief came across us all as I headed up the on ramp onto I 71 leaving the cornfields behind. As trees and hills became the norm and not the exception and dotted the landscape as I neared home. I helped Ann and Lee into the little house and made some supper for us all and fed the dogs. We were all in but took time for a quick pontoon ride down the river when Lee says to us all and we had to laugh.

      “I would like to see that son of a bitch hit us out here in the middle of the river now.”

      We busted up at the thought of it. We returned to my house and spent a quiet evening just letting things go by talking the whole thing out around a fire till we were all tired and went to bed.