CHAPTER 7- A GROWING FAMILY IN THE AGE OF MALAISE

 I had a 1957 Ford pick-up truck that I bought in the late 1970's. It was Ford tough and built like a tank. I loved this old truck. A friend of mine named Joe, who worked with me at Colonial Baking company, sold it to me. Joe tied a bunch of artificial red roses to the front grill. I asked him why he did that and he said that he had declared the truck dead and had given it a funeral. The flowers were on the grill the whole time I owned it. I would love to have a nickel for every time I had to help my sister Donna move. She lived all over Nashville and Middle Tennessee at one time or another. Because of her, I came to detest helping people move. To make things worse she always managed to find an upstairs apartment. For reasons I will never understand she moved to Sullivan Illinois in 1977. I worked five days a week at Colonial. Tuesday and Saturday were my days off. Donna decided to move back to Nashville and asked me to help her. It is 333 miles, or nearly five hours to drive from Nashville to Sullivan. I would only have my day off to move her and I couldn't see how it could possibly be done.

 She begged me over and over to help her, because there was nobody else. She kept saying that it was only a three hour drive to Sullivan. Of course I didn't believe it but I was on a guilt trip by now. Very early on a Tuesday morning in the early fall Donna, her son Larry, and myself set off in my truck for Illinois. My tires looked like racing slicks they were so worn. When we arrived at her apartment in Sullivan my heart sank as I realized that she had nothing packed. Working like a fiend I just threw everything in the bed of the truck. My anger grew because this whole process was taking a lot longer than I had hoped. It was well after dark when we finally got on the road back to Nashville. My nephew Larry was my load strap. He was lying spread eagle on top of everything the whole way back to Tennessee so we wouldn't lose anything. It was well into the early morning hours of Wednesday morning when we reached Clarksville. I had to be at work that afternoon at two oclock and so far so good. I was fighting sleep but I was proud of my truck because I had made the trip without incident. No break downs or flat tires. Suddenly my generator light came on but the truck continued to run just fine. I decided to chance it and kept on driving. We made it home without inciden and my bed felt so good that I was able to get a few hours of sleep before I went to work. The next time I tried to start my truck however, it wouldn't start. I had to jump it off or use my clutch to get it started. This went on for a long time and the truck sat in front of my house for months. I am a master at procrastination and know very little about working on cars. Finally, in the summer of 1978 I decided to try to get it fixed. My brother-in- law Ronnie Phillips was a mechanic and I asked him to look at it for me. The only problem was that I had to get the truck to him in East Nashville. 

  The truck was parked in my driveway, which was on a hill. Debbie was going to drive our 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring and I was going to drive the truck to her dad's house on Boscobel St. We lived on JoAnn Court in Antioch. Robbie and Misty wanted to ride with me. I put Misty in the cab and Robbie hopped up in the bed of the truck. My emergency brake wasn't working but it was in gear and for added insurance I used my spare tire as a chock. As I was getting ready to leave I put the tire in the bed of the truck. I was in the cab and getting ready to leave when I suddenly remembered something that I needed to tell Debbie and got out of the truck. I walked over to our front porch to stick my head in the door when I heard Robbie hollering dad, dad. I looked around in time to see the truck rolling backwards down the driveway with Robbie standing up in the back next to the cab. Luckily Misty had gotten out of the truck and was standing in the driveway.

 I took off running as fast as I could but it quickly became apparent that it was going too fast for me to catch up with it. The truck was picking up speed as it rolled downhill. I told Robbie to lie down in the bed of the truck and he laid down on his stomach with his feet pointed toward the tail gate. At first the truck rolled straight as an arrow toward a pick-up truck sitting in a driveway across the street. At the very last moment it swerved to the left and plowed through a short section of chain link fence and broadsided a blue Ford Mustang that was parked in the back yard. I was still running when Robbie jumped up and I could see that he was okay. The Mustangs whole side was caved in but I didn't care because that car probably saved Robbie's life. A few feet beyond the car at the end of the yard was a bluff. I was shaking like a leaf as a crowd of neighbors began gathering around us. To this day I shutter at how close to death or serious injury that Robbie came. 

  By this time the neighbor that owned the house came outside and was very understanding considering that my truck had just destroyed his fence and heavily damaged his son's car. His son's name was Charlie and he was in the Army stationed in Germany. That is why his car was parked in the back yard. My truck was not insured because I very seldom drove it. Needless to say I promised him that I would make good on the damage. I had not had a real vacation since I was discharged from the Air Force in 1972 and we were leaving for Panama City in a couple of days. It had been 6 years since I had been able to take a vacation and I was determined that I was going on that vacation. I got a estimate on the fence and found out it would take a hundred dollars to replace it. The car was a different matter, however. I knew that I wouldn't be able to take care of it for a while, regardless of whether I went on vacation or not. A few days after the accident we left for Panama City and spent a week there. That vacation is a story for another time.

 When we got back home my neighbor was mad as a hornet. He was angry because I went on vacation instead of saving money for his son's car. I told him that I would try to work something out with Charlie when he got home. He told me that Charlie would kick my ass. I told him that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. My brother-in law Ronnie checked out my truck but couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. A few weeks later I found out that Charlie was home on leave from Germany. I saw him in his yard and not knowing what to expect I walked over to talk to him. He saw me and we met in the street. There was no hint of trouble and he smiled as he shook my hand. I apologized for the accident and asked him what it would take to settle with him. My truck was parked in front of the house. He pointed at it and asked "What's wrong with the truck"? I told him that I had trouble starting it. I popped the hood and quicker than it takes to tell it he reached over and reconnected a loose wire. He told me to try starting it and when I did the truck started right up. It was very embarrassing that I had overlooked something so simple. My brother-in-law, however; was a mechanic and he failed to spot it. Charlie suggested that I could give him the truck and we could call it even. After a handshake and a sigh of relief on my part the deal was sealed.

  Our Vacation that summer of 1978 was memorable and we still laugh about it today. We were close friends with Debbie's cousin Gloria Travis and her husband Steve. I had known Gloria from the time that Debbie and I started dating in February 1966. I met her husband Steve Travis when they were dating in the early 1970's and we immediately became fast friends. My dad knew Steve's dad since the 1950's because he worked at Fair Park and my dad would talk to him many times when we would go there. Steve was a very friendly and gregarious person. He and Gloria were fun to be around. We decided to take a vacation to Panama City Beach Florida. There was a mini Winnebago RV available to rent for fifty dollars and we split the cost. Counting both families there were 11 of us packed into this small RV. I only had about 200 dollars of spending money and Steve had about the same. Even for 1978 this wasn't a lot of money to take on a week long vacation. We were so strapped for cash that Steve and I would walk into restaurants and ask to see a menu before making a decision to eat there. We saved a lot of money this way and somehow we had a great vacation in spite of being broke. It was a fun week and almost like an adventure.

 During the summer of 1978 I was still having problems from time to time with anxiety. Out of desperation I made my mind up to start running. I hated running both in high school and basic training. We only ran about a mile and a half but it was all I could do to finish. I started out walking for about two weeks and at first I didn't even have a pair of running shoes. We were forced to run in combat boots in basic training so I ran in combat boots and shorts when I first began running. I looked pretty ridiculous and as I started increasing my mileage combat boots weren't very practical. I was so determined, however; to run that I didn't care how I looked. I went through that phase where my lungs ached and I had a killer pain in my side. Each week I would add a mile and the pain in my side would continue until finally it went away. The combat boots had to go, however; and I bought a good pair of running shoes. Then it happened, the pain in my side went away and one day after I was up to three or four miles per day I got my first runners high. It was one of the most amazing feelings that I ever experienced. I suddenly felt like I could run forever and I began to extend my mileage.

 On average I was running seven miles a day and for a while during the 1980's I was running the 11.2 mile course at Percy Warner Park that was nothing but hills. I ran the yearly 11.2 mile race at Percy Warner and I was running many 10 K races (6.2) miles. My anxiety didn't go away completely but the running helped me manage it. If I felt a panic attack coming on, and I was able to, I would take off running until the feeling passed. I ran every day and it didn't matter what kind of weather or time of day it was. In the winter I came in many nights with my beard and mustache caked with ice. Sometimes when I started running I would be sleepy or very tired after getting off work. After a few miles, however; I felt like superman. I have run in various places around the world and across the United States. Probably the craziest place that I ever ran in was a game preserve near Ft. Pierce Florida where I could hear alligators splashing as they jumped into the swamp.

 Dogs began to be a problem while I was running. There was one large chow in particular that would come after me and he would get too close to my legs. Most dogs would run in panic when I ran at them but this dog would just become more aggressive. He came closer and closer until one day I kicked at him and the dog bit my leg and drew blood. After I got home I called Animal Control to report the dog. I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone so I called the police. All I wanted to know was if the dog had his shots. The owner called and begged me not to have his dog picked up. I told him that I didn't want anything done to the dog. All I wanted to see was proof that the dog had his rabies shots. The police confirmed over the phone that the dog had been vaccinated.

 I thought that the whole thing was behind me until I ran by the house where the chow lived. It was at night and the owner of the chow, along with a neighbor across the street, ambushed me. They let there dogs out simultaneously and I was caught between two vicious dogs. This time I was prepared for them, however. I still had my wooden nightstick from the Air Force and I was determined to bash their brains out before I would be bitten again. Luckily they turned and ran back into the house. The owner of the chow was a jerk and I should have just kicked his butt. I ran regularly for years until Bridgestone tire company in Lavergne started 12 hour shifts. My running became more erratic because I was just so tired. I was still running then but not as regular as I would like. The running has benefited me even though I am now overweight and have atrial fibrillation. Because of my running I am probably in much better shape than many men my age.