CHAPTER 3 - A GROWING FAMILY IN THE AGE OF MALAISE

 

In the Spring of 1974 we took a long weekend trip to a town called Everts in Harlan County Kentucky. Debbie was very pregnant with Jon. We went to visit our friends, Bill and Sharon Wilson who lived there. They had been our very close friends in Oregon and by this time they had a little girl. Harlan county was in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. This was in the heart of of Appalachia and coal country. Growing up I had listened to stories about this region from my uncle Bud who had preached for years in Pikeville Kentucky. I was a little apprehensive when we left the main highway and drove over to Evert's. It was like we had left America and entered a third world country because I had never witnessed such poverty in the United States. There were wooden shacks and the area was filthy looking. It looked like there had been a recent flood and debris was lining the creeks.

Bill was probably the wealthiest man in Everts because he was a businessman that owned a car lot and a restaurant. We found his restaurant and you could hear a pin drop as we walked in the door. The restaurant was packed with customers and all eyes were suddenly on us. It is difficult to be comfortable when you are being glared at the entire time. We ate lunch and caught up on old times. Bill's car lot was just across the street from his diner. Very early on the morning of our arrival a van had been stolen from his lot. After lunch we drove over to his house. It was a nice but modest white clapboard house. Bill cautioned me not to drive my car while we were there because of our out of state license plates. He said that people were wary of strangers and if we needed to go anywhere he would take us. That was okay with me because there was nothing to do in Evert's anyway.

The next morning at breakfast Bill asked me if I wanted to go with him to look for his stolen van. He told me that this was not the first time that he had a vehicle stolen from his lot. Whenever it happened he didn't involve the police because he was afraid that he would be killed or injured by the people who stole it because everyone knew each other because it was such a small community. Bill said that he would just go looking for it and whenever a car was stolen from his lot in the past he would usually find it abandoned somewhere. With some trepidation I agreed to go and we hopped into his jeep. A twelve year old boy who was one of Bill's relations also rode with us that day.

Bill wanted to drive to the top of a nearby mountain and see if the thief might have abandoned it in a hollow somewhere. As we approached a very narrow road that led up to the crest of the mountain there was a blue pick-up truck blocking our way. As we waited for it to move the three men in the front seat glared at us. They looked like characters out of the movie Deliverance and they had a gun rack with rifles in the window. The men finally drove off and Bill told me that they were probably the ones who stole his van. He said that we would probably find the van somewhere close by. By this time I was getting very nervous but I was trying to remain calm. This was long before carry permits were issued and I was wondering just what I had gotten myself into. Bill had shown me a .38 caliber pistol that he carried for protection, but he didn't have it with him.

The road ascending the mountain was only wide enough for one vehicle and it was the only way to the summit. It was a winding road with no guard rails and steep drop offs. Besides worrying about the thugs in the blue truck I was afraid that we were going to tumble off of the side of this mountain. Suddenly a look of concern came over Bills face and in a worried voice he said that he was seeing the blue pick-up in his rear view mirror. He said that it was following us. I kept looking back but I couldn't see it. When we were almost to the top of the mountain he slammed on the brakes and motioned for us to follow him. We took off running and hid behind a huge boulder. Just then Bill started laughing hysterically because he was just pulling my leg. I was also laughing more from relief than anything else. I told him that I was going to kill him for scaring me like that. Bill had always been the life of the party and was constantly joking around. He was a lot of fun to be around. We walked out behind the rock and to my horror there were three rather large men standing on the road looking down at us. Bill later told me that he turned around to say something and I had disappeared into thin air.

That was because I took off running and the only place I had to run was straight down the side of the mountain. Luckily there were no cliffs and I had trees to hang on to in order to slow my descent somewhat. When I was about halfway down the mountain I stopped to catch my breath. By now I was feeling pretty bad for being a coward and I was trying to build up my courage to climb back up the mountain and check on Bill and the boy. About this time I heard Bill calling for me and slowly and with great effort I made my way back up to where he was. When I reached the top Bill was nearly rolling on the ground with laughter and when he could finally speak he said that the three men were not the same men that we had seen earlier. They were driving down from the top of the mountain and our jeep was blocking the road. This had to be my most embarrassing moment ever. On our way back to Nashville we visited Cumberland Gap National Park with Bill and Sharon. After this we had dinner together for the last time. We kept in contact with them for a few years but eventually we learned that Bill and Sharon divorced. It was really sad because they had always seemed to be madly in love with each other.

Debbie was due to have Jon toward the end of June 1974. On the morning of June 24th I took her to see Dr. Brakefield in Nashville. I waited in the car with Misty and Robbie while Debbie was seeing the doctor. As far as we knew that day it was a routine visit because Debbie wasn't feeling any contractions. When she got back into the car she told me to drive to her mothers house and drop off the kids. From there we were going straight to Baptist hospital. The doctor said that we were not to tarry because Debbie had been in labor all night and she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Jon was born later that afternoon. Debbie was put to sleep during the delivery and I have some pretty funny home movies of her in recovery.

The next morning I was on the way to the hospital and for the first time I heard the song "Having My Baby", and talk about perfect timing. It is funny how each hospital has it's own childbirth procedures. I was not allowed to be in delivery when both of my boys were born. If I had wanted to, however; I could have been in the delivery room when my girls were born. Rob was born at Presbyterian Inter-Community hospital in Klamath Falls Oregon. Misty at the Air Force Academy hospital. Melanie at the old Donelson hospital, which no longer exists. Of the four, Baptist, which is now St. Thomas hospital midtown, had the strictest procedures. Whenever the babies were out on the floor they would clear the hallways. I had to scrub up with antiseptic soap and wear gloves and a mask every time I was around Jon. The standard hospital stay, barring complications, was three days for all hospital births back then. Now the standard hospital stay is no longer than 48 hours and they are not so worried about germs as they used to be.